How much petrol money should I charge?

[2anddone]

Hi :) I currently nanny for my best friends children (the children also happen to be my godchildren). I have worked in childcare for 20 years in a variety of different roles and when my best friend returned to work after her maternity leave I agreed to nanny for her as I was then a full time student completing my degree in Early Years after taking redundancy from the preschool I managed.
I have now completed my degree but still nanny for my best friend (partly because I love it and partly because being a single parent to 2 school aged dc it works well around my own children too!!) my best friend is also a teacher so I don't work school holidays.
I am extremely cheap for a nanny of my experience and amount of qualifications (I basically charge her what I used to charge for 2 children when I childminded 7 years ago) and until now I have never asked for anything extra like petrol money even though we go to toddlers in the local town each week.
Her ds starts preschool next week and it is 8 1/2 miles there and back meaning a 17 mile round trip or 34 miles a day! I am wondering what I should ask for petrol money?
When I childminded I would have probably refused to go that far to do a preschool drop as there are others in the area, or failing that I would have charged £10 per day (hmrc suggest 40p per mile which comes out at around £13 per day).
When I nannied years ago it was easier as I used to go to the local garage where the family had an account and fill up whenever it was necessary.
He will be going twice a week until Christmas and then 3 times a week after that meaning I will be doing an extra 68 miles a week going up to over 100 miles a week after Christmas which is more than double my current weekly mileage so I am definitely going to need some petrol money.
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, sorry it was long but I didn't want to drip feed!!

Wow - they chose a preschool 8.5 miles away from their house, is your friend completely mad?

If its your best friend then just suggest they either use a different pre-school or as you suggest charge petrol money, I'd personally work out the cost to you (its completely dependent on your car) + a bit extra for wear and tear.

One that far away isn't great on social grounds as he's unlikely to go to school with the other children from it, plus you're going to have a hard time keeping him awake on the way home and its going to mess up his sleeping patterns.

You should charge the recommended HMRC amount!!! Why would you charge anything else? That is set to cover oetrol and wear and tear on your personal car. Tell them that if they can provide the vehicle the Mileage cost drops.

Are you driving your car or hers?

Agree, HMRC recommended rate. Which is now up to 45p a mile.

Work it out, show her what it costs a week, you can always round it down but it's her choice that's put you in this position!

It's my car, we have a very strange arrangement which is not at all like any other nanny jobs I have had before! There are 2 preschools closer to the house 1 is full and 1 is really crap!! There was supposed to be another one opening in our village but it fell through.
I have explained that it is going to mess up both his and his younger sisters nap times but that doesn't seem to matter. The preschool was chosen because it has forest school sessions (which are once a fortnight for 1 hour!).
I already have alarm bells ringing regarding the preschool as there has been no contact from them whatsoever and he is supposed to start Monday, I appreciate they have a break in the summer but know they were in Thursday/Friday for inset!

Go for the HMRC rate. How easy is it to set up the credit card thing? If you aren't going to be doing much personal driving could you suggest it to your employer? (I know they are a friend but they are definitely an employer as regards this?)

do you have to have a different insurance because it is a business (I have no idea). If you do and it is more expensive, factor that in somewhere.

Yes Singasong regardless of the fact that we are such good friends I still have all the required liability insurances, business insurance on my car, dbs checks and first aid training as I wanted to ensure I was legally covered while still keeping my courses up to date for if I ever change families.
Thank you for your replies by the way, I was getting worried that I was being unreasonable thinking about asking for petrol money as it hadn't been offered.

Go with the HMRC rate.

I would go with the HMRC rate

Our work expense rate is 40p or mile. I usually make a bit on what I paid for the petrol but that's go wear and tear. I'd go with that. She's already saving on you charging her 7 year old nanny rates!

HMRC don't recommend a mileage rate, the amount given is the maximum before it is considered taxable.

If you know how many miles per gallon your car typically does then a mileage rate can be calculated. It may well be 25p+ per mile.
Certainly they should be paying something.

I'd also suggest the HMRC maximums (before tax implications), which is what most employers seem to pay. There are;
45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles in a tax year
25p per mile thereafter in that tax year.
There is also a bit extra for passengers.
If you receive mileage at these rates, or below, it doesn't need to be reported to HMRC anywhere.
They are calculated to be averages to account for fuel, insurance, repairs etc.

We pay our nanny 45p a mile