Travel & Expenses calculators

What these calculators help with

Business travel is taxed differently depending on whose vehicle it is. If you drive your own car, van, motorcycle or bicycle for work, HMRC's approved mileage rates set what can be paid or claimed tax-free, and Mileage Allowance Relief covers the gap when an employer pays less than the approved rate. Company cars are different again: HMRC's advisory fuel rates set the amount that can be reimbursed for business fuel, or repaid for private fuel, and they change quarterly. Separately from tax, the fuel cost per mile calculator shows the real running cost of a vehicle from its MPG and the price at the pump, which is useful for pricing jobs and quoting for travel.

Who they are for

For sole traders, directors and employees who drive for work, and for the employers reimbursing them. The three mileage regimes are kept strictly separate because using the wrong one is the most common and most expensive mistake in this area.

How they fit together

Start with whose vehicle it is. Your own vehicle uses HMRC's approved mileage rates; if your employer pays less than the approved amount, Mileage Allowance Relief covers the shortfall. A company car uses advisory fuel rates instead, which change quarterly. Fuel cost per mile is not a tax calculation at all: it shows the real running cost, which is what you need when quoting for a job that involves travel.

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