Free UK Mileage Log Template

Download the mileage log template by clicking the link below the thumbnail and see instructions on filling out the mileage log at the end of this article. Logging business mileage and travel expenses is an important part of keeping up-to-date with overall business expenses.

Mileage tracking is only one aspect of bookkeeping, a critical process which extends far beyond tracking business miles – read more about bookkeeping in our explainer article.

Whether you’re a sole trader, contractor or small business owner, keeping an accurate, up-to-date mileage log will save you both time and money.

As of writing, the standard mileage deduction rate in the UK is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile thereafter for cars and vans. It does not matter if you use multiple vehicles in a year – the miles travelled are calculated together. This differs only slightly for bikes and motorcycles.

In practice this means that, for every mile you travel in your work, you will save 45p in tax. If you have a work vehicle and travel 20,000 miles per year you would do the following equation:

10,000 x 0.45 = 4,500
10,000 x 0.25 = 2,500
4,500 + 2,500 =  £7000

If you’re self-employed or a small business owner then you could save a lot of money on your next tax return by properly managing your bookkeeping. Let this be proof that it really pays to track your business miles, keep your receipts and make accurate records of all business trips.

Just remember to take an odometer reading each time you drive somewhere and note down the readings in your new mileage log. When you’ve counted the total miles for the year you can do a simple equation to find out how much you’ll save in tax next time HMRC come knocking.

Table of Contents

Mileage Log in Excel

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Download: Excel

Management business finances with Zervant

Create Free Account

Download: Excel

This mileage log Excel file contains 2 tabs: one blank and the other filled-in with some example details. The example mileage log should give you enough context to fill in the blank version.

For further instructions on filling out the template, please check out the bullet points at the end of this article.

Do you need a printable mileage log?

Good news, the mileage log template fits neatly onto one side of A4. Simply go to your printing options, select the first page and hit print:

You’ll get a complete, comprehensive record of all your business travel neatly packed onto one side of A4.

Is this mileage log template for employers too?

If you’re an employer, then your employees may use their own vehicles for business use – in which case you will have to keep a record of their travel in order to calculate how much you will pay them in Mileage Allowance Payments.

Whilst MAPs are reimbursed at the standard rates noted earlier, anything above the approved amount will require you to fill out a P11D form in order to report this payment to HMRC. This will be added to the employees pay and taxed at the appropriate rate.

Download and copy this template for each employee. See the government guidelines on employees using their own vehicles.

Instructions for using our mileage log

• Fill in the date, time and the location travelled to and from.
• Take an odometer reading at the start and at the end of your trip.
• Put a cross in the “R” column if you make a return journey. If not, leave this blank.
• Add a small description of the journey (this is helpful if you need to come back to this later on).
• This template automatically takes standard mileage rates into account – 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile for anything over that.

The mileage log will automatically start the count for your next journey at the same number as the end-mileage for the previous one. This basically assumes that the vehicle you are logging the mileage for is only used for business. You can easily override this by entering the start mileage for any journey manually.

Learn more about how to manage mileage and expenses and about taxation in the UK. You can save a lot of money by properly keeping your books up-to-date.

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