# Can I claim Mileage / Motor Expenses as a business expense in Ireland?

**Yes, fully claimable.** Yes, Irish employers can pay employees Civil Service mileage rates tax-free for business journeys. Sole traders and companies can also claim actual motor running costs apportioned for business use.

Typical amount: 41.80 cent per km for the first 1,500km at the lowest engine band, rising to 72.64 cent per km for 1,501km to 5,500km. A director who drives 6,000 business km in a 1,200cc car can be paid about €3,690 tax-free.

## What Revenue (Revenue Commissioners) says

Revenue accepts the Civil Service mileage rates as the maximum tax-free amount paid to employees using their own car. Bands (effective 1 September 2022): up to 1,200cc Band 1 41.80c/km (first 1,500km) etc. Sole traders can alternatively claim actual costs (fuel, insurance, tax, repairs, depreciation) apportioned by business %. The full Civil Service motor travel table in cent per km, in force since 1 September 2022, has four distance bands. Up to 1,200cc: 41.80 (up to 1,500km), 72.64 (1,501 to 5,500km), 31.78 (5,501 to 25,000km), 20.56 (25,001km and over). 1,201cc to 1,500cc: 43.40, 79.18, 31.79, 23.85. 1,501cc and over: 51.82, 90.63, 39.22, 25.87. Motorcycles and bicycles have their own rates, and the bicycle rate is 8 cent per km. The employee must bear the cost of the journey, and journeys between home and a normal place of work cannot be reimbursed tax-free.

## When you can claim

- Civil Service mileage rates paid by employer (most common, tax-free)
- Actual costs (fuel, insurance, tax, services) apportioned by business mileage
- Capital allowance on company car (12.5% per year, capped at €24,000 for cars by emissions)
- Tolls and parking on business journeys

## When you cannot claim

- Commuting from home to a regular workplace
- Fines and parking penalties
- Personal use portion of any costs
- Mileage payments above Civil Service rates (excess is taxable)
- Reimbursement of ordinary commuting between home and the normal workplace, which Revenue treats as private travel
- Car capital allowances on the part of a car's cost above the €24,000 limit that applies to cars (commercial vehicles such as vans built for carrying goods are not restricted)

## Good to know

**Pro tip:** Keep a mileage log with date, start and end point, purpose and km. Revenue audits typically focus on this. Pay the band that matches the engine size and the cumulative business km for the year, because the rate changes as the km build up.

Source: https://www.revenue.ie/en/employing-people/employee-expenses/travel-and-subsistence/civil-service-rates/index.aspx

## Related expenses

- [Subsistence (Meals & Accommodation)](https://accounts-os.com/ie/expenses/subsistence-ireland)
- [Use of Home (Sole Trader)](https://accounts-os.com/ie/expenses/use-of-home-ireland)
- [Professional Fees (Accountants, Solicitors)](https://accounts-os.com/ie/expenses/professional-fees-ireland)