How to claim parking, tolls and congestion charges as travel expenses

If you’re self-employed, travel might be a big part of your week – or only an occasional thing when work takes you out on the road.

Whether it’s a quick client visit, a supply run, or the odd trip into a city centre, the costs can soon add up.

It’s worth knowing which travel costs you can claim back through your business.

HMRC’s fundamental rule is simple: every allowable expense must be “wholly and exclusively” for business purposes.

Travel charges at a glance

So if the journey relates directly to your work, the parking, toll or congestion charge can usually be claimed as a travel expense.

You can check the official wording in HMRC’s guide on travel expenses for the self-employed.

When parking and tolls are allowable

Parking fees, bridge tolls and congestion or clean air zone charges are all fine to claim when they’re part of a genuine business journey. That might be visiting clients, delivering goods, attending a trade event, or working at a temporary site.

So if you’re based in Bristol and drive to Birmingham for a meeting, the parking fee and any tolls on the way are allowable. But the drive to your usual workspace in town isn’t – that’s classed as commuting.

If you claim mileage using HMRC’s simplified expenses method, you can still add parking and tolls separately. The mileage rate covers running costs like fuel and servicing, but it doesn’t include these minor extras.

Congestion and clean air zone charges

If you pay the London Congestion Charge or ULEZ on a work trip, the fee is normally allowable because it’s a charge, not a penalty.

But if you forget to pay on time and receive a fine, that part can’t be claimed – HMRC is strict about penalties never being deductible. This is confirmed in its manual on penalties and fines.

It’s also worth noting that these charges are outside the scope of VAT. So even if you’re VAT registered, there’s no VAT element to reclaim.

Road tolls and bridge crossings

Tolls are one of the easiest claims to record – you’ll almost always get a digital receipt. The M6 Toll, Humber Bridge and Mersey Gateway are common examples. If the journey is for business, include the full toll amount as an expense.

VAT treatment varies between operators, so always check the receipt. Some include VAT, some don’t. You can only reclaim VAT where it’s included in the expense.

When you can’t claim

The most common mistake is trying to claim for commuting. Travelling from home to your usual place of work doesn’t count, even if you’re self-employed.

HMRC treats that as personal travel, not business. Their commuting guidance explains the distinction.

Fines are another no-go. These include parking tickets, speeding fines, and late payment penalties. You can’t claim any of them, even if they happen during work hours. The same rule applies if a client later reimburses you: you can’t claim twice.

Keeping records

The best evidence is simple. Keep the app receipts, toll confirmations or parking emails and make a short note about the journey. It doesn’t have to be perfect accounting language—just enough to show what it was for.

If you’re using accounting software, attach the receipt to the transaction. If you’re still using spreadsheets, note the date, reason and amount. HMRC accepts digital copies, so there’s no need to store paper tickets unless you prefer to.

See our bookkeeping guide for sole traders for ways to stay organised without overcomplicating things.

Combining business and personal travel

It’s fine to make a personal stop during a business trip, but you’ll need to apportion the costs fairly. If half the journey was private, you can only claim the business half. Keep a quick mileage note to back it up.

Likewise, if you car-share or use a hire car, you can still claim your share of parking or tolls – the key point is that the cost was necessary for your business journey.

Adding it all up

At the end of the tax year, these small travel charges can add up to a noticeable sum.

Group them under “travel expenses” on your Self Assessment tax return alongside fuel, public transport and hotel costs.

You’ll find more on what qualifies in our main guide to allowable business expenses.

For anyone new to recordkeeping, our guide on simplified expenses explains the flat-rate options you can use instead of tracking every detail, and this mileage guide covers how to handle car use properly.

For further reading, try HMRC’s travel and subsistence manual and subsistence guide.

What about limited companies?

The same general rules apply if you trade through a limited company. Parking fees, tolls and congestion charges can be reimbursed tax-free when they’re incurred on a genuine business journey. Your company can claim them as a travel expense, reducing Corporation Tax.

As with sole traders, fines and penalties can’t be claimed, and commuting costs don’t qualify. Keep receipts or app confirmations so your accountant can record them properly. For more on how this works, see our guide to limited company expenses.