Claiming business travel expenses through your limited company sounds straightforward enough, until you start wondering what actually counts. A train to a client meeting is fairly clear, but what about driving from home to a client's office? A hotel for a two-day project? Parking at a conference? Or visiting the same client every Monday for two years?

The good news is that many genuine business journeys can be paid for by your Limited Company. The tricky bit is knowing where HMRC draws the line between business travel and ordinary commuting. 

Here’s what you need to know, including some real-life examples of the journeys you can (and can’t) usually claim. 

What travel can I claim through my Limited Company?

Your travel expenses are generally allowed as a business expense where all of the following conditions apply:

1. You’re responsible for paying the travel costs
2. The travel you’re undertaking is necessary for your work, i.e. your attendance at the place you’re travelling to is mandatory
3. The travel shouldn’t be ‘ordinary commuting’. HMRC defines a commute as the journey you make between your home and permanent workplace.

A permanent workplace is defined as somewhere you attend regularly for the performance of your duties. For example, if you work in the same office, nine-to-five, Monday to Friday, that would generally be your permanent workplace.

A temporary workplace is different. This is somewhere you attend to perform a task of limited duration or for another temporary purpose. Travel to a temporary workplace isn’t treated as ordinary commuting, so it can potentially qualify for tax relief.

Importantly, a valid business journey doesn’t have to be from one workplace to another. If you’re travelling from home to a temporary workplace for work, that journey can potentially qualify too. 

However, things can get more complicated if you regularly travel to the same place. HMRC also has rules around patterns of travel, the expected duration of your work and the 24-month rule.

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Here are some exceptions:

The 24 month rule

A workplace will be regarded as permanent if the following apply:

• You’ve spent more than 40% of your total working time at this same location

AND

• You’ve worked there continuously for 24 months

OR

• You intend to be at the workplace for more than 24 months

OR

• You work there for all, or almost all, of the period for which you were an employee or director of your limited company at a single workplace.

A workplace can be a geographical area, even if you perform work there for different clients. Please see HMRC’s guidance on the matter.

If you do have a permanent workplace, then any travel, rent and subsistence expenses for that location and journey won’t be allowable as a business expense, because the travel would be considered ordinary commuting.

The workplace becomes permanent from the moment that you show intent to remain there for more than 24 months. You can claim for any travel to the temporary workplace up until the point of forming this intention.

Forming the intention might be implied by signing a contract, for instance.

What does the 24-month rule look like in practice?

This is where the rule surrounding travel claims for a Limited Company can get confusing. 

Say you’re a Contractor working through your Limited Company. You take on a 12-month project with a client and spend three days a week working from their office. At the start of the contract, you reasonably expect the project to last 12-months.

Your client then offers you an 18-month extension. You now expect to be working at the same workplace for 30 months in total. If you’re spending more than 40% of your working time there, the workplace may become permanent from the point that you form the expectation.

So the 24-month rule isn’t simply a countdown from the first day you arrive at a workplace, what you expect to happen matters too. This is particularly important for Contractors and Consultants, where contracts can be extended several times.

Our insight:

The 24-month rule catches people out because they often think they can claim right up until they’ve physically been somewhere for two years. It’s really important to look at what you expect to happen with the contract, particularly when an extension is agreed. 
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Can I claim traveling from home to a client?

Potentially, yes. If you normally work from home and travel to a temporary workplace to carry out work, the journey could qualify as business travel. Therefore making it claimable. 

For example, imagine you’re a freelance designer working through your Limited Company. Most of your work is done from home, but you’ve been hired to spend two days a week at a client’s office for a six-month project.

The journey from your home to that client’s office could potentially be an allowable business journey. However, if the six-month project becomes an ongoing arrangement and you expect to continue working there for more than 24-months, the position can change. 

Simply put, you can’t always assume that travelling to a client is automatically claimable, it’s the circumstances and your work there that often make a huge difference.

What if I visit the same client regularly?

This is another area where claiming for your travel expenses as a Limited Company is not very straightforward.  For example, if you work from home most of the time but visit a particular client every Monday, it can be tempting to think that because it’s not your office you can claim mileage.

However, HMRC considers the nature of the workplace, the pattern of your attendance and how long you expect to work there when deciding whether it's temporary or permanent.

So if you're regularly travelling to the same client, don't just look at whether you have a formal office there. Look at the wider working arrangement too.

Can I claim mileage through my Limited Company?

If you're using your own car or van for qualifying business journeys, your company can generally reimburse you using HMRC's approved mileage rates.

For 2026/27, the rates are:

• 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car or van
• 25p per mile for each business mile over 10,000
• 24p per mile for motorcycles
• 20p per mile for bicycles

There's also a 5p per passenger per business mile rate when carrying fellow employees in a car or van on a qualifying work journey. Remember, these rates apply to qualifying business mileage, not every mile you drive.

Here's an example:

Let's say you drive 2,000 qualifying business miles during the 2026/27 tax year.

At 55p per mile:

2,000 × £0.55 = £1,100

Your company could therefore reimburse you £1,100 for those qualifying business miles. Curious how much your business mileage could add up to? Use our mileage tax calculator to get an estimate based on your own travel.
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What other travel expenses can I claim?

Mileage isn't the only travel expense your Limited Company may be able to cover. Depending on the circumstances, you may also be able to claim:

Train and public transport

The cost of travelling by train, bus or other public transport can potentially be claimed when you're making a qualifying business journey. For example, if you travel by train to a temporary client workplace for a business meeting, that journey may qualify.

Taxis

A taxi or private hire journey can potentially be an allowable expense when you're travelling for a qualifying business purpose. So, yes, that taxi to the client meeting could potentially count. The important thing is why you're taking the journey, not whether you've booked a taxi, train or bus.

Parking

Parking costs associated with qualifying business journeys can potentially be claimed too. Keep your receipt or other record of the expense so you've got evidence of what you've paid.

Tolls and other travel costs

Tolls and similar costs incurred during qualifying business travel may also be allowable.

Hotels and overnight stays

If your work means you need to stay away from home overnight, accommodation can potentially be claimed where it's connected to qualifying business travel.

For example, if you're travelling to another city for a two-day client project and need to stay overnight, the hotel could potentially be an allowable business expense.

Food while travelling

Subsistence and meals have their own rules, so don't assume that every meal you eat away from home automatically qualifies. The circumstances of the trip matter, including whether the meal is part of qualifying business travel. You can find out more about whether you can claim food as a business expense in our article "Can I claim my lunch as a business expense?".
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What records should I keep?

If you're claiming travel expenses, it's a good idea to keep clear records of what you've spent and why.

For mileage, keep track of things like:

• Date of the journey.
• Starting point.
• Destination.
• Number of business miles.
• Reason for the journey.
• Relevant details about the client or workplace.

For train tickets, parking, hotels and other expenses, keep your receipts or other evidence of the cost. The more straightforward your records are, the easier it is to show that the expense was genuinely business-related

Trouble recording expenses?

Check out our mileage expenses spreadsheet – it’s a great way to stay organised.

If you’re a Crunch client then you may like to view our Help Centre article on how to record travel expenses in the Crunch App.