What counts as a business mile for a delivery driver?
Miles driven for the work itself - not the journey from home to your depot or zone.
Last checked 12/09/2026.
A business mile is one driven for the work: depot or restaurant to customer, customer to customer, and between pick-ups. Essentially everything from arriving at your first collection to leaving your last drop.
Home to the depot at the start of the day, and home again at the end, is ordinary commuting. HMRC treats it as private travel however far it is, so it is not claimable.
Those commuting miles still burn real fuel, which is why JoltMile records them separately: they do not reduce your tax, but they absolutely reduce your hourly rate, and pretending otherwise flatters the figure.
Related
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
Can I claim mileage and fuel receipts?
No. The mileage rate already includes fuel, along with every other running cost.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 19/08/2026
Business mileage and the distance calculator
How JoltMile applies the 55p and 25p approved rates, tracks your 10,000-mile threshold, and works out distances from postcodes.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 29/09/2026
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