How to Keep a Mileage Log for HMRC

What a compliant mileage log contains

HMRC has made clear that where an employee claims vehicle tax relief, mileage logs should include the reason for each journey and its starting and ending postcodes. A log that only shows total miles for the year is unlikely to be accepted if HMRC asks for evidence.

• The date of the journey
• The reason for the journey (which client, which job, which meeting)
• The starting point (postcode or address)
• The destination (postcode or address)
• The number of miles claimed
• The rate applied (55p or 25p)

How long to keep records

Keep your mileage records for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline for that tax year. If you file online for 2025/26, the deadline is 31 January 2027, so keep records until at least January 2032.

Manual vs automatic mileage logs

A manual log — a spreadsheet or notebook — works but is easy to forget and hard to keep accurate. An automatic log built from your calendar appointments captures the date, reason and postcodes without any extra effort, and is exactly what HMRC expects.

MileageCalendar turns each appointment into a mileage record with the customer name, the appointment reason, and the start and end postcodes — the full audit trail HMRC looks for.

Worked example — a single log entry