Self-employed mileage and allowable expenses: a UK guide
If you drive for your business, work from home or buy things to run your side hustle, the costs you can claim lower your taxable profit. This page sums up HMRC's simplified expenses and the common allowable costs in plain English. It is general guidance only, not tax advice.
Mileage: the HMRC flat rates
Instead of adding up fuel, insurance, repairs and servicing, you can claim a flat rate for each business mile in your own vehicle:
- Cars and vans: 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the 2026-27 tax year (45p up to 2025-26), then 25p a mile after that.
- Motorcycles: 24p a mile, whatever the mileage.
The 10,000-mile threshold counts business miles in the tax year (6 April to 5 April), so a trip that crosses it is split between the two rates.
Work out your mileage claimWhat the flat rate covers, and what it doesn't
- The mileage rate replaces your actual running costs, such as fuel, insurance, repairs and servicing, so you can't claim those as well.
- Parking, tolls and congestion charges on business journeys can still be claimed on top.
- You can't use the flat rate for a vehicle you've already claimed capital allowances on.
- Ordinary commuting and personal trips don't count as business miles.
HMRC expects a record of each business journey: the date, where you went, why, and the miles.
Working from home: the flat rate
If you work from home for your business, simplified expenses let you claim a flat monthly amount based on the hours you work there:
- 25 to 50 hours a month: £10
- 51 to 100 hours a month: £18
- 101 hours or more a month: £26
Under 25 hours a month doesn't qualify for the flat rate. Phone and internet aren't included in it, so you can claim the business share of those separately.
Common allowable expenses
Costs you have only for running your business are usually allowable. Typical categories include:
- Office costs, stationery, phone and internet (business share)
- Travel, parking and business accommodation
- Stock and materials you resell or use to make products
- Uniforms and protective clothing (not everyday clothes)
- Marketing, website costs and subscriptions
- Bank charges and other financial costs
- Training that relates to your current business
For bills you share with personal use, claim only the business part.
Expenses or the £1,000 trading allowance?
If you claim the £1,000 trading allowance, you can't deduct expenses on top, mileage included. When your mileage and other costs add up to more than £1,000, claiming expenses usually leaves you with a lower taxable profit.
Compare allowance vs expensesMore detail in the £1,000 trading allowance guide.
Keep it all in one spreadsheet
The UK Mileage & Allowable Expenses Log from Tidy Sheets logs journeys, splits them at 10,000 miles, applies the working-from-home flat rate and totals your other expenses for the tax year. It's coming to the shop soon. In the meantime, the Free £1,000 Trading Allowance Checker is ready to download.
Get the free checkerOfficial sources
Simplified expenses: vehicles (GOV.UK)
Simplified expenses: working from home (GOV.UK)
Expenses if you're self-employed (GOV.UK)
HMRC Business Income Manual BIM75005
This page is for sole traders with simple affairs. Limited companies, partnerships, VAT and other special cases are outside its scope.