Last updated: 14 October 2026
What travel expenses can you claim?
You can claim the cost of business journeys: travel to a temporary workplace, to meet clients or suppliers, or between sites. Allowable costs include train, bus, air and taxi fares, mileage, parking, tolls, hotels and reasonable meals while you’re away. Ordinary commuting between home and a permanent workplace isn’t allowable, and neither is private travel.
What you can claim
| Cost | Allowable? |
| Rail, air, bus and taxi fares for business trips | Yes |
| Mileage in your own vehicle (45p, then 25p) | Yes |
| Parking and tolls on business trips | Yes |
| Congestion charge on business trips | Yes |
| Hotels and accommodation away from home | Yes |
| Meals while travelling for business | Yes, if reasonable |
| Commuting to a permanent workplace | No |
| Parking and speeding fines | No |
Permanent vs temporary workplaces
A permanent workplace is somewhere you go regularly for a long period. A temporary workplace is one you go to for a limited time or purpose. For employees, a workplace is not temporary if you expect to work there for more than 24 months and spend 40% or more of your working time there. Travel to a temporary workplace is usually allowable.
Self-employed people
If you work from home and travel to clients, those journeys are generally business travel, as long as home is genuinely your place of business. If you have a single main customer site you travel to every day, HMRC may treat it as your permanent workplace.
Meals and subsistence
Sole traders can claim meals only when travelling away from their normal pattern of work. Employers can pay employees’ subsistence on business trips tax-free using HMRC benchmark scale rates or actual receipts.
Overseas travel
Overseas business travel is allowable on the same principles. If a trip mixes business and holiday, only the business part is allowable, and if the main purpose is a holiday, the travel cost isn’t.
Example
A freelance IT consultant works at three client sites in a month, each for a few days. She drives 900 miles (£405 at 45p), pays £60 in parking and claims a £140 hotel night. Her claim is £605.
Records to keep
Keep receipts, a mileage log and diary notes showing where you went and why. See motoring expense records.
Business trips and longer stays
For a trip of several days, you can claim return travel, accommodation, and reasonable meals for each night away. If you extend the trip for a holiday, claim only the business days and the travel if business was the main purpose. If a client repays your costs, don’t claim them as well. Keep the client’s confirmation.
Merged guidance
This page now also covers employee travel and subsistence questions previously answered on separate pages.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim travel to my own office?
Not if it’s your permanent workplace.
Is travel to a training course allowable?
Usually yes, if the training is deductible.
Can a director claim travel through the company?
Yes, on the same rules as other employees.
Can I claim travel for a site I visit for 6 months?
Usually yes, if it’s temporary under the 24-month rule.
Related: business expenses and mileage rates for electric and hybrid cars.
Talk to Accotax
Want this handled for you? Our team at Accotax can help with travel expense claims. See our small business accountants service, or contact us for a free, no-obligation quote.
This page is general guidance based on HMRC rules for the 2026/27 tax year, checked against gov.uk on 14 October 2026. It is not personal advice, so speak to an accountant about your own situation.
