The rates
Cars and vans: 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, 25p a mile after that. Motorcycles 24p. There is no flat rate for a bicycle when you are self employed, so you claim what the bike actually costs the business. The band resets every 6 April.
Why nobody noticed the change
The car and van rate had been 45p since 2011, long enough to feel like a law of nature. Every mileage log written from habit this year is priced fifteen years out of date.
The choice that locks you in
On any one vehicle it is either the mileage rate or the real running costs, never both, and once you have chosen for that vehicle you stay with it until you change the vehicle. The real costs route means fuel, insurance, repairs, and capital allowances on the van itself, with the private share taken out.
What counts as a business mile
Travel between jobs, to suppliers, to a customer. Not the run to the same site every day, which is commuting. Keep the log as you go: date, from, to, purpose, miles. A log rebuilt in January from memory is the first thing an enquiry pulls apart.
Lekhio works it out. You send it. Nothing goes near HMRC until you press yes.
Where HMRC says it: HMRC simplified expenses, flat rate for vehicles; HMRC Business Income Manual BIM75005 onwards. Checked 2026-08-31. This is general information about the rules, not advice on your own position.