Running a business can involve travelling to clients, suppliers, temporary workplaces, meetings, training courses and other locations. If you use your own vehicle or pay for public transport, parking or accommodation for genuine business journeys, some of these costs may qualify for tax relief.
However, not every journey made for work is automatically a business journey.
The tax treatment depends on why you are travelling, where you are travelling to, how your vehicle is used and whether the journey is genuinely undertaken for the purposes of the business.
For example, travelling from home to a permanent workplace is generally treated differently from travelling to visit a client or another qualifying business location.
This guide explains the main UK rules around business mileage and travel expenses, including simplified mileage rates, public transport, parking, accommodation, commuting and the records you should keep.
The rules can differ depending on whether you are a sole trader, business partner, employee or limited company director, so it is important to apply the rules relevant to your circumstances.
Quick answer: Small businesses may be able to claim genuine costs incurred for business purposes, such as office expenses, software, professional fees, advertising, insurance, qualifying business travel, staff costs, stock and certain equipment. The exact rules vary depending on the expense and the structure of the business.
Quick Answer: Can a Small Business Claim Travel Expenses?
Yes. A business may be able to claim qualifying travel costs incurred for genuine business purposes.
Depending on the circumstances, these can include:
- Business mileage
- Train and bus fares
- Taxi fares
- Air travel
- Parking charges
- Tolls and congestion charges
- Vehicle hire
- Hotel accommodation
- Certain meals incurred during qualifying business travel
For self-employed individuals, HMRC specifically lists costs such as vehicle insurance, repairs, servicing, fuel, parking, vehicle hire, public transport, hotels and meals on overnight business trips as potentially allowable business expenses.
However, ordinary commuting, private travel and fines or penalty charges are not generally allowable business expenses.
What Counts as Business Travel?
A business journey is generally a journey undertaken for a genuine business purpose rather than ordinary private travel.
Examples could include travelling:
- To visit a client
- To visit a supplier
- To attend a business meeting
- To attend a temporary workplace
- To carry out work at a customer’s premises
- To attend certain business-related training
- Between business premises
- To another location where you need to perform your business duties
For example, imagine a self-employed electrician who normally works from their workshop but travels to a customer’s property to carry out an installation.
The journey to the customer’s premises is connected with the business and may qualify as business travel.
By contrast, travelling from your home to your normal permanent workplace is generally treated as ordinary commuting rather than business travel.
The important point is that the fact that a journey is connected with your work does not automatically make it a deductible business journey.
Business Travel vs Ordinary Commuting
This is one of the most common areas of confusion.
Business travel
Examples can include:
- Travelling from your usual workplace to visit a client.
- Travelling to a supplier meeting.
- Travelling between two business locations.
- Travelling to a qualifying temporary workplace.
Ordinary commuting
Examples can include:
- Travelling from home to your permanent workplace.
- Travelling from your permanent workplace back home.
Ordinary commuting is generally not an allowable business travel expense for self-employed individuals. HMRC specifically states that self-employed people cannot claim travel between home and work as an allowable expense.
The same basic distinction also exists in the employment tax rules, where travel between home and a permanent workplace is generally treated differently from travel to a temporary workplace.
Why does this matter?
Consider two journeys:
Journey A
Home to Permanent office
Journey B
Home to Client
These should not automatically be treated in the same way.
Journey A may be ordinary commuting, whereas Journey B may be a qualifying business journey depending on the circumstances.
Can You Claim Mileage for Business Travel?
If you use your own car, van or motorcycle for qualifying business journeys, you may be able to calculate the vehicle expense using either:
- Simplified mileage rates, where eligible, or
- Actual vehicle costs, depending on the circumstances and accounting method.
The simplified method allows eligible self-employed businesses to use a fixed amount per business mile instead of calculating individual costs such as fuel, repairs, servicing and insurance.
This can make record keeping considerably easier.
What Are the HMRC Mileage Rates for 2026/27?
For the 2026/27 tax year, the simplified mileage rates for eligible self-employed businesses are:
| Vehicle | Mileage rate |
| Cars and goods vehicles, first 10,000 business miles | 55p per mile |
| Cars and goods vehicles, after 10,000 miles | 25p per mile |
| Motorcycles | 24p per mile |
HMRC increased the rate for cars and goods vehicles from 45p to 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, with the increase applying retrospectively from 6 April 2026. The rate after 10,000 miles remains 25p.
Example: 8,000 business miles
Suppose you drive 8,000 qualifying business miles during 2026/27.
Your simplified mileage calculation would be:
8,000 × 55p = £4,400
So the simplified mileage deduction would be £4,400.
Example: 12,000 business miles
If you drive 12,000 qualifying business miles:
First 10,000 miles:
10,000 × 55p = £5,500
Remaining 2,000 miles:
2,000 × 25p = £500
Total:
£5,500 + £500 = £6,000
HMRC provides the same two-rate structure in its current simplified-expenses guidance.
What Does the Simplified Mileage Rate Cover?
The simplified mileage rate is intended to cover the vehicle running costs rather than allowing you to claim the same costs separately.
This can include costs such as:
- Fuel
- Insurance
- Repairs
- Servicing
- Vehicle running costs
HMRC describes simplified expenses as a flat rate for mileage instead of the actual costs of buying and running the vehicle.
Therefore, you should not normally use the simplified mileage rate and then claim the vehicle’s fuel, insurance, repairs and servicing separately for the same vehicle.
However, other qualifying travel costs can still be claimed separately.
For example, HMRC states that train journeys and parking can be claimed on top of simplified vehicle expenses.
Can You Claim Parking, Tolls and Congestion Charges?
Potentially, yes.
Qualifying costs associated with a genuine business journey can include:
- Business parking
- Tolls
- Congestion charges
- Certain vehicle hire costs
These are separate from the simplified mileage calculation.
For example, suppose you drive 500 business miles during the month and pay £80 in qualifying business parking and toll charges.
You could potentially calculate the mileage using the appropriate mileage method and claim the qualifying parking and toll costs separately.
The key requirement is that the costs relate to a qualifying business journey.
Can You Claim Train and Bus Fares?
Yes, qualifying public transport costs can potentially be claimed where the journey is for business purposes.
This can include:
- Train fares
- Bus fares
- Tram fares
- Underground fares
- Other qualifying public transport
- Taxi fares
For example, if you travel by train from London to Birmingham to attend a business meeting, the qualifying train fare may be an allowable business travel expense.
HMRC’s guidance for self-employed individuals specifically includes train, bus, tram, air and taxi fares among potentially allowable travel expenses.
Keep the ticket, receipt or other evidence supporting the cost.
Can You Claim Taxi Fares for Business?
A taxi journey undertaken for a genuine business purpose may qualify.
For example:
Train station to Client’s premises may be a legitimate business travel cost where the overall journey is for business.
However:
Home to Restaurant for a private dinner would not become a business expense simply because you discussed work during the evening.
The purpose and circumstances of the journey matter.
Can You Claim Hotel Accommodation?
If qualifying business travel requires you to stay away from home overnight, accommodation costs can potentially be allowable.
For example, imagine a consultant based in London who needs to spend three days working with a client in Manchester.
If the circumstances mean an overnight stay is genuinely required for the business journey, the cost of appropriate accommodation may qualify.
HMRC’s guidance for self-employed businesses specifically includes hotel rooms among potentially allowable travel expenses.
However, accommodation should not be treated as a business expense simply because it is convenient.
The cost needs to be connected with qualifying business travel.
Can You Claim Meals While Travelling for Business?
This is an area where business owners often get confused.
You generally cannot claim your ordinary meals simply because you were working.
Food and drink are normally ordinary living costs. HMRC’s guidance states that the cost of food and drink consumed by a trader is not generally an expense incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade.
However, meals can be relevant in certain qualifying business-travel circumstances.
For example, HMRC identifies meals on overnight business trips as a potentially allowable travel expense for self-employed individuals.
The important distinction is between:
Ordinary meal
Buying lunch during a normal working day.
and:
Business travel subsistence
Incurring food costs during qualifying business travel, such as an overnight business trip.
Because meals and entertainment have their own detailed rules, we’ve covered them separately in our guide:
[Can a Small Business Claim Meals and Entertainment? UK Tax Rules]
Can You Claim Travel From Home to a Client?
This depends on the circumstances.
A journey from home to a client may potentially qualify where the client location is a qualifying business destination.
However, you should not assume that every journey from home to a customer is automatically deductible.
The nature of your business, your usual workplace arrangements and whether the destination is permanent or temporary can all matter.
For example, a consultant who works from a business premises and occasionally travels to clients may have a different position from a contractor who works continuously at one client’s premises.
This is why keeping a record of the destination and business purpose of each journey is important.
What Is a Temporary Workplace?
The distinction between a permanent and temporary workplace can be particularly important when considering business travel.
A temporary workplace is generally a place where you work for a limited period or for a temporary purpose, subject to the detailed rules.
For example, an employee who normally works in Bristol may be sent to a client’s site in Bath for a short period. HMRC’s employment guidance gives examples where travel to a temporary workplace can qualify for tax relief, while ordinary commuting to a permanent workplace does not.
The rules can become more complicated where someone works at the same location for an extended period or where the workplace becomes permanent.
If your work involves regularly travelling to different sites, it is worth checking the rules rather than assuming every site is a temporary workplace.
What Travel Expenses Can a Self-Employed Person Claim?
Depending on the circumstances, potentially allowable travel expenses can include:
| Expense | Potentially claimable? |
| Business mileage | Yes, where the journey qualifies |
| Train fares | Yes, for qualifying business travel |
| Bus fares | Yes, for qualifying business travel |
| Taxi fares | Potentially |
| Parking | Potentially |
| Tolls | Potentially |
| Congestion charges | Potentially |
| Hotel accommodation | Potentially |
| Meals on qualifying overnight business trips | Potentially |
| Private travel | No |
| Ordinary commuting | Generally no |
| Parking fines | No |
HMRC’s current self-employed guidance confirms that business travel can include vehicle costs, public transport, hotels and meals on overnight business trips, while non-business travel, fines and travel between home and work cannot generally be claimed.
What About Using Your Own Car for Business?
If you use your own car for business journeys, there are two broad approaches that may need to be considered:
Simplified mileage
You calculate your deduction using the appropriate mileage rate.
This can be easier because you do not have to calculate the actual cost of fuel, repairs, insurance and servicing for each business journey.
Actual vehicle costs
Depending on the circumstances, you may instead calculate the business proportion of the vehicle’s actual running costs.
This can involve costs such as:
- Fuel
- Insurance
- Repairs
- Servicing
- Vehicle tax
- Breakdown cover
- Other qualifying running costs
For self-employed businesses, the appropriate treatment can also depend on the accounting method and whether capital allowances or simplified expenses are being used. HMRC’s guidance distinguishes between these methods.
Which method is better?
There is no universal answer.
Simplified mileage can be easier to administer, but actual costs may produce a different result depending on your vehicle and business use.
If you are considering the simplified method, HMRC provides a simplified-expenses checker to help eligible businesses compare the approaches.
Can You Switch Between Mileage and Actual Vehicle Costs?
You need to be careful before choosing a method.
Once you use simplified mileage for a particular vehicle, HMRC says you must continue using the flat-rate method for that vehicle for as long as you use it for the business. There are also restrictions where you have already claimed capital allowances or included the vehicle as an expense when calculating business profits.
This means it is worth considering the appropriate method before you start claiming vehicle expenses.
If you are purchasing a vehicle specifically for your business, it may be sensible to compare the available approaches with your accountant before deciding how to treat it.
What Mileage Records Should You Keep?
Good mileage records are important if you claim business mileage.
A useful mileage log can include:
- Date of journey
- Starting point
- Destination
- Business purpose
- Number of business miles
- Vehicle used
For example:
| Date | From | To | Business purpose | Miles |
| 10 April | London office | Client premises | Client meeting | 24 |
| 15 April | London office | Supplier | Supplier meeting | 18 |
| 21 April | London | Training venue | Business training | 32 |
Keeping this information as you travel is generally much easier than trying to reconstruct your journeys months later.
Your mileage records should also make it possible to distinguish business journeys from private journeys.
Can You Claim Fines and Parking Penalties?
Generally, no.
A parking ticket or other penalty does not become an allowable business expense simply because you received it while carrying out business activities.
For example:
You park illegally while visiting a client and receive a £70 parking penalty.
The fact that you were visiting a client does not normally make the £70 penalty an allowable deduction.
HMRC specifically lists fines and penalty charges among costs that self-employed individuals cannot claim as allowable travel expenses.
What About Business Travel by Air?
Air fares can potentially be allowable where the journey is genuinely undertaken for business purposes.
For example, if a UK business owner needs to travel to another part of the UK or overseas for a qualifying business meeting, the relevant travel costs may potentially qualify.
However, the purpose of the trip matters.
A holiday does not become a business trip simply because you answer emails while you are away.
If a journey combines business and private purposes, the position can become more complicated and the private element may need to be excluded.
What If a Business Trip Has Both Business and Private Travel?
Mixed business and private travel requires particular care.
Suppose you travel from London to Edinburgh for a genuine two-day business meeting and then stay for an additional four days for a personal holiday.
You should not automatically treat the entire cost of the trip as a business expense.
The business and private elements need to be considered separately under the relevant rules.
The same principle applies to:
- Hotels
- Flights
- Car hire
- Mileage
- Meals
- Other travel costs
The fact that part of a trip is business-related does not automatically make every cost associated with the trip deductible.
What Records Should You Keep for Business Travel?
You should retain evidence supporting your travel expenses.
Depending on the type of cost, this could include:
- Train tickets
- Flight confirmations
- Hotel invoices
- Taxi receipts
- Parking receipts
- Mileage logs
- Toll receipts
- Business meeting records
- Supplier or client correspondence
- Other evidence showing the business purpose
Good records should allow you to answer three basic questions:
What did I pay for?
Why did I incur the cost?
How much of the cost is related to the business?
This becomes particularly important where a journey or expense includes both business and private elements.
Common Business Travel Mistakes
1. Claiming ordinary commuting
Travelling from home to your permanent workplace is generally not the same as travelling to a client or temporary workplace. Do not automatically treat every journey to work as business mileage.2. Claiming every journey to a client
Client travel can potentially qualify, but the circumstances matter. Consider your normal workplace arrangements and the nature of the client location before claiming the journey.3. Claiming private mileage
Only qualifying business journeys should be included in a business mileage claim. Keep a mileage record that separates business and private travel.4. Claiming parking fines
A business purpose does not normally turn a penalty into an allowable expense. Parking charges associated with a qualifying journey may be different from parking penalties.5. Claiming normal lunches
Working during lunch does not automatically make your meal a business expense. Food and drink have specific rules, particularly where business travel and subsistence are involved.6. Using simplified mileage and claiming vehicle running costs again
The simplified mileage rate is intended to cover the relevant vehicle running costs. Do not claim the mileage rate and then separately deduct the same vehicle’s fuel, insurance, repairs and servicing.7. Not keeping mileage records
Trying to remember a year’s worth of business journeys at the end of the tax year can lead to inaccurate claims. Record journeys as you make them.8. Treating a holiday as a business trip
Answering emails while on holiday does not automatically make the holiday a business expense. Where business and private travel overlap, the costs need to be considered carefully.Business Mileage Example
Imagine Sarah runs a small consultancy. During 2026/27, she drives: 8,000 qualifying business miles She uses the simplified mileage method. The rate for the first 10,000 business miles is: 55p per mile Her calculation is: 8,000 × £0.55 = £4,400 Sarah can therefore claim £4,400 using the simplified mileage method. During the year, she also pays:- £120 in qualifying parking charges
- £80 in qualifying tolls
- £600 in train fares for business meetings
Business Travel for Sole Traders vs Limited Companies
The treatment of business travel can differ depending on how your business operates. A sole trader is claiming expenses in calculating their taxable trading profit. A limited company is a separate legal entity, so expenses paid or reimbursed by the company need to be considered from the company’s perspective and, where relevant, the individual’s position. For example, a company director using their own car for qualifying business journeys may receive mileage payments from the company, subject to the applicable rules. Similarly, company-paid travel expenses can involve different considerations from a sole trader simply recording an allowable business expense. If you operate through a limited company, do not automatically apply the sole-trader rules to every expense. For a broader comparison of how expenses work under different business structures, see our guide: [Sole Trader vs Limited Company Expenses: What Can You Claim?]How Can an Accountant Help With Business Travel Expenses?
Business travel can appear straightforward until you start dealing with mixed journeys, commuting, temporary workplaces, mileage methods and private use. An accountant can help you:- Determine which journeys may qualify
- Review your mileage method
- Compare simplified mileage with actual costs
- Check business and private travel
- Review vehicle expenses
- Maintain appropriate records
- Deal with company-paid travel expenses
- Identify potential errors in previous expense claims
- Apply the correct treatment to your accounts and tax return
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I claim mileage for business travel?
If you are eligible and the journey qualifies as business travel, you may be able to claim mileage using HMRC’s simplified mileage rates or another applicable method. For 2026/27, the simplified rate for cars and goods vehicles is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p thereafter. Motorcycles have a rate of 24p per mile.Can I claim mileage from home to work?
Generally, ordinary travel between your home and permanent workplace is not an allowable business travel expense. The rules can be different for journeys to clients, temporary workplaces or other qualifying business locations.Can I claim mileage from home to a client?
Potentially, depending on the circumstances. You should consider whether the destination and journey qualify as business travel and whether you have a permanent or temporary workplace. Keep a record of the destination and business purpose of the journey.What is the mileage rate for 2026/27?
For eligible self-employed businesses using simplified mileage:- 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in cars and goods vehicles
- 25p per mile after 10,000 miles
- 24p per mile for motorcycles
Can I claim parking as a business expense?
Potentially. Parking costs associated with qualifying business travel can generally be considered separately from simplified mileage. Parking fines and penalties are different and are generally not allowable.Can I claim train tickets for business travel?
Yes, qualifying train and other public transport costs can potentially be claimed when the journey is genuinely for business purposes. Keep your ticket, receipt or other evidence supporting the expense.Can I claim hotel costs for a business trip?
Potentially. If an overnight stay is genuinely required because of qualifying business travel, the accommodation cost may be allowable, subject to the relevant rules. HMRC includes hotel rooms among potentially allowable travel expenses for self-employed businesses.Can I claim meals while travelling for business?
Not simply because you are working. Meals can be relevant where they are incurred as part of qualifying business travel, such as certain overnight business trips. Ordinary meals and living costs are treated differently.Can I claim fuel as well as mileage?
If you use the simplified mileage method, the mileage rate is intended to cover vehicle running costs such as fuel, repairs, servicing and insurance. You should not claim those same vehicle running costs separately for the vehicle for which you are using simplified mileage.Can I claim mileage and parking?
Potentially, yes. HMRC’s simplified-expenses guidance specifically states that other travel expenses, including train journeys and parking, can be claimed in addition to simplified vehicle expenses where they qualify.Do I need to keep a mileage log?
You should keep accurate records supporting your mileage claim. A useful mileage record should identify the date, destination, business purpose and number of business miles. Keeping records as you travel is generally easier than reconstructing them later.Key Takeaways
Business travel expenses can provide valuable tax relief, but the journey must qualify before the associated cost can be claimed. The main points to remember are:- Business travel is not the same as ordinary commuting.
- Qualifying mileage can potentially be claimed using simplified rates or another applicable method.
- For 2026/27, the simplified rate is 55p per mile for the first 10,000 car and goods-vehicle miles.
- Train, bus, taxi, parking, tolls and other qualifying travel costs may also be claimable.
- Hotel and certain meal costs can be relevant where business travel requires an overnight stay.
- Private travel and fines should not be treated as business expenses.
- Keep accurate mileage records and supporting receipts.
- If a trip contains both business and private elements, consider the two separately.
