Using your own vehicles for work-related journeys

If you are an employee and use your own money to buy things you need for your job you can sometimes claim tax relief for the associated costs. Usually, it is only possible to claim tax relief for the cost of items used solely for your work.

You may also be able to claim tax relief for using your own vehicle, be it a car, van, motorcycle or bike. As a general rule, there is no tax relief for ordinary commuting to and from your place of work. The rules are different for temporary workplaces, when the expense is usually allowable, and if you use your own vehicle to do other business-related mileage.

Employers usually make expense payments based on a set rate per mile depending on the mode of transport used. There are approved mileage rates published by HMRC. The approved mileage allowance payment rates are available where you use your own car on a business trip. Where the approved mileage rates are used, the payments to you are not regarded as a taxable benefit.

Where an employer pays less than the published rates, the employee can make a tax relief claim for the shortfall using mileage allowance relief. For all cars, the approved mileage allowance payment for the first 10,000 business miles is 45p per mile and 25p per mile for every additional business mile. The approved mileage rates are 20p per mile for bicycle travel and 24p per mile for motorcycle travel.

There is an additional passenger payment you can receive of 5p per passenger per business mile from your employer. This is available if you carry fellow employees in your car or van on journeys which are also work journeys for your colleagues.