HMRC Mileage Rates for Electric Cars: What You Can Claim?

HMRC's mileage rates for electric cars are 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles, and 25p per mile afterwards. 

Many electric vehicle owners assume HMRC provides separate rates for electric vehicles. In reality, the same Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) apply to electric, petrol, diesel, and hybrid cars when you're using your own vehicle for business travel. 

Whether you're a sole trader, landlord, freelancer, or limited company director, understanding the mileage rules helps you avoid missing out on tax relief or claiming the wrong amount. 

Key points

• Only specific business journeys qualify for mileage claims 🚗
  You can usually claim for travel to clients, suppliers, temporary workplaces, and rental properties, but not for commuting to a permanent workplace. The distinction between business and personal travel is key to avoiding incorrect claims.
• You have to choose between mileage allowance and actual expenses ⚖️
  Self employed individuals typically use either HMRC’s mileage method or claim actual vehicle costs. Mileage is simpler and covers all running costs, while actual expenses may suit higher-cost vehicles but require detailed cost tracking.
• Record-keeping is essential for HMRC compliance 📄
  You should keep clear logs of dates, destinations, mileage, and the business purpose of each trip. Without proper records, HMRC can challenge or reduce your claim if you fail to provide evidence when asked.
• ANNA helps automate mileage tracking, tax estimates, and compliance 🚀
  ANNA keeps your business finances organised by separating business and personal transactions, automatically categorising expenses, capturing receipts, and tracking taxes in real time.

HMRC mileage rates for electric cars (2026/27)

For the 2026/27 tax year, the mileage rates are:

• 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles
• 25p per mile for business miles over 10,000

These rates have been frozen for several years and remain in place for the 2026/27 tax year.

The mileage allowance is designed to cover the overall cost of using your vehicle for business purposes, including:

• Electricity or fuel
• Insurance
• Servicing and maintenance
• Repairs
• Vehicle depreciation
• Vehicle Excise Duty

HMRC treats the mileage rate as an all-inclusive allowance rather than a reimbursement for a specific expense.

Who can claim mileage for an electric car?

Usually, you can claim mileage if you use your personal electric vehicle for qualifying business journeys.

This commonly applies to:

• Self employed individuals who use their own vehicle for work
• Freelancers and contractors travelling to client meetings
• Landlords visiting rental properties
• Limited company directors using a personally owned car for business travel
• Employees who use their own electric vehicle for work journeys

The key point is that the vehicle has to be personally owned or leased.

Different rules can apply if the vehicle belongs to your limited company.

What counts as a business journey?

A business journey is travel that's wholly and exclusively for business purposes.

Examples include:

• Travelling to meet clients
• Visiting suppliers
• Attending a temporary workplace
• Travelling between business locations
• Visiting rental properties you manage

You can’t claim mileage for your ordinary commute between your home and your permanent workplace.

The rules may be more complex if you’re self employed, particularly if you work from home or operate from multiple locations. If you're not sure whether you can claim mileage, it's best to seek advice from a qualified accountant.

🧠 Good to know

HMRC expects you to keep a mileage log showing the date, destination, purpose of the trip, and number of miles travelled. Keeping records as you go is much easier than trying to reconstruct journeys months later.

How does mileage relief work for self employed people?

If you're self employed and use your own electric car for business, you'll typically have two options:

• Claim HMRC's simplified mileage allowance
• Claim actual vehicle expenses

Whichever option you choose, you have to continue using that method for that vehicle. 

Claiming HMRC's mileage allowance

Under the mileage allowance method, you multiply your business miles by HMRC's approved rate.

For example:

8,000 business miles × 45p = £3,600 allowable expense

That £3,600 reduces your taxable profit.

The mileage method is popular because it eliminates the need to calculate the business proportion of insurance, servicing, charging costs, repairs, and other vehicle expenses.

💡 Did you know?

ANNA automatically categorises transactions, tracks expenses, and gives you real-time tax estimates throughout the year. If you're recording vehicle costs or mileage for your business, having everything organised in one place makes tax time much simpler.

Claiming actual vehicle expenses

Some business owners prefer to claim actual vehicle expenses rather than using HMRC's mileage rates.

Under this method, you'll calculate the business proportion of:

• Electricity used for charging
• Insurance
• Repairs
• Servicing
• Vehicle finance costs
• Breakdown cover

This approach can result in a larger deduction if you have an expensive electric vehicle with high running costs and use it heavily for business.

Because the actual expenses and mileage methods are mutually exclusive, you can’t use both. Ask an accountant to help you calculate which approach will save you the most money.

Can you claim charging costs separately?

If you're using HMRC's mileage allowance method, you generally won’t be able to claim charging costs separately, as the mileage rate already covers the costs of operating the vehicle.

However, if you've chosen to claim actual vehicle expenses, you can usually include the business proportion of charging costs alongside other allowable vehicle expenses. 

Mileage claims for limited company directors

If you run a limited company and use your personal electric vehicle for business travel, the company can reimburse you using HMRC's AMAPs.

Any amount paid within HMRC's approved limits is free from Income Tax and National Insurance.

The company can claim Corporation Tax relief on the reimbursement as a business expense.

Company-owned or leased electric cars

If your limited company owns or leases the electric vehicle, you can't claim HMRC's AMAPs (the 45p-per-mile rate that applies to personally owned cars).

Instead, employers reimburse employees and directors for the electricity used on business journeys using HMRC's Advisory Electricity Rate (AER).

🧠 Good to know: 

HMRC reviews the AER periodically, so check the current rate before submitting a claim.

Mileage claims and record-keeping

Proper record-keeping is essential to support a mileage claim.

You should keep records of:

• Dates of journeys
• Start and end locations
• Purpose of each trip
• Number of business miles travelled
• Evidence supporting the business purposes

Many people keep a mileage log using an app, spreadsheet, or accounting tool.

The more accurate your records are, the easier it becomes to justify your claim if HMRC later asks for evidence of your journeys.

Common mistakes when claiming electric car mileage

Avoiding these common mistakes can help ensure you claim the correct amount of tax relief :

Claiming commuting journeys

One of the most common mistakes is including ordinary commuting in a mileage claim. Travel between your home and a permanent workplace doesn’t qualify as business mileage, even if you use your car for work throughout the day.

For example, an employee generally can’t claim for the daily journey between home and the office. However, travel to a temporary workplace or a client meeting may qualify. 

The rules can be different for self employed people who work from home. Journeys that would count as ordinary commuting for an employee may qualify as business travel for the self employed. Whether you can claim depends on where your business is based and the purpose of the journey.

Mixing business and personal journeys

Only include business mileage in your claim. If you use the same vehicle for both work and personal travel, keep a mileage log to clearly separate business journeys from private ones. 

Failing to keep adequate records

HMRC may ask you to provide evidence showing when the journeys took place, where you travelled, and why the trips were necessary for business purposes. If you can’t support your claim with records, some or all of the tax relief could be challenged.

Using the wrong claiming method

You can’t switch between mileage allowances and actual vehicle expenses.

Before making a claim, make sure you understand the method you’re using and the expenses it includes. If you're unsure which approach is likely to produce the best result, consider speaking with an accountant or tax adviser.

How ANNA helps with mileage claims

Keeping accurate mileage records is often harder than calculating the claim itself. If receipts, journeys, and expenses aren't organised throughout the year, preparing a tax return can quickly become time-consuming. 

That's where ANNA can help.

Instead of manually sorting transactions, storing receipts in multiple places, and trying to work out your tax bill at the end of the year, you can use ANNA to automate your bookkeeping and keep financial records in order.

Here’s how ANNA can help:

• Business account: Keep business income and spending separate from your personal finances, making it easier to manage vehicle-related expenses and maintain clear records
• Automatic expense categorisation: Have your transactions automatically sorted, simplify bookkeeping, and stay on top of your business costs
• Receipt capture: Upload and store receipts digitally so supporting documents are always available when you need them
• Real-time tax estimates: See how your income and expenses affect your tax bill throughout the year, and avoid surprises when it's time to file
• Smart money pots: Set aside money for future tax bills to stay prepared for HMRC payments
• Professional invoicing: Create and send branded invoices, track payments, and manage your cash flow from one place
• Free Self Assessment filing: Connect your bank account and HMRC account, and ANNA will track your income and expenses, calculate your taxable profit, file quarterly updates, and submit your final declaration for free
• 24/7 tax support: Get help from qualified tax experts whenever you need guidance on expenses, tax relief, HMRC requirements, or Making Tax Digital

Sign up with ANNA today to make managing your mileage claims simple.