Can I claim expenses for business travel between multiple clients?

Can I claim expenses for business travel between multiple clients?

Travel is one of those unavoidable “costs of doing business” for many self-employed people, contractors, freelancers, and small companies. If you spend your days moving between client sites, popping into meetings, checking on projects, or delivering services in person, it’s natural to wonder: can you claim expenses for the travel between multiple clients?

In most cases, business travel between clients can be an allowable expense—provided the travel is genuinely for business purposes and properly recorded. The tricky part is that the rules around travel expenses often hinge on details: where you start and finish your journey, what counts as “ordinary commuting,” whether you have a regular workplace, and whether your travel is part of your business duties or simply getting you from home to work.

This article breaks down the principles behind claiming travel expenses between multiple clients, the kinds of costs you can usually claim, common scenarios that confuse people, record-keeping practices that can save you headaches, and practical examples to help you make decisions with confidence. Because tax rules can differ by country and by your working arrangement, think of this as a clear framework you can apply—then, if your situation is complex, you can confirm the details with a qualified professional or your tax authority guidance.

What travel expenses are generally meant to cover

Travel expenses exist because businesses often need people to move around to earn income. When travel is undertaken “wholly and exclusively” for business (a phrase used in many tax systems, even if the wording differs), the cost of that travel is generally considered an expense of generating revenue rather than a personal cost.

When you travel between multiple clients in a single day—say you finish a meeting with one client and drive across town to provide services to another—your travel is typically part of performing your job. In that sense, it’s not the same as commuting from home to a regular place of work. It’s closer to “business mileage” or “business transport,” which is often deductible or claimable.

However, many tax systems draw a firm line between:

1) Ordinary commuting: travel between home and a normal workplace, generally considered personal and not claimable.

2) Business travel: travel that is integral to doing the work—such as moving between client locations, visiting temporary worksites, or traveling to a meeting that is not your normal base.

The question “Can I claim travel between multiple clients?” is really asking: does that travel fall into category 2? Most of the time, yes—if you’re traveling directly from one business engagement to another.

Travel between multiple clients: the core principle

As a general rule, travel that takes you from one business-related location to another business-related location is more likely to be allowable than travel that starts or ends at home (or another personal location) as a substitute for commuting.

In plain language:

If you are already “at work” and you travel to do more work elsewhere, that travel is usually business travel.

So, the classic multi-client day—Client A in the morning, Client B midday, Client C late afternoon—usually creates claimable travel legs between A, B, and C. Your claim is strengthened if each stop is clearly a client site, a meeting location, a temporary worksite, or a business venue relevant to your role (for example, a supplier visit or training that’s part of your work).

But the moment your travel becomes partly personal—or you’re effectively traveling from home to your regular base—the situation changes. That’s where careful record-keeping and clear reasoning matter.

Why “home to first client” and “last client to home” can be complicated

Many people assume that if they have multiple clients, every mile driven is automatically business mileage. That’s not always true. The “edges” of the workday—starting from home to the first appointment and finishing at the last appointment then heading home—can be treated differently depending on your working pattern and local rules.

In many systems, travel from home to the first client can be viewed as equivalent to commuting. The logic is: you’re traveling to start work, so it looks like a personal choice of where you live relative to where you work. Similarly, travel from the last client back home can look like commuting back from work.

However, there are common exceptions or situations where home-to-client travel may be allowable, such as:

1) You have no fixed workplace and your work is inherently itinerant, meaning you travel to different places as a normal feature of the job.

2) You are traveling to a temporary workplace that is not your normal base, and local rules treat that travel as business travel.

3) You travel from home to a location to perform a specific business task that is distinct from simply “starting work,” such as collecting equipment, visiting a supplier, or responding to an urgent call-out in a way your system recognizes as business travel.

These distinctions can be subtle. If you routinely work at one main client site for months and treat it like a regular workplace, authorities may view home-to-that-client travel as ordinary commuting, even if you are technically “self-employed” or a contractor. On the other hand, if you have genuinely varied locations and your business model depends on moving around, it can support the idea that travel is a necessary business cost.

Even if home-to-first-client is not claimable in your situation, the travel between clients during the day often remains claimable, because you’re moving between workplaces for business reasons.

What kinds of travel costs can be claimed between clients

If your travel between clients is allowable, the next question is: which costs can you claim? The specifics vary, but these are common categories in many tax systems.

Vehicle mileage or actual running costs

If you use a car, van, motorbike, or other vehicle for client-to-client travel, you can often claim either:

Mileage method: A flat rate per mile/kilometre driven for business travel (often simpler, and designed to cover fuel, wear and tear, servicing, insurance, and depreciation in one figure).

Actual cost method: A proportion of your real vehicle costs based on business use, such as fuel, repairs, insurance, lease payments, and depreciation (more complex, but sometimes beneficial depending on your vehicle and mileage).

Whichever approach applies, the key is that the mileage or cost portion must correspond to business journeys between clients. If you mix business and personal use, you generally need to separate them.

Public transport fares

If you travel between clients by bus, train, taxi, rideshare, subway, ferry, or tram, the fares are usually claimable when the travel is for business purposes. Keep receipts or digital records where possible, especially for taxis and rideshares.

Parking fees, tolls, congestion charges

Costs that are directly related to business travel between clients—such as parking at a client site, toll roads used to get from one client to another, or congestion charges—are often allowable as travel expenses. These items are particularly easy to forget, so it’s worth creating a habit of logging them as you go.

Accommodation (when travel requires an overnight stay)

When clients are far apart or travel schedules require you to stay overnight for business reasons, accommodation may be claimable. Typically, the stay must be necessary for the business trip rather than a personal choice. For example, staying overnight because the next client visit is early and the distance is substantial is more likely to be seen as business-driven than extending a trip for personal leisure.

Meals and subsistence (where allowed)

Meals can be one of the most misunderstood areas. Some systems allow meal costs only in specific situations (such as overnight travel or travel beyond a certain distance), while others treat most meals as personal unless a strict set of criteria is met.

If you travel between clients and the travel meaningfully disrupts your normal routine—particularly if it requires an overnight stay—there may be circumstances where meal costs are allowable. But if you simply buy lunch while working locally, many systems consider that a personal expense even though you are “working.”

Because rules differ a lot here, be cautious with meals. When in doubt, focus on claiming the travel itself (mileage, fares, parking, tolls) and confirm meal rules for your jurisdiction and situation.

Incidental business travel costs

Some travel involves incidental costs that may be claimable if they are necessary and business-related, such as:

• Luggage fees for necessary equipment

• Business phone calls made during travel

• Printing travel documents or client paperwork while on the road

• Necessary protective equipment or supplies for traveling to a worksite (in some circumstances)

The principle remains: the expense must be business-driven, and you should be able to justify why it was necessary.

Common scenarios: when travel between clients is claimable (and when it isn’t)

Let’s look at practical examples. These aren’t legal rulings; they’re illustrations of how the principles typically apply.

Scenario 1: Freelancer visits two clients in one day

You work as a freelance designer. In the morning you visit Client A for a brand workshop. After lunch you travel directly to Client B for a presentation. You then travel home.

In many systems, the travel from Client A to Client B is clearly business travel and therefore claimable. The travel from home to Client A and from Client B to home may depend on whether those are treated as commuting journeys or business journeys, which can depend on whether you have a regular base, whether your home is your business base, and how your work is structured.

Scenario 2: Contractor works most days at one main client site

You’re a contractor who has been working at the same client site four days a week for six months. Once a week, you travel from that site to a different client for an afternoon.

Travel from your home to the main client site may be viewed as commuting if that site is treated as your main workplace. But travel from the main client site to the second client during the day is much more likely to be viewed as business travel, because you are traveling between workplaces for work purposes.

Scenario 3: Home office as base, then multiple client visits

You run a consultancy and your home office is your primary business base. You do admin work at home, then go out to visit three clients.

If your home is genuinely your main place of business (not just a convenient place to start the day), some systems treat travel from that base to clients as business travel, because you’re traveling from your business premises to a client’s premises. But you typically need to be able to show that home is truly your business base: it’s where you manage the business, do substantive work, keep records, and so on.

Scenario 4: Detours and mixed-purpose trips

You leave Client A and drive toward Client B, but stop at a supermarket for personal shopping on the way.

Mixed-purpose travel can still be claimable in part, but you generally need to apportion. If the detour is minor and doesn’t add meaningful distance, some people treat it as incidental. But if the detour adds distance or time, the extra portion is personal. A simple, defensible approach is to record the direct route distance for the business journey and exclude the detour mileage.

Scenario 5: Visiting a client and then going to a social event

You finish a client meeting and head directly to a friend’s birthday dinner across town.

The travel from the client to the social event is personal travel, not business travel. Even though the trip begins at a work location, the destination is personal.

How to handle “temporary workplaces” and changing client sites

If you work at many client sites, you might wonder whether each site is “temporary” or whether you have a “regular” workplace. Tax authorities often care about whether you are essentially working at one place on a recurring basis. The more consistent and long-term a single place becomes, the more likely it is to be viewed as your normal workplace for commuting purposes.

This matters for your day’s first and last journeys, and sometimes for what counts as business travel at all. If one client site is effectively where you work most of the time, travel to and from that site can start to look like normal commuting. Meanwhile, travel from that site to other clients during the day can still be business travel because you are traveling as part of your work duties.

If your client locations change frequently, or you work short assignments at different sites, it’s easier to justify travel as part of being itinerant. In those cases, your travel pattern itself is evidence that movement is inherent to the job.

Claiming travel if you’re self-employed vs employed

Whether you’re self-employed, employed, or working through a company can change the mechanics of how you claim travel, even if the core logic remains similar.

If you’re self-employed or a sole proprietor

Travel expenses are typically claimed as business expenses in your accounts. You need to show that the travel relates to earning business income and keep records supporting the journeys. If you use mileage, you typically track business miles. If you claim actual costs, you generally need to track total costs and apportion business use.

If you’re an employee traveling between clients

If you’re employed and required to travel between multiple client locations as part of your job, the travel is often considered business travel. You may be reimbursed by your employer or you may be able to claim relief where expenses are not reimbursed, depending on local rules.

Employees often face stricter restrictions on what can be claimed personally if the employer doesn’t reimburse, and the rules about what counts as a workplace may be more formalized. Still, travel between workplaces during the working day is frequently treated as business travel.

If you operate through a limited company

When you have a company, travel costs might be paid by the company and treated as business expenses, assuming the travel is for business purposes. But company structures can add complexity: personal benefit rules, director expense policies, and evidence requirements may apply. Clear logs and documentation become even more important because authorities may scrutinize whether a journey was business or personal.

Travel logs: what to record to support client-to-client claims

Even if your travel is allowable, the difference between a clean claim and a stressful audit often comes down to records. A good travel log doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should be consistent and detailed enough to tell the story of your day.

At a minimum, record:

• Date of travel

• Start location and destination (e.g., “Client A office” to “Client B warehouse”)

• Purpose of trip (e.g., “Project meeting,” “Site inspection,” “Service call”)

• Distance traveled (miles or kilometres)

• Mode of transport (car, train, taxi, etc.)

• Costs incurred (fares, parking, tolls)

If you use a mileage method, make sure the mileage is credible. Many people use a mapping app to determine distance and then record it, or they use an app that tracks trips and allows categorization as “business” or “personal.” If you prefer manual logs, a spreadsheet can work well.

For parking, tolls, and fares, keep receipts or digital confirmations. If you can’t get a receipt (for example, some parking meters), record a note with the location, time, and amount.

How to apportion expenses when travel is partly personal

It’s common for a day to include a mix of business and personal travel. Apportionment is simply separating the allowable business portion from the non-allowable personal portion in a reasonable, consistent way.

Here are practical approaches:

Direct route approach: Claim the distance and cost of the direct business route between clients, excluding personal detours.

Time and distance split: If a journey serves both purposes (rare but possible), allocate based on distance or the primary purpose, depending on what is most defensible.

Separate journeys clearly: Treat business travel and personal travel as distinct legs, and only claim the business legs.

The goal is not to “maximize” a claim at all costs; it’s to produce a claim that would make sense to an independent reviewer.

What about travel to networking events, conferences, or training between clients?

Not all business travel is client-to-client. You might travel from a client meeting to a networking event, a conference venue, or a training session. Whether these trips are claimable depends on whether the event is a legitimate business activity connected to your work.

If the networking event or conference has a clear business purpose—such as professional development, industry engagement, or generating leads—and it’s relevant to your business, the travel may be allowable. But if the event is primarily social, or only loosely connected to your work, it becomes harder to justify.

A useful test is: would you be attending this event if you didn’t run your business or have your job? If the honest answer is “probably not,” that supports a business purpose. If you’d go anyway for personal reasons, the trip may be personal or mixed.

Can you claim travel expenses for visiting clients in another city or country?

Yes, inter-city or international travel between clients can be claimable when it is undertaken for business purposes. For example, traveling by train to meet Client A in another city, then traveling onward to Client B in a nearby city, and staying overnight before returning home can create a chain of business travel expenses.

International or longer-distance travel often attracts more scrutiny because the cost is higher and because it can overlap with leisure. To keep things clear:

• Keep agendas, meeting confirmations, and emails that show why you traveled.

• Keep receipts for transport and accommodation.

• If you add personal days, separate the personal costs from the business costs where reasonable.

If you extend a trip for leisure, it doesn’t automatically make the entire trip non-claimable, but you may need to apportion costs, especially for accommodation and certain travel components.

What if you work from home and visit clients regularly?

Working from home is increasingly common, and it can change how travel is viewed. If your home is genuinely your main place of business, travel from home to client sites may be treated as business travel in some systems because you are traveling from your business base to a client location.

But simply answering emails at your kitchen table doesn’t necessarily make home your business base in the eyes of every authority. Generally, it helps if:

• You do substantive work at home (not just occasional admin).

• Your home is where you manage the business and keep records.

• You do not have another fixed workplace that functions as your normal base.

Even if home-to-first-client travel is disputed in a particular context, travel between multiple clients during the day is often still easier to defend because it’s clearly part of performing the work.

Red flags that can make travel claims between clients risky

Most travel claims are straightforward, but certain patterns can raise questions. Knowing the common red flags helps you avoid accidental mistakes.

Claiming round numbers constantly: If every journey is recorded as “10 miles” or “20 miles” without variation, it can look estimated rather than logged.

No clear purpose for trips: If your log says “travel” without a business reason, it’s harder to demonstrate it was necessary.

High mileage with low revenue: This can be legitimate (for example, during business development phases), but it may prompt questions, so your records matter.

Claiming personal errands as business travel: Even small personal detours can add up; be disciplined about separating them.

Inconsistent treatment of similar trips: If you claim home-to-client travel sometimes but not others without a reason, it can undermine credibility. Consistency is your friend.

Practical tips to make multi-client travel claims simple and defensible

Use a dedicated expense app or spreadsheet. Record trips as you go rather than reconstructing them months later.

Keep client appointment evidence. Calendar invites, emails, job sheets, and invoices help show the business purpose of travel.

Record the “legs” of your day. Instead of logging “80 miles today,” log “Client A to Client B: 12 miles; Client B to Client C: 18 miles,” and so on.

Separate personal detours. If you detour, either don’t claim that leg or claim only the direct route distance.

Choose the right method for vehicle expenses. If you can choose between mileage and actual costs, run the numbers for a typical year and pick the method that is both allowed and sensible for your business.

Keep receipts digitally. Photograph paper receipts immediately. Save digital receipts into a “Travel” folder with the date and client name in the filename.

Create a consistent naming system. For example: “2026-01-23 ClientA to ClientB – meeting – 8.4 miles.” This becomes incredibly helpful at tax time.

Examples of what a strong travel log entry looks like

Here are examples of entries that are clear and defensible:

Example A: “2026-01-23, 09:45–10:20. Client A (High Street Office) to Client B (Riverside Warehouse). Site inspection for Client B. 9.6 miles. Car. Parking: £4.20 (receipt).”

Example B: “2026-01-24, 13:10–13:35. Client B to Supplier X. Collected replacement parts for Client B project. 6.2 miles. Car.”

Example C: “2026-01-25, 15:30–16:05. Client C (City Centre) to Client D (West Business Park). Project handover meeting. Train fare £7.80 (digital receipt).”

Notice how each entry identifies the start and end points, the purpose, and the measurable cost or distance. If you ever need to explain your claim, the explanation is already built into the log.

So, can you claim expenses for business travel between multiple clients?

In most cases, yes: travel directly between client locations (or between other business locations such as suppliers, meetings, temporary sites, and your business base) is generally considered business travel and is commonly allowable as a claimable expense.

The biggest complications usually arise around the first and last journeys of the day (home to first client and last client to home), and around mixed-purpose travel where you blend business with personal errands. Those areas often require careful interpretation and good records.

If you want your claims to be stress-free, focus on three habits:

1) Be clear on purpose: each trip should have a business reason.

2) Keep a consistent log: track dates, locations, distances, and costs.

3) Separate business and personal travel: claim only what is genuinely business-related.

When you apply these principles, claiming travel between multiple clients becomes much simpler—and far easier to justify if anyone ever asks how you arrived at your figures.