Uniform tax relief for nurses and other workers

Staff who clean, repair or replace their own uniform or protective clothing can claim tax relief through HMRC. For most people it is a flat rate expense, a fixed amount set for your job, with no receipts needed. The relief is the tax you would have paid on that amount, so a basic rate taxpayer gets 20 per cent of it. You can claim for the current tax year and backdate the claim for up to 4 previous tax years.

Who can claim

All three conditions have to be met:

• you wear a uniform that identifies your job, or specialist protective clothing, at work
• you wash, repair or replace it yourself
• your employer does not do this for you, for example by providing a laundry service or replacing items free of charge

Public sector staff who often qualify include nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants, paramedics, porters, domestic staff, theatre staff, catering staff, police staff in uniform and many frontline council workers. Scrubs laundered on site by your hospital cannot be claimed for, though other items you clean at home still can.

Plain clothing does not become a uniform because your employer asks you to wear it. A black skirt or trousers for a school office job is ordinary clothing. A tunic with a hospital logo or a high-visibility jacket is a uniform or protective clothing.

How much you can claim

HMRC sets flat rate amounts by industry and job. Some occupations, including several in healthcare, have their own listed amount, and everyone else who qualifies claims a standard amount. The current figures are on HMRC’s job expenses guidance for uniforms, which lists each job group.

You do not receive the whole amount. The claim raises your tax-free allowance by that figure, so the saving is the tax on it:

• a basic rate taxpayer in England, Wales or Northern Ireland saves 20 per cent of the flat rate
• a higher rate taxpayer saves 40 per cent
• in Scotland the saving is at your Scottish rate, from 19 per cent for starter rate taxpayers to 48 per cent at the top rate

If you spend more than the flat rate on cleaning and replacing your uniform, you can claim the actual cost instead. You need records, and HMRC may ask to see them.

Backdating to earlier years

Most people who qualify have never claimed. The claim can cover the current tax year and the 4 previous ones, as long as you met the conditions in each, and HMRC uses the flat rate that applied in each year.

For past years HMRC pays the relief as a refund, usually by bank transfer or cheque. For the current year it normally adjusts your tax code so the relief comes through your payslip. Claiming a tax refund explains how refunds are paid.

If you changed jobs in that time, you can only claim for the years and jobs where you met the conditions. A healthcare assistant who became a nurse three years ago would claim under the rules for each job in the right years.

How to claim

The quickest route is HMRC’s online service on gov.uk, using your Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login details. You will need:

• your employer’s name
• the years you want to claim
• the job title you held

You can also claim by post using HMRC’s form for employment expenses. If you already file a Self Assessment return, you claim on the return instead.

Once accepted, the claim continues each year automatically and shows as a higher number in your tax code. A code of 1257L might become a slightly higher number followed by L, and checking your tax code shows where to see the change. Tell HMRC if you stop meeting the conditions, for example if your employer starts laundering uniforms or you move to a job with no uniform.

Avoid paying a claims company

Several companies advertise uniform tax refund services to NHS and care staff and take a share of the refund. Everything they do takes a few minutes on gov.uk and costs nothing. Sign an agent authority and HMRC may pay the refund to the company, which then pays you after its fee.

Other job expenses you might also claim

Employees can claim several other reliefs. Fees for professional registration, such as with the NMC or HCPC, and some union subscriptions are covered in tax relief on professional fees. Using your own car for work journeys is covered in mileage allowance and tax relief. A healthcare assistant or someone in a similar role can often make the uniform and fees claims together.