The Tax Refund Company - Tax Refund For Cleaning Uniforms?

mleonard79

Hi Everyone,

My brother has worked for Royal Mail for just over 6 and a half years and recently got a letter from a company called The Tax Refund Company saying he was entitled to a tax refund. The reason being the fact his employer provides a work uniform he is obliged to wear each day but does not give him any recompense for laundering this uniform. I have to say this is something that had never occurred to me before but it is true he has to wash uniforms all the time.

Thankfully he showed me the letter from this company asking for details of his uniform and dates of employment etc before sending it off and I saw that they take 40% of any refund that is issued. Surely if he is entitled to any refund this is something that can be done directly with the Inland Revenue? 40% is very steep and I can't believe it is so hard to claim yourself that this company would be needed.

I'm willing to try to fill in any forms etc the tax office might need but I was just wondering if he is actually due anything in the first place and if so how can I work out how much and go about claiming it for him Thanks for any help.

Regards

Michelle

PlutoinCapricorn

You are spot on when you say that people can claim refunds from HMRC themselves, as opposed to paying someone 40% of the amount for doing it for them. Apparently some unions actually recommend these companies, in return for a reward. I think that this is a disgrace.

As for cleaning, if you are required by your employer to wear special clothes and clean them at your own expense, it depends on the clothing and whether or not you could wear it elsewhere. Protective clothing, nurses uniform are permitted for example.

I am sure that other people will be able to be more helpful.

mleonard79

Hi PlutoinCapricorn,

Thanks for your answer - it confirms my own thoughts on the company at least. I think the union recommending this company may well be how my brother came into contact with them. I'll ask him as that is disgraceful. If Unions know their members are entitled to a refund they should tell them - not try to make money out of it.

As far as the uniform goes it's a standard Royal Mail postal uniform so I don't think that could be classed as protective clothing (well maybe the rain jacket!) but this company certainly thought he was entitled.

Regards

Michelle

PlutoinCapricorn

I found the following post by FenGirl, a former HMRC employee:

There have been long, long threads on this subject over the past year. This is what you do:
1. Go to www.hmrc.gov.uk and search for 'fixed rate deduction'. Look for your trade there, eg if you work in Tescos, you are a worker in the food industry. This list tells you the agreed annual expense allowance.
2. The allowances are agreed between HMRC and the unions, but you dont have to be a union member to claim.
3. You can go back 6 years with your claim as long as you were doing that job for that time.
4. The allowance is not only for laundry, it is for other expenses incurred in the course of work such as replacement of own tools to do the job, safety boots, protective clothing (apart from what one would wear normally), black tights for nurses, etc etc. If you have had to expend more than the set amount, you can claim the extra, but be prepared to produce receipts if asked.
5. You can claim the allowance even if only employed for part of the year or if part time.
6. You need to ask your tax office to adjust this years code and for them to issue a payable order for the repayment due for previous years - important or other wise they will stick the whole lot in this years code and you effectively have to wait for the end of the year for the refund

fengirl_2

As being a postman is not a trade, expenses for postal staff are agreed locally. your local union rep should know about this and know what the agreed rate is. If not, he could ask some of his long-serving workmates and as a last resort ask the tax office which deals with their tax affiars (although one single person will not deal with all the postal workers at his depot, as used to be the case, so you might have a problem getting any sense out of them).
I agree that the way unions try and make money out of their members' entitlements is absolutely shameful - it has been going on for at least 15 yrs when I did this type of work. If they really wanted to help members, then they should get somene from the local tax office, or a friendly local accountant or retired inspector to come in and talk to the workers.