---
title: "Tesla Business Mileage UK – HMRC 55p 2026/27 | DriveQuery"
description: "Track Tesla business mileage for HMRC claims. See the 2026/27 55p and 25p rates, 10,000-mile threshold, passenger payments and record rules."
canonical: "https://drivequery.com/en/tesla-business-mileage-allowance/"
language: "en-GB"
content_signal: "search=yes, ai-input=yes, ai-train=yes, use=full"
last_modified: "2026-08-30"
ai_priority: "tier-1"
primary_intent: "informational-to-commercial-tesla-hmrc-mileage"
commercial_stage: "consideration"
query_targets: "Tesla business mileage allowance; own Tesla business mileage; AMAP Tesla; Tesla mileage allowance HMRC; 55p Tesla business mileage"
image: "https://drivequery.com/assets/trip-journal.webp"
publisher: "DriveQuery"
---
[Home](https://drivequery.com/en/) / [Guides](https://drivequery.com/en/guides/) / Business mileage allowance

Tesla · Business mileage · HMRC 2026/27

# Tesla business mileage allowance in the UK: 55p, 25p and the 10,000-mile rule

If you use your own Tesla for eligible business travel, HMRC's approved mileage rates can make accurate business-mile records worth real money. For 2026/27 the first 10,000 business miles use a 55p rate, then 25p per mile.


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## Quick answer

If you use your **own Tesla** for qualifying UK business travel, the 2026/27 HMRC car-and-van rate is **55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p thereafter**. The rate covers electric cars as well as petrol, diesel and hybrid cars. [HMRC mileage-rate guidance](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim31240).

DriveQuery's role is not to change the HMRC rate. It is to make the mileage evidence easier to maintain by keeping Tesla journeys, distances and reviewed business/private classifications together.

## Questions this page answers

- How much can I claim per mile when I use my own Tesla for work?
- Does the 55p HMRC mileage rate apply to electric cars?
- What happens after 10,000 business miles?
- Can a Tesla mileage tracker help support an HMRC claim?
- Is commuting included in business mileage?
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Updated 8 August 2026 HMRC rates checked 8 August 2026 ≈ 8 min read UK · HMRC mileage allowance

**The difficult part is not multiplying miles by a rate.** It is keeping a defensible record of which journeys were business travel, how many qualifying miles you drove and when the 10,000-business-mile threshold was crossed.

**2026/27 HMRC rates for an employee's own car or van** **55p per business mile** for the first 10,000 business miles, then **25p per mile**. Electric cars and vans are included in the same car-and-van category.

## 1. What is the HMRC business mileage rate for 2026/27?

For tax year 2026/27, HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rate for a car or van is **55p per business mile for the first 10,000 business miles** and **25p per mile after 10,000**. The increase from the previous 45p first-band rate took effect from 6 April 2026.

For a quick calculation, use the [HMRC mileage rates 2026/27 calculator](https://drivequery.com/en/mileage-allowance-calculator/). It applies the 55p rate to the first 10,000 qualifying business miles and 25p thereafter.

| Eligible business mileage | Approved rate |
| --- | --- |
| First 10,000 business miles | **55p/mile** |
| Business miles above 10,000 | **25p/mile** |
| Qualifying business passenger | **+5p/mile per passenger** |

The 10,000-mile threshold is based on qualifying *business* mileage, not your Tesla's total annual mileage. HMRC also groups mileage in cars and vans within the same vehicle category for the AMAP calculation, so changing cars does not normally restart the first 10,000-mile band.

## 2. Example: 12,000 business miles in your own Tesla

Approved amount

## £6,000

The first 10,000 miles use 55p and the remaining 2,000 use 25p.

First band

### 10,000 × £0.55

**£5,500**

Above 10,000

### 2,000 × £0.25

**£500**

This is the HMRC *approved amount*. It is not a legal requirement that an employer pays exactly this amount. An employer may pay less, exactly the approved amount, or more. The tax treatment then depends on the amount paid and the qualifying business mileage.

## 3. Which Tesla journeys count as business mileage?

Ordinary commuting — normally home to a permanent workplace and back — is private travel for HMRC purposes. Customer visits, travel between workplaces and qualifying travel to a temporary workplace can be business travel. That means an automatic trip logger can capture the facts, but it should not silently guess the tax treatment from the route alone.

| Journey | Typical HMRC treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Home → permanent office | Ordinary commuting · private |
| Office → customer | Business travel |
| Customer A → Customer B | Business travel |
| Home → genuine temporary workplace | May qualify as business travel |

## 4. Employers still need records even when the payment is tax-free

If mileage allowance payments stay within the approved amount, the payment can be exempt from tax. But HMRC still expects the employer to keep records of **the payments made and the business journeys to which they relate**. This is the practical reason a mileage log matters even when there is nothing to report to HMRC for the payment itself.

A useful record should therefore let the employer or employee get from a monthly total back to the individual journeys behind it.

## 5. What should DriveQuery record?

The factual journey data can come from the Tesla connection: date, time, origin, destination, distance and route context. The driver then adds or confirms the part the car cannot know reliably — the **business purpose**.

Home → Main office**Commute · Private**Recurring route

Main office → Client A**Business · Client visit**Suggested from previous classifications

Client A → Client B**Business · Client visit**Confirmed

The goal is not to ask the driver to recreate a diary every month. It is to record every journey first, learn recurring categories and surface only the uncertain journeys for review.

## 6. The 55p rate applies to your own car — not a company Tesla

The AMAP scheme on this page applies where an employee uses their own car or van for business travel. A company Tesla follows different reimbursement rules. The distinction matters because applying the 55p rate to a company car would produce the wrong tax treatment.

If you drive a company Tesla, use the separate [company Tesla business-mileage guide](https://drivequery.com/en/company-tesla-business-mileage/) for the HMRC Advisory Electric Rates and the business/private split.

## 7. What if the employer pays less than the approved amount?

The employee may be able to claim **Mileage Allowance Relief** on the shortfall between HMRC's approved amount and qualifying mileage payments received from the employer. That is a separate calculation — and another reason to maintain the full business-mile total even if the employer reimburses only part of it.

[See the full Mileage Allowance Relief guide and example →](https://drivequery.com/en/mileage-allowance-relief/)

[Calculate your HMRC approved amount →](https://drivequery.com/en/mileage-allowance-calculator/)

DriveQuery mileage log

## Know the business-mile total before payroll or expenses ask for it.

Capture every Tesla journey automatically, classify recurring routes and keep the business-purpose evidence attached to the trip instead of rebuilding it at the end of the month.

[Explore the UK Tesla mileage log →](https://drivequery.com/en/tesla-mileage-log/)

## Frequently asked questions

Does the 55p rate apply to an electric Tesla?

Yes. HMRC includes electric and hybrid cars and vans in the normal car-and-van AMAP category. For 2026/27 that is 55p for the first 10,000 qualifying business miles and 25p thereafter.

Does the 10,000-mile band reset if I change cars?

Normally no. HMRC combines business mileage for vehicles within the same kind, such as cars and vans, for the AMAP calculation.

Does my employer have to pay 55p per mile?

No. The HMRC rate sets the approved amount for tax purposes; it does not force an employer to reimburse exactly that rate. If less is paid, Mileage Allowance Relief may be available on the qualifying shortfall.

Can I claim 55p for commuting to my normal office?

Normally no. Ordinary commuting between home and a permanent workplace is private travel rather than qualifying business travel.

What if I drive more than 10,000 business miles?

The approved rate for car and van business mileage above 10,000 miles is 25p per mile for 2026/27.

DriveQuery helps organise mileage and journey-purpose records. Whether a specific journey qualifies as business travel depends on HMRC rules and the facts of the journey. Check tax-sensitive classifications before submitting an expense or tax claim.

Sources: [HMRC – Mileage Allowance Payments 2026/27](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/mileage-allowance-payments-480-appendix-3), [HMRC – 2026 mileage-rate increase](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/increase-to-approved-mileage-allowance-payments-amaps-and-self-employed-simplified-mileage-rates), [HMRC – employer record-keeping for mileage payments](https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim31390) and [HMRC – ordinary commuting and private travel](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/ordinary-commuting-and-private-travel-490-chapter-3).

HMRC 2026/27

**55p for the first 10,000 business miles.**

- 25p after 10,000
- +5p/passenger mile where eligible
- Own car or van
- Business journeys must be supportable

[Tesla mileage log](https://drivequery.com/en/tesla-mileage-log/)[Read the practical guide →](https://drivequery.com/en/tesla-mileage-tracker-business/)

## Make every business mile easy to prove.

Join the DriveQuery waitlist and turn Tesla trip history into a mileage record you can review throughout the tax year.

[Join the waitlist](https://drivequery.com/en/tesla-business-mileage-allowance/#early-access)