How to Claim Mileage Expenses: Mileage Rates, Costs & How to Claim (UK)

On this page, how to claim mileage expenses is 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 how to claim mileage expenses, 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 how to claim mileage expenses

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. That is the point this page works through for how to claim mileage expenses.

how to claim mileage expenses: What cost per mile means

On this page, how to claim mileage expenses is the case in point: Cost per mile is the simplest way to compare tyres on value rather than on price: it divides what the tyre costs by how far it goes, so a dearer tyre that lasts longer can work out cheaper than a cheap tyre that wears out quickly. The formula is cost per mile = tyre price ÷ expected mileage, and for a set of four it is (4 × tyre price) ÷ expected mileage, which is four times the single-tyre figure. The result is usually a few pence or cents per mile, and the table in this article shows it for three example prices against three example mileages so the pattern is visible. Every price and mileage here is an example used to show the working, labelled as such — no tyre's real-world mileage is stated as fact, because it depends on driving, alignment, pressure and load.

how to claim mileage expenses: Worked example: £130 over 30,000 miles

Taking how to claim mileage expenses as the case in point: 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.

Cost per mile table: three prices against three mileages for how to claim mileage expenses

On this page, how to claim mileage expenses is 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

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. That is the point this page works through for how to claim mileage expenses.

how to claim mileage expenses: HMRC mileage rates (UK) and how they work

On this page, how to claim mileage expenses is the case in point: 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.

What decides how long a tyre lasts for how to claim mileage expenses

What a tyre actually lasts depends on more than the tyre. Smooth driving, correct alignment, correct pressures and moderate loads all extend life; hard acceleration and braking, a misaligned suspension, under-inflation and heavy loads all shorten it. The road surface and the climate add their own effects, and the tyre's compound and construction set the baseline that the other factors work from. That is why this article never states a tyre's real-world mileage as a fact: the same tyre can last very different mileages on two cars, and the only mileage worth putting into the formula is one measured on the car in question — from the tread depth at fitting and at replacement, divided by the miles driven between the two. That is the point this page works through for how to claim mileage expenses.

How to measure your own tyre mileage for how to claim mileage expenses

For how to claim mileage expenses, the point is this: Measuring your own tyre mileage is straightforward and makes the formula honest. Note the tread depth when the tyres are fitted — new tyres typically start around 8 mm in the UK — and the mileage on the odometer. After a known distance, measure the tread depth again with a gauge and note the mileage. The wear rate is (starting depth − current depth) ÷ miles driven, in millimetres per mile, and the remaining life is (current depth − legal minimum) ÷ wear rate. The legal minimum tread depth is 1.6 mm in the UK and 2/32 of an inch in the USA, and those limits are jurisdiction-specific and change, so check the current figure for the place the car is used. With the wear rate known, the cost-per-mile formula uses a mileage that belongs to the actual car rather than an assumption.

how to claim mileage expenses: Common mistakes with cost per mile

On this page, how to claim mileage expenses 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.

how to claim mileage expenses: Related pages

Frequently asked questions

What are the HMRC mileage rates?

For how to claim mileage expenses, the point is this: 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?

Taking how to claim mileage expenses as 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.

Does the HMRC rate cover the full cost of running the car for how to claim mileage expenses?

Taking how to claim mileage expenses as the case in point: 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.

How can I make my tyres last longer?

On this page, how to claim mileage expenses is the case in point: 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?

Taking how to claim mileage expenses as 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.