Should you use your personal vehicle for business purposes you can claim the travel cost against your profit for the year. HMRC allows two different methods for working out your business mileage:
- actual expenses method – this method allows you to claim the actual costs incurred for running your vehicle for business purposes such as fuel, repairs, insurance etc. However, with this method you will need to be able to prove that the vehicle is either used solely for business or you are claiming the correct split between business and personal use.
- mileage rate method – under this method you can claim back a fixed amount per mile of business use. The mileage rate does vary based on the type of vehicle and number of miles driven, with miles over the first 10,000 in a tax year being claimed at a lower rate. The 2023/24 rates are as follows:
cars and van: 45p a mile for the first 10,000 and 25p mile thereafter
motorcycles: 24p per mile with no change over 10,000
bicycles: 20p per mile with no change over 10,000
Whichever method is used you will need detailed records of the expenses or mileage incurred and a description of each trip.
