Last updated November 6, 2026
Rules and figures from other sources checked on November 6, 2026. They change, so confirm with the source before you rely on them.
General information, not tax or legal advice. The rules depend on your country and your situation, so check anything with a tax or legal consequence with your accountant.
A mileage claim template needs one row per journey: date, start, destination, purpose, project code, business miles, rate and amount. Add the employee, the vehicle and the miles already claimed this tax year. In the UK, HMRC's approved rate for cars is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in 2026 to 2027, then 25p.
Mileage claim template to copy
This mileage claim template has a short header and one row per journey. The header's running total of miles is the field most templates leave out, and it's how you know when the rate drops. Here's an invented example for an employee of a UK project firm:
| Claim details | |
|---|---|
| Employee | [Name] |
| Vehicle | [Registration, car or van, engine size] |
| Month | June 2026 |
| Business miles this tax year, before this claim | 4,310 |
| Business miles this tax year, after this claim | 4,460 |
| Approved by and date | [Name, date] |
| Date | Journey | Purpose | Project | Business miles | Rate | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wed 3 Jun | Office to Riverside site and back | Site meeting | P-114 | 38 | 55p | £20.90 |
| Tue 9 Jun | Office to client in Leeds and back | Design review | P-118 | 72 | 55p | £39.60 |
| Wed 17 Jun | Home to Riverside site to office | Snagging visit | P-114 | 24 | 55p | £13.20 |
| Wed 24 Jun | Office to supplier and back | Collect samples | Internal | 16 | 55p | £8.80 |
| Total | 150 | £82.50 |
The project column earns its place when you bill. Riverside comes to 62 miles and £34.10, which is what you'd recharge to that client if the contract allows it. In the spreadsheet, the amount is simply miles times rate, and the running total is last month's figure plus this claim's miles.
What are the current mileage rates?
The current UK rates are in the table below, and any template still showing 45p for cars is out of date. The first-band rate was 45p for 15 years and rose to 55p with effect from 6 April 2026. The government has said it will review rates for later years, so check again before each 6 April.
| Vehicle | UK rate per business mile, 2026 to 2027 |
|---|---|
| Car or van, first 10,000 miles | 55p |
| Car or van, over 10,000 miles | 25p |
| Motorcycle | 24p |
| Bicycle | 20p |
| Passenger in a car or van | 5p each |
These are HMRC's published rates, and they apply to an employee's own vehicle. Company cars use the separate advisory fuel rates, which HMRC reviews every quarter.
In the US, the IRS standard business rate changed mid-year: 72.5 cents a mile from 1 January to 30 June 2026, and 76 cents from 1 July to 31 December 2026. A claim that crosses that date needs both rates.
Elsewhere, rates and rules are set nationally and some countries have no approved figure at all, so use your own tax authority's number. Change the rate column and the template still works.
How do the two HMRC rates work across a year?
The two HMRC rates work per employee per tax year: the first 10,000 business miles from 6 April are at 55p and anything above is at 25p. HMRC adds together the miles for all vehicles an employee uses in that year.
Here's an invented example. An employee drives 11,200 business miles in a year. The approved amount is 10,000 × 55p = £5,500, plus 1,200 × 25p = £300, making £5,800. What happens next depends on what the firm pays.
| Firm pays | Total paid | Against £5,800 | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45p on all miles | £5,040 | £760 under | Employee can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on £760 |
| 55p, then 25p | £5,800 | Equal | Nothing to report and no tax |
| 55p on all miles | £6,160 | £360 over | £360 is reported on a P11D or added to pay, with tax deducted |
A firm that forgets the second band ends up in the last row without knowing it. That's the mistake the running total prevents.
National Insurance works differently. HMRC's measure sets the amount disregarded from Class 1 earnings at a flat 55p a mile, with no lower band. So in the last row the £360 is taxable, but it isn't subject to Class 1 National Insurance on that basis. Check with your payroll provider, particularly if you also pay a car allowance, because that counts towards the same limit.
Which journeys can go on a mileage claim?
Business journeys can go on a mileage claim, and ordinary commuting can't. In project work the question is usually whether a site counts as a temporary workplace, which HMRC explains in booklet 490.
| Journey | Claimable in the UK? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Home to your usual office | No | Ordinary commuting |
| Office to a client or site and back | Yes | Business travel |
| Home to a temporary site | Usually yes | A place you attend for a task of limited duration is a temporary workplace |
| Home to a site for 40% or more of your time, over more than 24 months | No | It counts as a permanent workplace |
| A site job extended past 24 months | Until the extension only | It becomes permanent from the date expectations change |
| A personal detour on the way | Not the detour | Private travel |
The 24-month row matters to site-based firms, including construction. HMRC's test looks at what's expected: a project planned at 18 months and extended to 30 is temporary until the date it's extended, and permanent after that. Note that date on the project file, because the same drive stops being claimable from then on.
Your own policy can be stricter than the tax rule. Some firms deduct the normal commute from any home-to-site journey to keep things simple, and the expense claim policy is the place to say so. Billing a client for the time spent travelling is a separate question, covered in billing for travel time.
Can a firm reclaim VAT on mileage?
A VAT-registered UK firm can reclaim VAT only on the fuel part of a mileage allowance, never on the whole payment. VAT Notice 700/64 says to multiply the fuel element by the VAT fraction, and the allowance must be based on miles actually driven.
Here's an invented sum using the 150 miles above, assuming fuel cost of 14p a mile. The fuel element is 150 × 14p = £21.00. The VAT fraction at 20% is 1/6, so the VAT to reclaim is £3.50. Agree with your accountant how you set the fuel figure.
The notice also sets out the records to hold for each employee: the mileage travelled, whether a journey was both business and private, the vehicle's cylinder capacity, the rate of allowance and the VAT claimed. You also need fuel invoices, unless the fuel was bought on a card you provided. So add engine size to the template's header, and ask drivers to keep fuel receipts if you plan to reclaim.
Recording mileage claims in ERPFlow
ERPFlow has no mileage tracking, employee claims or reimbursement, so the template above stays in a spreadsheet, and so does the running total of miles.
When you pay a claim, record it as an expense in a category of your own, such as Mileage, and attach the signed sheet. An expense isn't linked to a customer or a job, so ERPFlow won't total mileage by project. The project column on your sheet does that.
To recharge mileage to a client, add it to the invoice as a line with miles as the quantity and your rate as the price. If you do this often, a service named for it, with the price already set, saves retyping.