Every Mile. Every Receipt. One App.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is SparkReceipt's mileage tracker available now?

Yes. Mileage tracking is live for every account on iPhone, Android, and the web — there's nothing to join or switch on. Free accounts can log 3 trips a month; Pro and Elite accounts get unlimited trips. There's no limit on the number of vehicles.

How does automatic mileage tracking work?

SparkReceipt uses your phone's GPS to record a trip from start to finish — you can pause, resume, and stop it, and on Android it keeps recording in the background. Trips are saved even without a signal and sync when you're back online. You can also add a trip by hand. Then classify each trip as business or personal, one at a time or in a batch.

Does SparkReceipt keep a mileage log for taxes?

SparkReceipt records the details of each business trip — the date, route, distance, and the purpose you set — captured as you drive rather than reconstructed later. You set your own mileage rate (per vehicle, or a default for your account), and each trip shows the amount at that rate in a currency you set. You can download any individual trip as a PDF with its route, distance, purpose, vehicle, passenger count, and breakdown. It doesn't include a built-in government rate table, and trips aren't rolled into the main expense-report or QuickBooks/Xero exports, so check your local rules — in the UK, HMRC — for exactly what your claim needs.

How is my mileage claim calculated?

Each trip's amount is its distance multiplied by a rate you choose. Set a rate per vehicle, or an account-wide default; if a vehicle has no rate of its own, SparkReceipt uses the default. Amounts show in a currency you set for the account, which starts from the owner's preferred currency. Add a passenger count and an account passenger rate and SparkReceipt adds a passenger reimbursement on top, showing the mileage, passenger, and total amounts separately. Distances show in miles or kilometres, set automatically for your region. Set no rate at all and the trip still logs — it just won't show an amount until you add one.

What is the 2026/27 HMRC mileage rate?

For 2026/27, HMRC's Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAP) are 55p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25p per mile after that, for cars and vans. At 10,000 business miles that comes to £5,500. The self-employed can instead use HMRC's simplified expenses flat mileage rates, which use the same figures.

Who can claim business mileage?

Sole traders, the self-employed, freelancers, and contractors can claim business mileage against their profits on their Self Assessment tax return. Employees who use their own car for work and are paid less than the HMRC rate can claim Mileage Allowance Relief (MAR) on the difference through HMRC.

Why do I need both a mileage tracker and receipt scanner?

Because mileage is only one part of your vehicle costs. Petrol fill-ups, parking charges, tolls, car washes, and maintenance are all separate expenses that need receipts. Most mileage tracker apps don't capture these. SparkReceipt combines mileage tracking with AI receipt scanning — so every vehicle-related cost is captured in one app.

Simplified expenses vs. actual costs — which is better?

HMRC's simplified expenses flat mileage rate (55p/mile for the first 10,000 miles in 2026/27) is simpler — just multiply business miles by the rate. The actual-costs method means tracking all your vehicle running costs (fuel, insurance, repairs) and claiming the business-use share. The flat rate suits high-mileage, lower-cost cars; actual costs can suit expensive, low-mileage vehicles. Once you use simplified expenses for a vehicle, you generally keep using it for that vehicle.