Form P87: claiming tax relief on employment expenses in 2026/27

P87 is the form an employee uses to claim tax relief on work costs their employer has not paid back: business mileage in their own car below the approved rate, professional fees, work clothing, travel and overnight costs. It is short, but HMRC’s evidence requirements are specific, the time limit is four years, and one of the most-claimed items — working from home — is no longer available for 2026–27. This page sets out GOV.UK’s rules and HMRC’s own handling guidance, as read on 23 October 2026.

Who can claim, and for what

GOV.UK sets two conditions for any job expense: “you use your own money for things that you must buy for your job you only use these things for your work”. Three limits follow:

• “You cannot claim tax relief on job expenses if your employer or any other person paid back all of your work-related expenses.” Where the employer paid part, “If your employer has paid some of your expenses, you can only claim tax relief on the amount they have not paid.”
• You must have paid tax that year, and “The amount of tax relief you get cannot be more than the amount of tax you paid in that year.”
• Travel to your normal workplace never counts. For vehicles: “This does not include travelling to and from your work, unless it’s a temporary place of work.” The rule is explained on business travel expenses and tax.

For travel itself, GOV.UK lists what can be claimed: “public transport costs hotel accommodation if you have to stay overnight food and drink congestion charges and tolls parking fees business phone calls and printing costs”.

P87, online, or Self Assessment

The route depends on the size of the claim and whether you already file a tax return.

One detail from HMRC’s internal manual is worth knowing. For the £2,500 test, staff are told to handle a claim through PAYE where “The claim is for travel and subsistence only And The net expenses claimed are less than £2,500 Or The claim is for anything other than or in addition to travel and subsistence And The gross expenses claimed are less than £2,500”. In other words, a claim that is only travel and subsistence is measured after what your employer paid towards it; a claim that includes anything else is measured gross.

If you use the paper form, GOV.UK’s practical warning is that “The form may not work if you try to open it in your internet browser.” — download it and “Open it using the latest free version of Adobe Reader.”

The evidence HMRC asks for

GOV.UK lists what must be sent with the claim, by type of expense:

For mileage, GOV.UK says to “keep records of the dates and mileage of your work journeys”, and the log sent with the claim has to show the reason and both postcodes for every journey. “If you’re claiming for more than one employment, you must send a copy of your mileage log for each one.”

Mileage allowance relief, in brief

If you drive your own car for work and your employer pays less than the approved rate, you claim the difference. GOV.UK’s table for 2026–27, with the earlier rate alongside: “Cars and goods vehicles first 10,000 miles 55p 45p Cars and goods vehicles after 10,000 miles 25p 25p Motorcycles 24p 24p Bicycles 20p 20p”. The rate “This covers the cost of owning and running your vehicle.”, so “You cannot claim separately for things like: fuel electricity vehicle tax MOTs repairs”. To work out the claim, “take away any amount your employer pays you towards your costs, (sometimes called a ‘mileage allowance’)”.

Worked figure6,000 business miles in 2026–27, employer pays 30p a mile: 6,000 × (55p − 30p) = £1,500 to claim. At GOV.UK’s example rate of 20%, the relief is £300.

Drivers of a company car claim differently: “You can claim tax relief on the money you’ve spent on fuel and electricity, for business trips in your company car.” The full rules, including the 10,000-mile band and passengers, are on HMRC mileage rates; the fuel-only rates for company cars are on advisory fuel rates.

How and when the relief arrives

“If your claim is for the current tax year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will usually adjust your tax code so you pay less tax. If your claim is for previous tax years, HMRC will either adjust your tax code or give you a tax refund.” The time limit runs from the end of each tax year: “your claim is within 4 years from the end of the tax year you are claiming for”. As at 23 October 2026, that means 2022–23 is the earliest year still open, until 5 April 2027.

What changed for 2026/27

• Working from home is gone as an employee claim. “From the tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, you will not be able to claim tax relief for working from home.” Employers can still pay £6 a week tax-free: working from home tax relief.
• The approved car rate rose from 45p to 55p for the first 10,000 business miles, so an employer still paying 45p now leaves a gap the employee can claim.

If a company offers to claim for you

Companies that file claims for a fee are covered by separate HMRC guidance: “This guidance applies to you if you charge fees to submit Income Tax or PAYE repayment claims on behalf of others and you are nominated by them to receive the repayment.” Such a company must register: “You will need to register with HMRC for an agent services account and include your details in the nomination section of the relevant claim form to receive the repayment.” “You must use an advanced electronic signature process to obtain the appropriate authorisation from your clients.” And “Your client’s signature (advanced electronic signature or handwritten) must have been provided within the 6 months before sending the nomination to us.”

The claim itself is the same form and the same evidence. What changes is who receives the repayment and what fee comes out of it, so read the nomination section before signing it.

For employers

An employee only needs P87 when the employer pays less than the cost. Paying business mileage at 55p a mile, reimbursing hotels and fares against receipts, and paying homeworking costs under an arrangement means the employee has nothing left to claim for those items. The policy wording is on the expenses policy template.

Common questions