Best Mileage Tracker App for UK Sole Traders 2026

Introduction

If you drive for business, you can claim mileage at HMRC-approved rates: 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a tax year, and 25 pence per mile thereafter. If you carry a passenger who is also travelling for business, you can claim an additional 5 pence per mile. For a sole trader doing 8,000 business miles per year, that is £3,600 in tax-deductible expenses.

The catch is that HMRC requires records. You need to log the date, destination, purpose, and distance of each business trip. This guide compares the best ways to track mileage in the UK in 2026.

HMRC Mileage Rate Rules

Before comparing apps, a quick recap of the rules. The simplified mileage rates (also called approved mileage allowance payments) cover all motoring costs including fuel, insurance, road tax, MOT, and wear and tear. You cannot claim actual costs alongside the mileage rate.

For motorcycles, the rate is 24 pence per mile. For bicycles, it is 20 pence per mile.

You must keep a log that includes the date of the journey, the start and end points, the purpose of the journey, and the distance travelled. HMRC can ask to see these records, so accuracy matters.

Accounted (via WhatsApp)

Accounted takes a unique approach to mileage tracking. Instead of a GPS-based app, you log trips by telling Penny via WhatsApp. A message like "Drove to a client in Birmingham, 45 miles" is all it takes. Penny confirms the details, asks if it was a return trip (and doubles the distance if so), checks your year-to-date miles to apply the correct rate, and records everything.

You can also set up recurring trips for regular journeys. If you drive to the same client every Tuesday, Penny can automatically log that trip each week.

Key features: WhatsApp-based logging (no separate app), automatic HMRC rate calculation, year-to-date tracking for the 10,000-mile threshold, return trip handling, recurring trips, passenger mile tracking, and integration with your broader bookkeeping.

The advantage is zero friction. You are already in WhatsApp. Telling Penny about a trip takes seconds and happens naturally in your workflow.

Pricing starts at £14 per month as part of the full bookkeeping platform. See the pricing page.

MileIQ

MileIQ is a dedicated mileage tracking app owned by Microsoft. It runs in the background on your phone and uses GPS to detect when you are driving. After each trip, you swipe to classify it as business or personal.

Key features: automatic trip detection, simple swipe classification, monthly reports, and export capabilities.

MileIQ works well if you remember to classify trips regularly. The automatic detection means you do not miss journeys. However, it runs in the background constantly, which affects battery life, and you need to classify every trip, which can become tedious.

Pricing: the free tier limits you to a small number of trips per month. The premium tier costs around £4.50 per month.

Driversnote

Driversnote is a GPS-based mileage tracker designed for the UK market. It automatically detects trips or lets you start tracking manually. It supports the HMRC mileage rates and generates reports suitable for tax purposes.

Key features: automatic trip detection, manual start option, HMRC rate support, team features, and reporting.

Driversnote is popular with sole traders who want a dedicated, reliable mileage tracking solution. The reports are well-formatted for HMRC purposes.

Pricing: free tier available with limited features. Premium from around £4 per month.

QuickBooks Self-Employed

QuickBooks Self-Employed includes GPS-based mileage tracking. The app detects when you are driving and allows you to classify trips. Mileage claims integrate directly with your tax estimate.

Key features: automatic detection, integrated with QuickBooks bookkeeping, tax impact shown per trip.

The advantage is integration. Your mileage claims flow directly into your tax calculations without needing to export or re-enter data.

Pricing: included in QuickBooks Self-Employed at approximately £8 per month.

FreeAgent

FreeAgent allows you to log mileage manually within the platform. You enter the date, distance, and purpose, and FreeAgent calculates the allowance at the correct HMRC rate.

It does not have automatic trip detection or GPS tracking. You need to remember to log trips and enter the details yourself. However, the mileage claims integrate with your broader FreeAgent bookkeeping.

Pricing: approximately £19 per month or free with NatWest.

Xero + Tripcatcher

Xero itself does not have built-in mileage tracking. However, Tripcatcher is a popular add-on that provides HMRC-compliant mileage logging and sends the data to Xero automatically.

Key features: manual and automatic logging options, HMRC rate calculations, direct Xero integration.

Pricing: Tripcatcher costs around £4 per month on top of your Xero subscription.

Google Maps Timeline

This is the free option. Google Maps Timeline tracks your location history, and you can use it to reconstruct business journeys. You would need to manually calculate distances and record them in a separate log.

It is not a mileage tracking app, but for sole traders on a very tight budget, it provides a record of where you went that can support your mileage claims.

The significant downside is that it requires manual calculation and logging, which defeats the purpose of having a tracker.

Spreadsheet Logging

A simple spreadsheet with columns for date, from, to, purpose, and miles is HMRC-compliant if maintained accurately. It costs nothing and gives you complete control.

The downside is the same as all spreadsheet-based approaches: it requires discipline, it is easy to forget to update, and there is no automation.

What to Look For

When choosing a mileage tracker, consider integration with your bookkeeping (does the mileage flow through to your tax calculations automatically?), HMRC rate awareness (does it apply the correct 45p/25p threshold?), ease of logging (how many steps to record a trip?), return trip handling (does it automatically double the distance?), recurring trips (can you set up regular journeys?), and reporting (can you generate HMRC-compliant reports?).

The Integration Advantage

The biggest time saver is having mileage tracking integrated with your bookkeeping. If you use a standalone tracker, you need to export the data and import it into your accounting software, or manually enter the totals. This is an extra step that many people skip, meaning legitimate deductions go unclaimed.

With Accounted, mileage tracked through WhatsApp flows directly into your financial records. With QuickBooks Self-Employed, GPS-tracked mileage integrates automatically. With Xero plus Tripcatcher, the integration is also seamless.

Our Recommendation

For the easiest possible mileage tracking experience, Accounted's WhatsApp-based approach removes all friction. Telling Penny about a trip is as natural as texting a friend. And the mileage integrates with your full bookkeeping and tax calculations.

For those who want automatic GPS detection, MileIQ or Driversnote are solid standalone options. Pair them with your accounting software of choice.

For those who want mileage integrated into a broader bookkeeping platform at the lowest cost, QuickBooks Self-Employed at £8 per month includes both.

Whatever you choose, track your mileage consistently. Those 45 pence per mile add up quickly, and unclaimed mileage is money left on the table.

Sign up for Accounted and start claiming every business mile through a simple WhatsApp message.