If you drive, deliver or visit customers, this is probably your busiest expense category. It covers mileage and public transport, but the rules about which journeys count — and which method you use — catch a lot of people out at quarterly update time.
What you can claim
Business mileage — 45p a mile for the first 10,000 miles a year in a car or van, then 25p. Motorcycles 24p, bicycles 20p. Drive 5,000 business miles and you claim £2,250.
Train, bus and taxi fares — for genuine business trips.
Hotels — an overnight stay as part of a business trip.
Parking, tolls and congestion charges — while on business.
Meals on overnight trips — reasonable food costs when you are staying away as part of the job.
Actual running costs instead of mileage — fuel, servicing, insurance, road tax and repairs, apportioned by business use. You must pick one method per vehicle.
Short-term van or car hire — including cover hire while your vehicle is off the road, for the business share.
Breakdown cover — in full for a dedicated business vehicle, or the business share of a family policy.
What you can't claim
Your commute — everyday travel between home and a fixed place of work is never claimable, however early you set off.
Fines — speeding tickets and parking penalties, even on business journeys.
Both methods at once — mileage or running costs; never a mix on the same vehicle.
Travel that is mainly personal — a holiday with a "research" afternoon bolted on.
Ordinary clothing — a suit you only wear for work is still personal clothing.
Common mistakes
Guessed mileage is the biggest problem. "About 400 a month" will not stand up if HMRC asks — you need a log showing the date, destination, reason and miles for each journey. A notes app or a mileage logbook takes seconds per trip and turns your quarterly totals from guesswork into evidence.
The second mistake is claiming all the running costs of a car that is also the family runaround. If the van is 100% business, claim 100%. If the car is 30% business, claim 30% — and if you are using mileage, claim no running costs at all.
Finally, routine trips creep in. Nipping to the bank or the merchant's on the way home feels like work, and sometimes is — but your regular journey to a fixed base never qualifies. Keep a note of where you went and why, and let your accountant judge the borderline cases.
How to record it in your MTD tracker
Select Car, van and travel and either log each journey (date, destination, reason, miles) or log fuel and servicing receipts if you use actual costs. Whichever method you choose, stick with it for the whole tax year so your quarterly totals stay consistent.
Track all your expenses in HMRC's own categories with the MTD Sole Trader Tracker.