Using your private car for business purposes

Current Revenue-approved Civil Service mileage rates

The following amounts are euros per kilometre, not cents. They apply to standard car mileage claims; motorcycles and bicycles have separate schedules.

Fully electric cars use the middle column, equivalent to 1,201–1,500 cc. Hybrids use their combustion-engine category, not the electric-car category. Certain Civil Service journeys, such as approved courses or conferences, are subject to reduced rates rather than this standard table.

Who can receive tax-free mileage reimbursement?

An employer can reimburse employees who necessarily incur travel expenses while carrying out their employment duties. The employer may use the Civil Service schedule, lower rates, or vouched actual travel costs. The schedule does not require every private employer to pay the maximum amount: agree the reimbursement arrangement with your employer.

Travel between workplaces or to a temporary work location can qualify. Ordinary travel between home and your normal workplace is private commuting. For travel to a temporary workplace, Revenue uses the shorter of the distance from home and the distance from the normal workplace to that location.

A fixed monthly car allowance is not automatically tax-free. Tax-free treatment depends on qualifying expenses and the relevant reimbursement conditions, not simply on calling a payment “mileage”.

How to calculate a claim across mileage bands

Apply each rate only to the kilometres within its band. Do not apply the final band reached to every kilometre travelled during the year.

For example, an employee with a 1,400 cc car has already recorded 1,400 qualifying business km this calendar year. Their next approved claim is for 200 km:

• The first 100 km complete Band 1: 100 × €0.4340 = €43.40.
• The next 100 km fall in Band 2: 100 × €0.7918 = €79.18.
• Total reimbursement: €122.58, if the employer uses the standard Civil Service rates and the journeys qualify.

Only qualifying business kilometres count towards these bands. The car's total annual mileage, including private driving, is not the figure to use.

What to include in your mileage log

For each claim, keep the employee's name and address, journey date, purpose, starting point, destination, finishing point, distance and basis of reimbursement. Recording the vehicle category and year-to-date business kilometres also makes the applicable rate easier to check.

Employers must retain these records for six years after the end of the relevant tax year. Receipts must be retained when actual expenses are reimbursed. Employers also have Revenue reporting obligations for untaxed travel and subsistence payments; keeping a mileage log does not replace that reporting.

Are these rates a self-employed tax deduction?

The employee reimbursement table is not a flat-rate deduction for a sole trader's own driving. A self-employed person generally claims the allowable business portion of actual vehicle expenses and keeps records to separate business and private use. Capital allowances, where available, are considered separately from running costs.

An employee claiming tax relief personally must also distinguish that claim from an employer's tax-free reimbursement. Do not claim the same expense twice.

Track business mileage with Motolog

Motolog helps you record journeys automatically, separate business and private trips, and prepare mileage reports. It supports automatic official rates where available and custom rates for an employer's own policy. Check the applicable vehicle category, annual distance band and claim rules before submitting your report.

See how Motolog's automatic mileage tracker works. You can also compare plans and pricing.