Uniforms are sets of clothing that employees of an organization need to wear at work. Most of us wear a particular uniform, branded clothing or safety gear and take it as a matter of course. However, many of us are unaware that we can claim uniform tax rebates on the cost involved in the wash, repair, or replacement of our uniforms.
This blog will let you know: who is eligible for a uniform tax rebate, how much you’ll get, the rebate for special occupations, and how you can claim it. Let’s dig deep into it!
Who is Eligible for Uniform Tax Rebate?
You are eligible to claim a uniform tax rebate if all the following conditions apply:
- You wear a particular uniform that shows your occupation, like nurse, firefighter, police officer or a branded shirt. Sometimes HMRC also considers plain shirts as uniforms.
- Your employer or firm requires you to wear it at the workplace.
- You pay for its laundry, repair, or replacement and don’t get any reimbursement.
- You pay income tax in the year; you make your claim.
Armed personnel are not eligible to claim via the rebate. And self-employed persons need to claim for uniform and laundry expenses (instead of the rebate) when filing their self-assessment tax return.
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How Much Rebate You will Get?
The minimum uniform allowance is £60. You can claim this refund to get back the amount that you would otherwise pay on £60. Here is what you’ll get as per your income tax rate band:
- Basic Rate Taxpayer will get 20% of £60 as a rebate that equals £12.
- Higher Rate Taxpayers will get 40% of £60 as a rebate that equals £24.
Along with the current year’s allowance, you can claim this allowance for the last four years, making it five years in total.
Allowances and Rebates for Special Occupations
People involved in special occupations, like ambulance staff with special uniforms, get a maximum allowance of £185. Here the basic rate taxpayer gets £37 and higher rate £74. Nurses and midwives can also claim allowances for socks, shoes and tights other than the standard allowance of £125.
Here is the table that shows occupations, annual allowances, and rebates for some common special occupations:
How to Claim?
To claim a tax rebate, you need to look at:
- If you claim this tax allowance for the first time, you are required to fill in the P87 form and make your claim by post or online to HMRC.
- After registration, your tax code will change while claiming for the current year. And you will be charged less tax in the future and there’d be a bit increase in your tax-home pay. If claiming for the previous years, you’ll either be given a tax refund or HMRC will make adjustments through your tax code.
Once you submit a claim, HMRC usually takes between 4 and 12 weeks to respond.
If you want to claim for work expenses like equipment & tools and business mileage, the process can be daunting due to tough regulations. Therefore, you need to contact our qualified tax experts to get the most out of tax rebates without any hassle. Get in touch now!
Quick Sum Up
To sum up, you can claim uniform tax rebates on the cost involved in wash, repair, or replacement of your uniform. Your minimum uniform allowance is £60, for which basic rate tax payers can get £12 and higher rate tax payers £24 as a rebate. In addition, you can claim for uniform allowance for the last four years along with the current year. Plus, if you work in special occupations like you’re a nurse, pilot or firefighter, you allowance gets higher.
Our refund specialists are experts in putting cash back into your pocket. Be it travel claim, work expenses, or any other expenses for which you want to claim a refund, get in touch with our professionals for help!
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Disclaimer: This blog is written for a basic understanding of uniform tax refunds/rebates.