Can I switch from mileage to actual costs?
Not for a vehicle you have already claimed mileage on. You can choose again when you change vehicle.
Last checked 12/09/2026.
Not for the same vehicle. Once you have used the mileage method for a vehicle, you have to keep using it for that vehicle for as long as you use it in the business.
The choice resets when you change vehicle. Buy a different car and you can pick either method for it, so a driver moving from a cheap runaround to a van can reconsider properly.
You can also run different methods on different vehicles at the same time, which occasionally matters for somebody with a car for food work and a van for parcels.
The rule exists to stop people picking whichever is bigger each year. It is worth getting the first decision right rather than treating it as reversible.
Related
Should I claim mileage or actual running costs?
For almost every delivery driver, the mileage method. It is worth more, needs no receipts, and the choice is locked in per vehicle once you make it.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 19/08/2026
The complete mileage guide for delivery drivers
What counts as a business mile, the 55p and 25p approved rates, the 10,000-mile threshold, and whether mileage or actual costs leaves you better off.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 19/08/2026
Business miles, commuting and the depot run
A business mile is one driven wholly for the work. Commuting between home and a regular workplace is never claimable. For most gig drivers the working day starts when the app goes on, which makes the drive to a chosen pickup zone personal and the drive between drops business.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
Record keeping, and how long to keep it
You have to keep enough to show how every figure on your return was arrived at: what you were paid, what you spent, and how far you drove for the work. Records have to be kept for 5 years after the filing deadline for the year they cover.
HMRC & taxUpdated 27/08/2026
Capital allowances on a vehicle
A capital allowance is tax relief on something you bought to keep and use, spread over years rather than deducted at once. You cannot claim capital allowances on a vehicle and use the mileage rate for it, so for most gig drivers this is a road not taken.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
ULEZ, clean air zones and the congestion charge
If your vehicle does not meet the emissions standard, driving into a charging zone costs a daily fee. London ULEZ and the seven English clean air zones each set their own rules, and a Class C zone charges vans and taxis but not private cars.
Vehicles & equipmentUpdated 27/08/2026