A PAYE driver using their own vehicle can have a very different tax position from a driver using an employer-owned van. The location where you report for work also affects whether travel is business travel or ordinary commuting.
This page is for employed drivers. Self-employed couriers and delivery drivers follow separate business-expense rules.
What tax relief can delivery drivers claim?
Own-vehicle business mileage
Qualifying delivery journeys in a personally owned or leased vehicle can potentially support Mileage Allowance Relief.
Parking and road tolls
Necessary journey-specific parking, tolls and congestion charges can potentially qualify where the underlying journey is business travel.
Home to first delivery
This depends on whether the job is genuinely itinerant and whether you have a permanent depot or other workplace.
Home to permanent depot
Regular travel from home to a permanent depot is ordinarily commuting and does not qualify.
Uniform laundry
A recognisable work uniform can potentially qualify where you personally bear eligible cleaning, repair or replacement costs.
Business mobile calls
The actual additional cost of necessary business calls can potentially qualify where you genuinely incur that cost.
What mileage tax relief can delivery drivers claim?
If you use your own car, van, motorcycle or bicycle for qualifying employment business travel, HMRC's approved mileage rates can apply.
First 10,000 qualifying business miles.
Each qualifying mile above 10,000.
Approved business mileage rate.
Approved business mileage rate.
HMRC's approved mileage amount represents the general cost of owning and running your own vehicle, so you cannot also claim separate employee relief for fuel, MOTs, vehicle tax or repairs covered by that mileage rate.
Mileage Allowance Relief may apply to the shortfall
If your employer pays less than HMRC's approved amount for genuinely qualifying business mileage, you may be able to obtain Income Tax relief on the difference.
See our PAYE Mileage Tax Relief Guide .
Are delivery-route miles business travel?
Mileage driven while actually performing your delivery duties will normally be the clearest category of business travel.
Where the depot is your workplace and you leave it to carry out deliveries, the onward journey is normally part of performing your duties.
Travel between delivery stops in performing the same employment duties can normally qualify as business travel.
Returning to the depot as part of the working route can normally be employment business travel.
If the depot is your permanent workplace, the journey home is ordinary commuting.
Can a delivery driver claim travel from home to the depot?
Normally not where the depot is a permanent workplace.
HMRC treats a place where an employee regularly attends and is routinely allocated work as a permanent workplace. A delivery depot can therefore be a permanent workplace even though most of the working day is spent driving elsewhere.
If you regularly attend the depot to collect the vehicle, parcels, delivery manifests or instructions, home-to-depot travel can be ordinary commuting even though your later delivery mileage qualifies.
What if you start deliveries directly from home?
The position can be different where driving from place to place is an inherent part of the employment and the employee genuinely holds a travelling appointment.
HMRC says an employee with a genuine travelling appointment may be travelling in performance of their duties from the moment they leave home. However, whether someone is genuinely itinerant is a question of fact.
No permanent depot does not automatically guarantee relief
HMRC considers the actual work pattern: whether multiple locations are visited, whether travelling itself forms part of the duties and whether the employee regularly reports to a fixed workplace.
Own vehicle vs employer vehicle
Your own vehicle
HMRC's approved mileage system can apply to qualifying business travel. You compare the approved amount with mileage payments received from your employer.
Employer-owned vehicle
You do not use the 55p own-vehicle calculation for an employer van or company vehicle. Different fuel and company-vehicle rules apply.
The Approved Mileage Allowance Payment system is based on an employee using their own qualifying vehicle. A company van or company car follows different rules.
Can delivery drivers claim parking and tolls?
Potentially, where the parking, toll or congestion charge arises as part of a qualifying business journey and you personally bear the cost.
These are journey-specific expenses and can be considered separately from your own-vehicle mileage amount.
Business parking
Necessary parking while making a qualifying delivery can potentially qualify where it is not reimbursed.
Road tolls
Tolls incurred on qualifying delivery journeys can potentially be treated separately from mileage.
Congestion charges
A congestion charge incurred as part of a qualifying business journey can potentially qualify.
Parking penalties
A parking fine is not treated as an ordinary parking fee and should not be included as though it were normal business parking.
See our Parking & Travel Expenses Guide .
Can delivery drivers claim uniform tax relief?
A driver may potentially claim qualifying costs of cleaning, repairing or replacing a recognisable uniform or specialist work clothing where the employee personally bears the cost.
HMRC does not allow relief for ordinary everyday clothing, even if the employer requires a particular colour or style.
Clothing that clearly identifies you with an occupation or employer can potentially satisfy the uniform test. Plain trousers, ordinary trainers or an unbranded jacket do not become deductible simply because you use them only for deliveries.
HMRC also says employees cannot claim PPE tax relief where the employer should provide or reimburse required protective equipment.
See our Uniform Tax Relief Guide .
Can delivery drivers claim mobile phone costs?
Potentially, but this is much narrower than claiming a percentage of your whole mobile bill.
HMRC allows a deduction for the actual cost necessarily incurred on business calls made from an employee's own mobile phone.
No additional call cost can mean no employee deduction
If your monthly tariff already includes the calls and making the delivery calls creates no additional cost, HMRC's guidance says there may be no call expense to deduct.
Where business calls generate an identifiable additional charge, the actual qualifying business element can potentially be deductible.
The phone may be essential for delivery apps, customer calls or route updates, but necessity does not by itself mean the full personal tariff is an allowable employee expense.
What about fuel receipts?
If you use your own vehicle and claim under HMRC's approved mileage system, the mileage rate already represents fuel and normal vehicle running costs.
You therefore do not add your petrol, diesel, electricity, servicing, MOT or repair bills on top of the approved mileage amount.
Delivery driver mileage example
5,000 qualifying miles in your own van
Assume a PAYE delivery driver uses their own van for 5,000 genuinely qualifying business miles in 2026/27 and receives 30p per mile from their employer.
At an illustrative 20% Income Tax rate, £1,250 of Mileage Allowance Relief would represent £250 of Income Tax relief.
The £1,250 shortfall is not a £1,250 cash refund. The tax saving depends on the employee's tax position.
What records should delivery drivers keep?
- Date of each qualifying journey.
- Reason for the journey.
- Start and end postcodes.
- Business mileage.
- Employer mileage payments.
- Parking and road-toll receipts.
- Uniform expense evidence where actual costs are claimed.
- Evidence of additional business phone-call charges.
HMRC now requires detailed mileage logs with claims
HMRC's current vehicle-expense guidance says mileage logs should include the reason for every journey and the start and end postcodes.
How does a delivery driver claim tax relief?
Identify the vehicle
Separate own-vehicle mileage from employer vehicle travel.
Separate journeys
Remove ordinary commuting and private mileage.
Check reimbursements
Record mileage and other expenses your employer already paid.
Submit correctly
Use HMRC's employee expense route or Self Assessment where applicable.
HMRC currently allows eligible own-vehicle mileage claims for the current tax year and the previous four tax years. Use the mileage rate that applied in each particular year.
Reviewed & Updated
18 August 2026
2026/27
PAYE profession guide
HMRC / GOV.UK
Common Delivery Driver Tax Relief Questions
Can delivery drivers claim mileage?
Yes, where you use your own vehicle for qualifying employment business travel. Employer mileage payments must be taken into account.
What is the mileage rate for 2026/27?
For cars and vans the approved rate is 55p for the first 10,000 qualifying business miles and 25p thereafter.
Can I claim mileage from home to the depot?
Normally not where the depot is your permanent workplace. That journey is generally ordinary commuting.
Can I claim from home to my first delivery?
It depends on your work pattern. A genuine travelling appointment can have different treatment, but this should not be assumed for every driver.
Can I claim 55p if I drive a company van?
No. The 55p own-vehicle rate is not used for an employer-owned company vehicle.
Can delivery drivers claim parking?
Necessary parking attached to a qualifying business journey can potentially qualify separately from mileage.
Can delivery drivers claim uniform cleaning?
Potentially, where the clothing is a qualifying uniform and you personally bear the eligible cleaning, repair or replacement cost.
Can I claim my mobile phone bill?
Not automatically. HMRC can allow the actual additional cost of necessary business calls, but where the calls create no additional cost there may be no deduction.
Official HMRC Sources
This guide is based on current HMRC mileage, employment travel, uniform and telephone expense rules.
Drive for work and pay some expenses yourself?
Go Tax Refunds can help review your qualifying business mileage, employer mileage payments and other PAYE delivery expenses to identify whether tax relief may apply.
