When you can use the mileage rates
These rates only apply to employees using a company car.
Use the rates when you either:
- reimburse employees for business travel in their company cars
- need employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel
You must not use these rates in any other circumstances.
Reimburse employees for company car business travel
If the mileage rate you pay is no higher than the advisory fuel rates for the engine size and fuel type of the company car, there will be no taxable profit and no Class 1A National Insurance to pay.
If your cars are more fuel efficient, or if the cost of business travel is higher than the guideline rates, you can use your own rates to reflect your situation.
If you pay rates that are higher than the advisory rates but cannot show the fuel cost per mile is higher, there will be no fuel benefit charge if the mileage payments are only for business travel. Instead, you’ll have to treat any excess as taxable profit and as earnings for Class 1 National Insurance purposes.
Employees to repay the cost of fuel used for private travel
There will be no fuel benefit charge if you correctly record all private travel mileage and use the correct rate (or higher), to work out how much your employees must repay you for fuel used for private travel.
You will not need to use the advisory rates where you can show that employees cover the full cost of private fuel by repaying at a lower mileage rate.
How rates are calculated
HMRC review rates quarterly on:
- 1 March
- 1 June
- 1 September
- 1 December
The mean miles per gallon (MPG) is taken from manufacturers’ information, taking into account annual sales to businesses (Fleet Audits average 2018 to 2020). Where the:
- manufacturer’s MPG figure was produced using the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC) test, it is adjusted down by 15% to take account of real driving conditions
- MPG figure is produced from the Worldwide Harmonized Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) test, introduced in 2018, no adjustment is made
For liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), the MPG used is 20% lower than for petrol due to lower volumetric energy density.
The ‘rates per mile’ calculated in these tables are shown rounded to one decimal place, but the final advisory fuel rates are rounded to the nearest whole penny.
Rates per mile which end in 0.5 are rounded down to the nearest whole penny for the advisory fuel rate when the underlying unrounded figure ends in a number less than 0.5 (for example 0.487).
When the underlying unrounded figure ends in a number greater than 0.5 (for example 0.513) it is rounded up to the nearest whole penny.
The latest petrol and diesel prices are taken from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and the LPG (UK average) is from the Automobile Association website.
The advisory electric rate for fully electric cars is calculated using electrical price data from the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and electrical consumption rates from the Department for Transport. It accounts for annual sales to businesses (Fleet Audits average 2018 to 2020).
The advisory fuel rates are worked out from the fuel prices in these tables.
Petrol
Engine size (cc) | Mean MPG | Applied MPG | Fuel price (per litre) | Fuel price (per gallon) | Rate per mile | Advisory fuel rate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Up to 1400 | 54.2 | 52.7 | 147.0 pence | 668.0 pence | 12.7 pence | 13 pence |
1401 to 2000 | 46.1 | 44.9 | 147.0 pence | 668.0 pence | 14.9 pence | 15 pence |
Over 2000 | 30.8 | 30.0 | 147.0 pence | 668.0 pence | 22.3 pence | 22 pence |
Diesel
Engine size (cc) | Mean MPG | Applied MPG | Fuel price (per litre) | Fuel price (per gallon) | Rate per mile | Advisory fuel rate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Up to 1600 | 65.4 | 63.6 | 151.1 pence | 686.9 pence | 10.8 pence | 11 pence |
1601 to 2000 | 52.9 | 51.3 | 151.1 pence | 686.9 pence | 13.4 pence | 13 pence |
Over 2000 | 43.5 | 42.1 | 151.1 pence | 686.9 pence | 16.3 pence | 16 pence |
LPG
Engine size (cc) | Mean MPG | Applied MPG | Fuel price (per litre) | Fuel price (per gallon) | Rate per mile | Advisory fuel rate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Up to 1400 | 43.3 | 42.2 | 78.2 pence | 355.5 pence | 8.4 pence | 8 pence |
1401 to 2000 | 36.9 | 35.9 | 78.2 pence | 355.5 pence | 9.9 pence | 10 pence |
Over 2000 | 24.7 | 24.0 | 78.2 pence | 355.5 pence | 14.8 pence | 15 pence |
Rates
The advisory electricity rate for fully electric cars is 5 pence per mile.
Hybrid cars are treated as either petrol or diesel cars for advisory fuel rates.
The advisory fuel rates for petrol, LPG and diesel cars are shown in these tables.
From 1 March 2022
You can use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 13 pence | 8 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 15 pence | 10 pence |
Over 2000cc | 22 pence | 15 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 11 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 13 pence |
Over 2000cc | 16 pence |
From 1 December 2021 to 28 February 2022
You can use the previous rates for up to 1 month from the date the new rates apply.
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 13 pence | 9 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 15 pence | 10 pence |
Over 2000cc | 22 pence | 15 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 11 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 13 pence |
Over 2000cc | 16 pence |
From 1 September 2021 to 30 November 2021
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 12 pence | 7 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 14 pence | 8 pence |
Over 2000cc | 20 pence | 12 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 10 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 12 pence |
Over 2000cc | 15 pence |
From 1 June 2021 to 31 August 2021
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 11 pence | 8 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 13 pence | 9 pence |
Over 2000cc | 19 pence | 14 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 9 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 11 pence |
Over 2000cc | 13 pence |
1 March 2021 to 31 May 2021
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 10 pence | 7 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 12 pence | 8 pence |
Over 2000cc | 18 pence | 12 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 9 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 11 pence |
Over 2000cc | 12 pence |
1 December 2020 to 28 February 2021
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 10 pence | 7 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 11 pence | 8 pence |
Over 2000cc | 17 pence | 12 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 8 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 10 pence |
Over 2000cc | 12 pence |
1 September 2020 to 30 November 2020
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 10 pence | 7 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 12 pence | 8 pence |
Over 2000cc | 17 pence | 12 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 8 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 10 pence |
Over 2000cc | 12 pence |
1 June 2020 to 31 August 2020
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 10 pence | 6 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 12 pence | 8 pence |
Over 2000cc | 17 pence | 11 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 8 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 9 pence |
Over 2000cc | 12 pence |
1 March 2020 to 31 May 2020
Engine size | Petrol — rate per mile | LPG — rate per mile |
---|---|---|
1400cc or less | 12 pence | 8 pence |
1401cc to 2000cc | 14 pence | 10 pence |
Over 2000cc | 20 pence | 14 pence |
Engine size | Diesel — rate per mile |
---|---|
1600cc or less | 9 pence |
1601cc to 2000cc | 11 pence |
Over 2000cc | 13 pence |