Cost per Mile Calculator for Business: Mileage Rates, Costs & How to Claim (UK)

Taking cost per mile calculator for business as the case in point: Business mileage cost is two calculations at once: what each mile actually costs to run the car, and what can be claimed for it. The running-cost side uses the same formulas as the rest of this site — fuel cost per mile from the fuel price and the MPG, tyre cost per mile from the tyre price and the mileage — and the claim side uses the published HMRC mileage rates, which in the UK are 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van and 25p per mile after that. Those rates are the published figures at the time of writing, they apply in the UK, and they change, so check HMRC's current figures before claiming. This page works through both calculations with examples and explains how to keep the records that support a claim.

For cost per mile calculator for business, the point is this: The worked example below uses a tyre costing £130 as an example over an assumed 30,000 miles, giving 0.43 p per mile for one tyre, and a fuel example alongside it so the full cost per mile is visible. The HMRC rates are not a measure of the actual cost — they are the amount that can be paid tax-free for business mileage — so a car that costs more per mile than the rate leaves the difference with the driver, and a car that costs less keeps the difference. The sections below cover the tyre and fuel maths, the HMRC rates and how they work, the records to keep, and the mistakes that cause claims to be rejected.

The cost-per-mile formula for cost per mile calculator for business

On this page, cost per mile calculator for business is the case in point: Cost per mile = tyre price ÷ expected mileage. For a single tyre, divide the price of one tyre by the miles it is expected to cover. For a set of four, the cost per mile is (4 × tyre price) ÷ expected mileage, which is four times the single-tyre figure. The result is usually expressed in pence or cents per mile: a tyre costing £130 over an assumed 30,000 miles gives £130 ÷ 30,000 = £0.0043, or 0.43 p per mile. The mileage in the formula is the uncertain half — it is an assumption or a measurement, never a guaranteed property of the tyre — so the worked example below states its assumptions plainly, and the section on measuring wear shows how to replace the assumption with a figure measured on the actual car.

What cost per mile means for cost per mile calculator for business

Taking cost per mile calculator for business as the case in point: The cost per mile of a tyre answers the question that the price tag does not: how much does each mile of use actually cost. A tyre that costs twice as much but lasts twice as long costs the same per mile, and a tyre that costs half as much but lasts a third as long costs more per mile. The formula is cost per mile = price ÷ expected mileage, and it is applied to one tyre at a time or to a set of four by multiplying the price by four. The figures in this article are examples with the assumptions stated next to them, because a tyre's real-world mileage is not a fixed property — it depends on how the car is driven, whether the alignment is right, whether the pressures are kept up, and what loads the tyre carries.

Worked example: £130 over 30,000 miles for cost per mile calculator for business

Take a tyre priced at £130 as an example, with an assumed life of 30,000 miles. The cost per mile for one tyre is £130 ÷ 30,000 = £0.0043, which is 0.43 p per mile. A set of four costs £520 and lasts the same 30,000 miles, so the cost per mile for the set is £520 ÷ 30,000 = 1.73 p per mile. Over 10,000 miles of driving, the set costs 173.33 £ in tyre wear; over 12,000 miles a year it costs 208.00 £ a year. If the same tyre lasted 40,000 miles instead of 30,000, the cost per mile for the set would fall to 1.30 p; if it lasted only 20,000 miles, it would rise to 2.60 p. Both the price and the mileage are examples, labelled as such, and the mileage is the figure that matters most because it is the one that varies most between drivers. That is the point this page works through for cost per mile calculator for business.

cost per mile calculator for business: Cost per mile table: three prices against three mileages

Taking cost per mile calculator for business as the case in point: All prices and mileages are examples used to show the working. Read across for the mileage and down for the price.

Tyre price (example) 20,000 miles 30,000 miles 40,000 miles
£90 0.45 p per mile 0.30 p per mile 0.22 p per mile
£130 0.65 p per mile 0.43 p per mile 0.33 p per mile
£180 0.90 p per mile 0.60 p per mile 0.45 p per mile

Taking cost per mile calculator for business as the case in point: The table shows the two directions of the formula at once: moving right along a row, the cost per mile falls as the mileage rises, and moving down a column it rises as the price rises. A £90 tyre over 20,000 miles costs 0.45 p per mile, while the same tyre over 40,000 miles costs 0.22 p — the same tyre, the same price, and a very different cost per mile, decided entirely by how long it lasts. That is why the mileage deserves more attention than the price: it is the bigger lever, and it is the one the driver can influence by the way the car is driven and maintained. Compare tyres at the same assumed mileage so the comparison is like-for-like, and use a measured wear rate where one is available.

cost per mile calculator for business: HMRC mileage rates (UK) and how they work

For cost per mile calculator for business, the point is this: In the UK, HMRC publishes approved mileage allowance payments: 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles driven in a car or van in a tax year, and 25p per mile for each mile after that. Those are the published rates at the time of writing, they apply in the UK, and they change — check HMRC's current figures before claiming. The rates are the amount an employer can pay tax-free for business mileage, not a measure of the actual cost of running the car: if the actual cost per mile is higher than the rate, the driver bears the difference, and if it is lower, the driver keeps the difference. Keep a log of every business journey — date, start and finish, purpose and miles — because a claim without records is difficult to support. Fuel, tyres, insurance, servicing and depreciation are the costs the rate is meant to cover, and the worked example above shows how the tyre and fuel parts are calculated.

cost per mile calculator for business: What decides how long a tyre lasts

On this page, cost per mile calculator for business is the case in point: The mileage in the formula is an estimate, and the factors behind it are worth listing because they decide whether the estimate is realistic. Aggressive driving wears tread faster than gentle driving, and the difference is large. Misalignment wears one edge of the tyre and can halve its life. Under-inflation wears the shoulders and builds heat; over-inflation wears the centre. Heavy loads, rough surfaces and hot weather all add wear, and a tyre that spends its life on motorways wears differently from one that spends it on town streets. The practical answer is to measure: note the tread depth when the tyres are fitted, measure it again after a known mileage, and the wear rate that comes out is the figure for that car and that driving — far more useful than any quoted number.

How to measure your own tyre mileage for cost per mile calculator for business

For cost per mile calculator for business, the point is this: The way to get a real mileage figure is to measure tread wear over a known distance. Record the tread depth with a gauge when the tyres are fitted and the odometer reading at the same time. After several thousand miles, measure again: the wear rate is the depth lost divided by the miles driven, and the remaining life is the depth left above the legal minimum divided by that wear rate. The legal minimum is 1.6 mm in the UK and 2/32 inch in the USA — jurisdiction-specific figures that change, so check the current limit where the car is used. That measured wear rate is the honest input to the cost-per-mile formula, and it is far more useful than any mileage quoted for the tyre, because it reflects the actual car, the actual driving and the actual roads.

Common mistakes with cost per mile for cost per mile calculator for business

On this page, cost per mile calculator for business is the case in point: Mistakes in cost-per-mile calculations are usually about the inputs. The first is using the purchase price without the fitting cost, which understates the true cost — include fitting, balancing and any disposal charge if they are part of what was paid. The second is using a mileage figure quoted for the tyre as if it were measured on the car; real mileage depends on driving, alignment, pressure and load, so a measured wear rate is the honest input. The third is comparing two tyres at different mileages, which rigs the comparison — hold the mileage the same for both and let the price do the talking. The fourth is forgetting the set: a car needs four tyres, so the cost per mile for the set is four times the single-tyre figure. And the fifth is treating the result as the whole running cost, when fuel, insurance and servicing are usually larger lines.

cost per mile calculator for business: Related pages

Frequently asked questions

What are the HMRC mileage rates?

Taking cost per mile calculator for business as the case in point: In the UK, HMRC's approved mileage allowance payments are 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van in a tax year, and 25p per mile after that. Those are the published rates at the time of writing, they apply in the UK, and they change — check HMRC's current figures before claiming.

What records do I need for a mileage claim?

On this page, cost per mile calculator for business is the case in point: Keep a log of every business journey: the date, the start and finish points, the purpose and the miles driven. A claim without records is difficult to support, and the log is also the basis for working out the actual cost per mile from fuel, tyres, insurance and servicing.

For cost per mile calculator for business, does the HMRC rate cover the full cost of running the car?

Not necessarily. The rate is the amount that can be paid tax-free for business mileage, not a measure of the actual cost. If the actual cost per mile — fuel, tyres, insurance, servicing and depreciation — is higher than the rate, the driver bears the difference. Work out the actual cost per mile using the formulas on this page. That is the point this page works through for cost per mile calculator for business.

How can I make my tyres last longer?

For cost per mile calculator for business, the point is this: Keep pressures at the placard figure, checked cold; have the alignment checked when the tyres show uneven wear; drive smoothly instead of accelerating hard and braking late; avoid overloading the car; and rotate the tyres if the manufacturer recommends it. Each of these extends the mileage in the formula, which cuts the cost per mile directly.

What is the legal minimum tread depth?

On this page, cost per mile calculator for business is the case in point: In the UK the legal minimum tread depth is 1.6 mm across the central three-quarters of the tread, and in the USA it is 2/32 inch. Both are jurisdiction-specific limits and they change, so check the current figure where the car is used. Most drivers replace tyres before the legal minimum, because wet grip falls off well before the tread is bare.