Van mileage for a self-employed tradesperson, 55p flat rate or actual costs? Two vans worked through

A self-employed tradesperson can claim a flat rate per business mile instead of working out what the van really cost. GOV.UK's table for the 2026-27 tax year shows 55p a mile for the first 10,000 miles in a car or goods vehicle (a van counts as a goods vehicle), then 25p a mile after that. Before 6 April 2026 the first-10,000 rate on the same page was 45p. Which method leaves you with the bigger deduction depends on one number: what the van really costs you to run for the business.

The rates, as GOV.UK shows them

The page says the flat rate covers using the vehicle, and that you can claim "all other travel expenses (for example train journeys) and parking on top". Count business miles only: trips to jobs, the merchant and the customer's site. The page does not treat the drive from home to a normal place of work differently in the lines we read, so keep a mileage log with date, from, to and miles for every trip.

Two vans, worked through

Both vans are invented. The sums are ours.

The gain is 10p a mile on the first 10,000 miles, so it stops growing at £1,000 a year however far you drive.

The test: flat rate or actual costs

Add up what the van cost the business in the year: fuel, insurance, servicing, tyres, road tax, repairs, and either capital allowances or the cost of leasing. Take the share that is business use. If that is higher than the flat-rate figure, actual costs win. If it is lower, the flat rate wins.

For Van A, the flat rate wins if the business share of running costs is under £4,400, which is 55p x 8,000. Only your own figures can settle it: a van that is dear to run favours actual costs, and a cheap one favours the flat rate.

Conditions on the flat rate

• GOV.UK says you cannot use simplified expenses for a vehicle if you have already claimed capital allowances for it, or included it as an expense when working out your profits.
• "Once you use the flat rates for a vehicle, you must continue to do so as long as you use that vehicle for your business." You cannot switch back to actual costs for that van later.
• The vehicle types the page lists are cars (not vehicles designed for commercial use, such as black cabs), goods vehicles such as vans, and motorcycles.

What we could not confirm from the page: how to split a van you also use privately beyond logging business miles, and how the rates apply inside a partnership. Ask HMRC or an accountant for those.

Where the claim goes

The claim is an expense in your self-assessment return, so it reduces taxable profit, not the tax directly. If you are a CIS subcontractor, the deduction your contractor took is settled against your tax bill at the end of the year, as our guide to the 31 January 2027 tax bill explains. Keep the log with your other records for the period set out in how long to keep invoices and records. To see what the van's miles do to your real earnings per day, use the day rate calculator.

Overlyft can set up a mileage assistant that reads your job diary and calendar, drafts the day's trips with start, end and miles, and totals the year against the 10,000-mile line. You check each trip before it goes in the log.

This is general information, not tax advice. For a van on finance, a mixed private and business van, or a partnership, ask an accountant.