Oct 2014
8
Do you wear a uniform to work?
Uniform tax rebate is not yet widely known, yet it affects almost 43% of the British public. It is a rebate scheme introduced by the HMRC for people who wear a uniform or protective clothing to work. Under the rebate scheme, qualifying employees may be able to reclaim tax from the past four years.
To be able to claim the tax relief, ALL of the following must apply:
· You wear a recognisable uniform that shows you've got a certain job, like a branded T-shirt, nurse or police uniform.
· Your employer requires you to wear it while you're working.
· You have to purchase, clean, repair or replace it yourself. However, you can't claim if your employer washes your kit, provides facilities to do so (even if you don't use them) or pays you for doing this maintenance.
· You paid income tax in the year you are claiming for.
The amount of tax relief an employee can claim will depend on the industry. For tax year 2014/15, the standard flat rate expense allowance (FREA) for uniform maintenance is £60. Therefore basic rate taxpayers can claim £12 back and higher rate payers £24. Some occupations have more specific limits, often where specialist uniforms are required. A full list of occupations and their corresponding allowances can be viewed here.
Employees wishing to claim this tax relief for the first time can do so by filling in form P87 online, printing it out and posting to:
HM Revenue & Customs
Pay As You Earn
PO Box 1970
Liverpool
L75 1WX
Employees should allow five weeks for HMRC to process their claim, who will then confirm in writing how much you are entitled to.
