Do photographers charge for travel? Yes, and the meal deal is not free either

Do photographers charge for travel?

So… the enquiry says the venue is “just outside Birmingham”. Before you even open the map, here’s the answer: yes, you charge for travel, because somebody pays for that fuel and those hours in the car, and if it isn’t the couple, it’s you. Straight out of your own take home pay.

Short answer: Yes. Most photographers charge for travel once a booking goes beyond a set distance, and they should. A fair charge covers two things: the miles and the hours behind the wheel. HMRC’s 55p a mile is a sensible floor for what the miles cost you, and your hourly rate covers the time. Pick one simple policy and put it in writing in the quote.

Now, “just outside Birmingham” is estate agent language.

It can mean ten minutes up the road. It can also mean a different postcode area, a lane with grass growing down the middle, and a sat nav that quietly gives up and says “turn around where possible”.

Turn around where? There are hedges.

Then you type “travel” on the quote and freeze. Will they think you’re padding the bill? Will they tell their aunty? Will the aunty send a voice note?

You are not padding anything. You are just declining to sponsor their venue.

A fair travel charge has two parts: the miles and the hours. Sort both once and you never have to feel weird about it again.

What do the miles actually cost you?

Here’s the thing: HMRC has already done this sum for you. Kindest thing HMRC has ever done.

From 6 April 2026, the simplified expenses rate for vehicles went up to 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in a car, and 25p a mile after that. Before that it sat at 45p for years, while fuel and insurance went off and did their own thing.

Now, people mix this bit up. That 55p is what you can claim as a business expense on your tax. It is not a rule about what you charge clients.

But it makes a very sensible floor. It’s a fair guess at what a mile really costs once you count fuel, servicing, depreciation and the fact that cars, like photographers, wear out faster than anyone budgets for.

Charge less than that and you are paying to go to work.

Commuters do that too, but they get a salary and a pension to cheer them up.

You get a meal deal.

Why charge for travel time as well?

Because the hours are the expensive bit. Hours in the car are hours you can’t sell to anybody else.

You cannot edit on the M6. Please do not try.

Let me tell you how a long travel day usually goes. You leave before the sun has made up its mind. By noon you’re at motorway services, choosing between a meal deal that somehow costs more than the last time and a sandwich that has clearly seen things.

You choose the sandwich. Obviously.

You eat it in the car park at speed, hunched over the steering wheel like a detective on a stakeout, crumbs on the camera bag, one eye on the clock.

Nobody is asking you to itemise the crisps. But that was a working day, from the first mile to the last junction. Working days get paid.

How much should photographers charge for travel?

So let’s do the maths. Every number here is an example only, so swap in your own. Picture a wedding with a 120 mile round trip and about 3 hours of driving there and back.

Example, the miles: 120 miles at 55p a mile is £66. That covers the car.

Example, the time: 3 hours at an example rate of £41 an hour is £123. That £41 is the example rate from our photography pricing calculator. Yours could be higher or lower.

Example, the travel charge: £66 plus £123 is £189.

Written down, it can look like a lot. I know. I flinched too.

Then you remember it’s a whole afternoon of your life, plus a car carrying every bit of kit you own, plus that sandwich. Suddenly £189 looks quite polite.

Which travel policy is easiest to explain?

Nothing clever. Pick one of these and use it every time, even when the couple is lovely and you feel like being a hero.

A free radius, then a charge. Travel within a set distance of your base is included. Beyond it, you charge by the mile, plus time if it’s far. Friendliest version. Covers most local work without a conversation.

A flat travel fee by zone. Draw rough rings on a map around your base, one fixed fee per ring. Clients like it because it’s predictable. You like it because you never again have to debate whether the venue was really “just outside”.

Itemised miles plus time. The worked example above, line by line. The most transparent option, and it suits long trips and anyone who enjoys a spreadsheet more than is strictly healthy.

That last one is me. Of my unreasonable number of open tabs, at least two are spreadsheets.

Where should the travel charge go?

In the quote. Before anyone books.

Not in a follow up text three weeks later that opens with “Sorry, just one small thing…”

A travel charge on the first quote is just a price. A travel charge that turns up after the deposit is a surprise, and couples remember surprises. Some of them remember them during the speeches.

So write your policy wording once and paste it into every quote. A template in your photography CRM, a note on your phone, anywhere except your memory at 11:47pm.

Still working out your hourly rate? Part 2 on why photographers charge so much shows where the money goes, and Part 1 shows what’s left after tax.

Read them before you eat another services sandwich.

Quick questions

Do photographers charge for travel time or just mileage?

Many charge only for mileage, but the fairer approach covers both. Mileage pays for the car. Time pays for you, because hours spent driving are hours you cannot spend editing or booking more work. If you only charge for the miles, a long trip quietly eats into your hourly rate without anyone noticing, including you.

How much should photographers charge for travel in the UK?

There is no fixed rule. A sensible approach is HMRC’s 55p a mile as a floor for the miles, plus your hourly rate for the driving time. In our worked example, a 120 mile round trip with 3 hours of driving at an example £41 an hour comes to £189.

Is 55p a mile what I have to charge clients?

No. From 6 April 2026, 55p a mile is what you can claim as a business expense on your first 10,000 business miles in a car, and 25p after that. It says nothing about what you must charge. Use it as a floor for what the miles cost you, then add your time.

Should I charge for travel to local venues?

Most photographers include travel within a set radius of their base and charge beyond it. That keeps local quotes clean and only adds a line when the trip is genuinely long. Whatever radius you choose, write it in the quote so nobody is surprised, especially by a venue that turns out to be less local than advertised.