Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what assessment he has made of the potential merits of exempting volunteer drivers from HMRC mileage rates for travel over 10,000 miles.

Volunteer drivers who are reimbursed for their reasonable out of pocket expenses are not liable for Income Tax or National Insurance contributions (NICs). HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) accept that generally, allowances paid to volunteer drivers do no more than reimburse them for their actual expenses. Tax is only paid on any allowances received which exceed expenses and result in a profit.

In order to support the voluntary sector, the Government allows voluntary organisations to make payments under the Approved Mileage Allowance Payments (AMAPs) scheme to their volunteer drivers. The current AMAPs rate for cars and vans is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per mile for each subsequent mile. The Passenger Payment is 5p per mile. The rates are set by Parliament and are reviewed regularly.