Petition · past parliament · HM Treasury
Increase the HMRC Mileage Rate from 45p/mile to 60p/mile
Closed
41,589 signatures
What the petition asks
The HMRC mileage rate for reimbursing the use of private cars (e.g. for employees but also volunteers) has been fixed at 45p/mile (up to 10,000 miles) since 2011. The lack of any increase since then is a serious disincentive to volunteer drivers particularly as fuel has gone up again recently.
Since 2011, inflation has gone up by over 25%; fuel has increased by over 20% over the last 5 years. Volunteer car drivers who did so much during Covid, and still do, to get people to healthcare settings, e.g. hospitals, vaccination centres, and to deliver shopping and prescriptions, are not being compensated fairly for the use of their cars. Consequently charities are struggling to recruit new volunteer drivers. These drivers help free up hospital beds and keep people independent and in their own homes.
Government response · 11 October 2022
The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment rate is advisory and is 45p/mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p thereafter. As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keep the AMAP rate under review.
The Government sets the Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rates to minimise administrative burdens.
The current AMAP rates allow employees to claim up to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence for each subsequent mile, tax free, if they use their private car or van for business purposes. An additional 5 pence per mile may also be claimed for every passenger transported.
The AMAP rate is intended to create administrative simplicity by using an average, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, depreciation, servicing, insurance, and Vehicle Excise Duty. As it is an average, the rate is necessarily more appropriate for some drivers than others.
Employers are not required to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse a different amount that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. If an employee is paid less than the AMAP rate, they can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. However, where payments exceed the relevant AMAP rate, there will be an Income Tax and National Insurance charge on the difference.
At Spring Statement 2022 in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the government announced a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre. This cut represents savings for households and businesses worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
HM Treasury
This is a corrected response. The Government requested to update the response to rectify inaccuracies in the original response, to which the Petitions Committee agreed.
You can find the original response, with details of the inaccuracies in it, towards the bottom of the petition page.
The current AMAP rates allow employees to claim up to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25 pence for each subsequent mile, tax free, if they use their private car or van for business purposes. An additional 5 pence per mile may also be claimed for every passenger transported.
The AMAP rate is intended to create administrative simplicity by using an average, which reflects vehicle running costs including fuel, depreciation, servicing, insurance, and Vehicle Excise Duty. As it is an average, the rate is necessarily more appropriate for some drivers than others.
Employers are not required to use the AMAP rates. Instead, they can agree to reimburse a different amount that better reflects their employees’ circumstances. If an employee is paid less than the AMAP rate, they can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the shortfall. However, where payments exceed the relevant AMAP rate, there will be an Income Tax and National Insurance charge on the difference.
At Spring Statement 2022 in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the government announced a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre. This cut represents savings for households and businesses worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23.
As with all taxes and allowances, the Government keeps the AMAP rate under review.
HM Treasury
This is a corrected response. The Government requested to update the response to rectify inaccuracies in the original response, to which the Petitions Committee agreed.
You can find the original response, with details of the inaccuracies in it, towards the bottom of the petition page.
Debate in Parliament
MPs debated this petition on 3 July 2023.
Timeline
| 18 Feb 2022 | Petition opened for signatures |
| 14 Jun 2022 | Passed 10,000 signatures, requiring a government response |
| 20 Jul 2022 | Government responded |
| 18 Aug 2022 | Closed to new signatures |
| 3 Jul 2023 | Debated in Parliament |
Key facts
Signatures
41,589
Status
Closed
Department
HM Treasury
Opened
18 Feb 2022
Closed
18 Aug 2022
Response
11 Oct 2022
Debated
3 Jul 2023
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 15 Jul 2026.