Business mile
A business mile is a mile driven wholly and exclusively for the work. For a delivery driver that means the miles from the point you start working to the point you stop, including driving between drops and back to a depot.
Correct for the 2026/27 tax year. Last checked 12/09/2026.
The phrase HMRC uses is "wholly and exclusively". A journey that serves the work and nothing else is a business journey. A journey that also gets you home, or past the shops, is not automatically one.
What it means for your money
Every business mile is worth 55p off your taxable profit up to the 10,000-mile threshold. Get the definition wrong in either direction and it costs you: claim personal miles and you have understated your profit, miss real business miles and you have overpaid.
The hard case is the first and last journey of the day. Driving to a fixed depot you attend regularly can look like commuting rather than business travel, and commuting is never claimable.
Where to read more
Business miles, commuting and the depot run sets out where the line falls and why it is not as obvious as it sounds.
Sources
Related
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
AMAP (approved mileage allowance payments)
AMAP is the flat per-mile rate HMRC lets you claim instead of working out what your vehicle actually costs. For a car or van it is 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year and 25p after that.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 27/08/2026
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.
Mileage & expensesUpdated 19/08/2026
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