Buying, leasing or PCP as a gig driver
For high-mileage gig work, buying a cheap car outright is usually cheapest, because leases and PCP deals price mileage and you will exceed the allowance. The exception is an electric lease where the fuel saving and the zone exemptions outweigh the monthly cost.
Correct for the 2026/27 tax year. Last checked 12/09/2026.
The question looks like a finance question and is really a mileage question. Everything on the finance side is priced on the assumption you will do ordinary mileage, and gig driving is not ordinary mileage.
The three routes
| Route | Upfront | Monthly | Mileage limit | Who owns it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buy outright | The whole price | Nothing | None | You |
| Lease (PCH) | A few months in advance | Fixed | Contracted, charged if exceeded | The lease company |
| PCP | A deposit | Fixed, lower | Contracted, charged if exceeded | You, if you pay the balloon |
Why mileage decides it
A full-time delivery driver can cover 25,000 to 35,000 miles a year. A lease priced at 10,000 miles a year charges for every mile beyond it, and the charge is set at a rate that assumes you will not do many.
On PCP the damage is different but no smaller. The deal is built on a guaranteed future value, and that value assumes a car with average mileage and average condition. Return a car with 90,000 miles on a three-year deal and either the excess mileage charge or the lost equity takes the saving back.
When a lease does win
An electric lease, for a driver who charges at home and works in a charging zone. The monthly cost is higher and the fuel saving, the zone exemption and the lower servicing can more than cover it. Negotiate a mileage allowance that matches reality rather than accepting the default.
The tax side
If you use the mileage rate, none of this is separately claimable. The 55p covers having and running the vehicle, however you paid for it.
If you claim actual costs, the routes diverge. Lease payments are a revenue cost, claimable at the business proportion, with a restriction on higher-emission cars. A purchased car is capital, and relief comes through capital allowances over several years.
Remember the choice is per vehicle and it sticks. You cannot buy on the mileage rate, then switch to actual costs for the same car when it suits you.
Sources
Common questions
- Can I lease a car for delivery driving?
- Yes, but you must tell the lease company what the car is used for, and you need a mileage allowance that reflects a delivery year. A standard 10,000-mile lease is roughly half what a full-time driver does.
- What does excess mileage cost on a lease?
- A per-mile charge set in the contract, payable at the end. Exceeding a 10,000-mile allowance by 8,000 miles at a typical excess rate runs into several hundred pounds, and it arrives as one bill.
- Is PCP a good idea for a delivery driver?
- Rarely. PCP is priced on the car being worth a predicted amount at the end, and high delivery mileage is exactly what destroys that value. You either pay excess mileage or you lose the equity you thought you had.
- How does the tax work if I lease?
- If you claim the mileage rate, the lease payments are not separately claimable, because the rate covers the cost of having the vehicle. If you claim actual costs, the business proportion of the lease is claimable, with a restriction on higher-emission cars.
- Does buying outright let me claim the whole cost?
- Not in one go, unless it qualifies for a full first-year allowance. Otherwise it is a capital allowance written down over years, and only if you are not using the mileage rate.
About the author
Issac Davies, Founder of JoltMile
Issac Davies drives for gig apps in the UK and built JoltMile to show drivers what a shift actually pays once fuel, insurance and tax come off. Every guide here is checked against HMRC and gov.uk guidance, and is information rather than tax advice.
Track this automatically
Expenses: the JoltMile app works this out from your own shifts. Your first 10 shifts are free.
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