Volunteer mileage rate over 10,000 miles rises to 35p from April 2027

In May, the volunteer mileage rate went up for the first time since 2011, from 45p to 55p a mile. The higher-mileage rate was left at 25p. The Autumn Budget has now dealt with that too.

From 6 April 2027, the tax-free rate for miles driven over 10,000 in a tax year will rise from 25p to 35p. The government has also confirmed that the 55p rate for the first 10,000 miles is now permanent.

What is changing with Mileage Expenses?

From 6 April 2027, cars and vans can be paid up to 35p a mile, tax-free, for every mile over 10,000.

Does the new rate apply to volunteers?

Yes. HMRC applies the same approved mileage rates to volunteer drivers.

Volunteers are not employees, but HMRC’s volunteer drivers’ guidance uses the same figures. If you pay at or below the approved rate, you are simply covering costs. There is no tax for the volunteer and nothing for the charity to report.

Who will notice the difference?

Mainly your highest-mileage drivers, who are often the ones your service depends on.

Most volunteers never get near 10,000 miles a year. The ones who do are usually doing hospital runs, community transport or rural visiting schemes, several days a week.

There is a catch many charities miss. The 10,000-mile threshold counts every mile a volunteer drives for all the organisations they help, added together. A volunteer who drives for you and for another local charity will reach the lower rate sooner than your records suggest.

Here is what the change means for a volunteer who drives 12,000 miles in 2027/28:

• First 10,000 miles at 55p: £5,500
• Next 2,000 miles at 35p: £700, up from £500 at today’s rate

That is £200 more they can be paid back, tax-free.

What should charities do now?

Keep paying 25p over 10,000 miles until 5 April 2027, then switch to 35p.

Before April:

• Update your volunteer expenses policy and claim forms with the new rate.
• Track each volunteer’s miles across the tax year, not claim by claim.
• Ask your regular drivers whether they also drive for other organisations.
• Build the extra 10p a mile into next year’s budget for your high-mileage drivers.

The 55p rise helped every volunteer driver. This one helps a smaller group, but it matters. These are the people driving thousands of miles to get someone to chemotherapy or to deliver food to someone who can’t get out. For years they have been reimbursed at a rate that hasn’t kept up with what it costs to run a car. When volunteering costs people money, they stop doing it, checkout this white paper we wrote on Why Volunteers Quit. 35p still won’t cover every penny, but it is a fairer deal.

Photo by George Hiles on Unsplash