According to new information from YouGov, over half (56 per cent) of company car drivers are currently unaware of HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) regulations on reclaiming business mileage. Any business that uses a company car must legally report it to HMRC, especially if the car is also used for personal trips. It's a legal requirement for companies to keep mileage reports in order to demonstrate how their vehicles are being used. æIf the company doesn't provide free fuel for company drivers to use privately, then their records must demonstrate this. Drivers are required to record both 'to' and 'from' locations as well as the reason for the journey and the number of miles travelled. The survey, commissioned by ABAX, found that 36 per cent of employees don't update their mileage log any more than once a fortnight, leaving their companies exposed to inaccuracies as a result. Frank Ystenes, ABAX UK managing director, said: 'It is crucial business owners and employees understand the laws and ensure accurate records are kept otherwise the penalties can be high.î Cambridgeshire-based engineering company, Ivor Searle were a notable example.æ They received a visit from HMRC earlier this year and it was found that their employee mileage claims were actually being estimated and couldn't be reconciled with their fuel card invoices. As a result, the company may now be fined and the driver could face a full benefit charge despite the number of unaccounted miles being relatively small. David Eszenyi, operations director for the firm, said: 'It is something you don't necessarily think about on a day-to-day basis when you are concentrating on the bigger picture of running a company. 'Our employees were manually logging their mileage in to a spreadsheet each month. The HMRC inspector noticed a small number of discrepancies in one of the mileage logs and alerted us to them. 'We employ around 110 people and as a medium sized business we don't have someone specifically looking after our vehicle fleets, it is a combined effort. We now realise our understanding of the tax regime wasn't as it should be and are taking steps to make sure it is in the future.î