What are Approved Mileage Allowance Payments?

Approved Mileage Allowance Payments or AMAP are the rates at which you can claim back work related mileage from the tax office.

The rates at which approved mileage allowance payments can be given are set by HMRC and can be used by both employed and self employed individuals.

The AMAP rate(s) is consistent across all fuel types, allowing companies to pay it to employees who drive electric vehicles as well as those with petrol or diesel cars.

If your employer doesn’t pay you a mileage allowance (or the full AMAP rate) a claim can be made to HMRC by using the AMAP rates applicable to your mileage claim.

This mileage rate helps to cover the costs of operating and maintaining your vehicle, including fuel, oil, servicing, repairs, insurance, vehicle tax, and MOT tests.

When to use the approved mileage allowance rates

The approved mileage rates should be used during a mileage tax relief claim. The mileage rates are important when calculating how much mileage tax relief you are owed.

You can only use the approved mileage rates when you use your own vehicle when attending temporary workplaces and not for normal commuting.

Employed individuals should use the approved rates when:

• They haven’t been reimbursed for mileage.
• They have been reimbursed for mileage but the rates used are lower than the AMAP rates.
• They have been reimbursed at the full AMAP rate but the mileage payment made was taxed by their employer.

When operating as a sole trader and utilising your personal vehicle for business journeys, AMAP rates are available. But, you must choose between AMAP rates OR claiming a proportion of actual vehicle expenses for tax purposes.

Approved Mileage Allowance Payments Rates

• Car approved mileage allowance: £0.55p per mile up to 10,000 miles (0.25p over 10,000 miles).
• If you carry a passenger in your car: £0.05p per passenger per business mile.
• Motorcycle approved mileage allowance: £0.24p per mile.
• Bicycle approved mileage allowance: £0.20p per mile.

The AMAP rates vary depending on the type of vehicle you drive and, in some cases, if you carry a passenger for work purposes.

The rate at which you pay tax (usually at 20% or 40%) is used to calculate the amount of mileage relief due. Taxpayers in Scotland typically pay tax at different rates.

Mileage paid by your employer

You don’t have to be paid a mileage allowance by your employer to be able to make a claim for tax relief.

But, if you are, the amount you are paid needs to be taken into consideration before you start your claim. There are normally two types of mileage rate paid by an employer, these are:

1. Non taxed mileage rate – If your employer only pays you some mileage that is not the full AMAP amount, you can claim mileage tax relief for the difference.
2. Taxed mileage rate – You should be eligible to make a claim for the full AMAP rate, if your employer pays you the full mileage allowance and it is taxed as part of your salary.

AMAP rates calculator

If you think you might be owed a mileage tax rebate, why not try our ​mileage tax relief calculator​ to see how much you might be owed?

Our mileage calculator works out how much you may be owed back using the AMAP rates and the number of your work related miles.

How do I claim an AMAP rates tax rebate?

How you claim back your approved mileage allowance payments depends on the size of your claim and whether you already complete a Self Assessment tax return. HMRC offers three main routes: through your online Personal Tax Account, by submitting a P87 form, or via a Self Assessment tax return.

Claiming online through your Personal Tax Account

The quickest way to claim mileage tax relief is online through your Personal Tax Account (PTA) using your Government Gateway user ID.

Once signed in, select the option to claim tax relief for employment expenses, choose the tax year you’re claiming for, and enter your employer’s details along with your total business mileage and any amount your employer has already reimbursed you.

HMRC will automatically work out the shortfall against the approved mileage rates (55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van, and 25p per mile after that). 

If you don’t already have a Personal Tax Account, you can set one up on GOV.UK when you start your claim online.

Mileage claim below £2,500

If the total employment expenses you’re claiming come to £2,500 or less in any one tax year, you can claim using a P87.

This can be done online through your Personal Tax Account as above, or by completing a paper P87 form and sending it in by post.

The P87 captures most of the information HMRC initially needs to review your claim, but they can write to you to request further records before approving it.

Mileage claim above £2,500

If you’re claiming back £2,500 or more in any one tax year, you’ll need to complete a Self Assessment tax return rather than a P87. The tax return declares all of your income and tax for the year alongside the mileage expenses you’re reclaiming.

If you already file a Self Assessment for another reason, you should include your mileage expenses in the employment section of the return regardless of the amount.

Getting your refund

Once HMRC has checked everything is in order and approved your claim, they’ll either adjust your tax code so you pay less tax going forward (for current-year claims) or send your refund directly to you by BACS or cheque (for previous tax years).

Evidence for claiming a mileage tax rebate

HMRC expects you to maintain accurate and up to date mileage records to support a claim.

If you submit a P87 mileage claim it is likely that HMRC will ask you to send them your mileage records after they have processed your P87.

Records can include a detailed record of the places you have visited with dates and payslips showing mileage paid by your employer (if any).

Other common records include a contract of employment or employer statement confirming your job title and temporary workplace status.

If you submit a self assessment tax return you may be refunded a tax rebate by HMRC and then asked to provide mileage evidence at a later date.

In these cases if you are unable to provide HMRC what they require you may need to repay some or all of the refund you have received.

Key takeaways

The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rates set out how much your employer can pay you tax-free for business mileage.

Here are the key points to know before claiming:

• Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) are the tax-free per-mile amounts employers can pay employees for using their own vehicle on qualifying business journeys, covering fuel, servicing, insurance, road tax and general wear and tear.
• The current AMAP rate for cars and vans is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p per mile for every mile after that.
• Before the rate rose to 55p, the first-10,000-mile rate for cars and vans was 45p per mile — a figure that had been in place since 2011, so mileage claims for earlier tax years should still be worked out at the old 45p rate.
• Motorcycles are paid at a flat 24p per mile and bicycles at 20p per mile, with no upper-mileage rate change.
• A passenger payment of 5p per mile is also available, tax-free, when an employee carries a fellow employee on the same qualifying business journey — but only if the employer chooses to pay it.
• The 10,000-mile threshold resets at the start of each tax year and applies per person rather than per vehicle, and the same rates apply to electric vehicles — there is no separate EV rate.
• If your employer pays less than the approved rate, you can claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the shortfall and recover tax on the difference.
• If your employer pays more than the approved rate, the excess counts as taxable income and must be reported through payroll.
• How you claim a shortfall back depends on the size of your claim: through your Personal Tax Account or a P87 for smaller claims, or through a Self Assessment tax return once the total goes above HMRC’s threshold for that route.