Make Me A Plan is delighted to welcome the government's announcement that the HMRC Approved Mileage Allowance Payment (AMAP) rate will increase for the first time since 2011 - a victory for the thousands of workers across the UK who have long campaigned for this long-overdue change.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves confirmed the increase in a speech to the House of Commons on 21 May 2026, raising the tax-free mileage rate for cars and vans from 45p to 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles travelled in a tax year. The new rate has been backdated to apply from 6 April 2026.

Make Me A Plan was proud to publicly back the campaign last month, joining trade unions including Unison in calling for reform. MoneySavingExpert founder Martin Lewis described the increase as "really important" - noting that it had been frozen at 45p since 2011 and that the change would be significant for people who drive as part of their work.

The practical impact is meaningful. Someone travelling 6,000 business miles a year will now be able to claim £3,300 in mileage expenses instead of £2,700 - an additional £600. For care workers and others in high-mileage roles, the difference over a full year is substantial.

However, Make Me A Plan is also urging employers not to rest on the government's announcement alone. Employers who currently reimburse at the previous 45p rate should act now to update their expense systems and processes, and employees who have already been reimbursed at the lower rate since 6 April 2026 may be entitled to receive the shortfall. 

Whilst Make Me A Plan celebrates this victory, it also recognises there is further to go. The 55p figure remains below the 63p that professional bodies including the ATT and the RAC had argued reflected the true like-for-like cost of running a small car for business purposes. The rate for mileage above 10,000 miles remains frozen at 25p - a rate that has been unchanged since 2001 and which disproportionately affects the highest-mileage workers, many of whom are in caring and support roles.

Make Me A Plan will continue to champion fair conditions for working people and will keep monitoring developments ahead of the next Budget, when the government has indicated rates will be reviewed again