Mileage & Van

Can I Claim My Van as a Self Employed Builder UK 2026

Updated July 2026 · 8 min read · BuilderLog Team

Your van is probably the most expensive thing in your building business. How you claim for it on your tax return makes a real difference to your tax bill.

Method 1: Simplified mileage (55p per mile)

Claim 55p per business mile for the first 10,000, then 25p after. Covers everything — fuel, insurance, MOT, servicing, depreciation. No receipts needed for van costs, just a mileage log.

Method 2: Actual costs

Add up everything you spend on the van — fuel, insurance, tax, MOT, repairs, tyres — and claim the business-use proportion. You can also claim capital allowances on the purchase price.

Which saves more? Real example

The builder: 10,000 business miles (13,000 total). Van costs: fuel £3,000, insurance £1,400, tax £290, MOT £55, servicing £500, repairs £400, tyres £300.

Method	Calculation	Deduction
Simplified mileage	10,000 × 55p	£5,500
Actual costs	£5,945 total × 77% business	£4,578

Simplified mileage wins by nearly £1,000 with far less paperwork.

Van finance

HP: Under actual costs, claim capital allowances on full price from day one, plus interest portion of payments. Under simplified mileage, 55p covers everything.

Leasing: Under actual costs, claim lease payments as expenses. Under simplified mileage, 55p covers everything.

What about a second vehicle?

If you use a car for some business journeys (quotes, meetings) and a van for site work, you can choose a different method for each vehicle. Your van might use simplified mileage while your car uses actual costs, or vice versa. Each vehicle is independent.

What about electric vans?

The simplified mileage rate is the same regardless of fuel type — 55p per mile whether you drive a diesel Transit or an electric van. Under actual costs, electric vans have lower running costs (cheaper per mile to charge than to fuel) but may have higher purchase prices, so the capital allowances calculation is different.

The 100% first-year allowance for zero-emission vehicles is still available, meaning you can claim the full purchase price of an electric van against your profits in the year you buy it (under actual costs method only).

Buying vs leasing

Under simplified mileage, it makes no difference how you acquired the van — the 55p covers everything regardless. Under actual costs, buying gives you capital allowances while leasing gives you deductible lease payments. Which is better depends on your cash flow and tax position — talk to an accountant if you’re deciding between the two.

Record keeping

Under simplified mileage: keep a mileage log with date, journey, purpose and miles for every business trip. No van cost receipts needed.

Under actual costs: keep every receipt for fuel, insurance, tax, MOT, repairs, tyres, and breakdown cover. Plus a mileage log to calculate the business-use percentage.

BuilderLog handles the simplified mileage method — log miles against each job and the deduction is calculated automatically at the current HMRC rate.

What about van insurance?

Under simplified mileage, van insurance is already covered by the 55p rate. You cannot claim it separately.

Under actual costs, van insurance is a claimable expense — but only the business-use proportion. If your van is 80% business use, you claim 80% of the insurance premium.

Tool insurance is different. If you have a separate tool insurance policy (not bundled with your van insurance), this is always claimable as a standalone business expense regardless of which mileage method you use.

Breakdown cover and MOT

Under simplified mileage: covered by the 55p rate. Cannot claim separately.

Under actual costs: both are claimable at your business-use proportion. An MOT costing £55 with 80% business use = £44 claimable.

When actual costs beat simplified mileage

Actual costs tend to win when your van costs are unusually high (expensive repairs, high insurance premiums), your business-use percentage is very high (90%+), you do fewer than 8,000 business miles per year (the 55p rate gives less in total), or you bought an expensive van and can claim significant capital allowances in year one.

For most builders with average van costs and 8,000–12,000 business miles, simplified mileage gives a comparable or better deduction with dramatically less paperwork.