Claiming for washing my workwear

bluelewis

Hi folks ive just been told by some workmates that i can claim back up to six years of washing my own workwear can anyone tell me how i do this.
Thanks in advance bryan

MamaMoo_2

You must be kidding?! Surely everyone does that?
Or do your company offer a workwear washing service that you haven't taken advantage of?
Sounds like a load of tosh to me, though

dseventy

Let me google that for you

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=tax+relief+clothing

Hope this helps (first hit is HMRC).

Only works if its a specialist uniform.

D70

skintandscared_2

What is your job? Our receptionists have to wear particular suits and shirts on specific days so they are all wearing the same, and they are given an allowance to buy those clothes with, but that is a very specific perk for them only. I've never heard of a company paying to wash clothes. That's what your wages are for!

Fiver29

Just over half way down here

http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/make-money

Tax rebate for uniform wearers

Employees who wear a uniform – whether a simple polo shirt with a logo or full attire eg, nurses – who wash, repair or replace it may be able to reclaim tax of £12 to £56 PER YEAR.

You can claim back a rebate for up to the past six years - plus the current year - and once you're registered it applies for the future too.

To be able to claim 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 or police uniform. Ordinary clothes, even only worn for work, don't count.
Your employer requires you to wear it while you're working.
You have to pay to 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.
How much? The amount you're able to claim tax relief on depends totally on your industry. The standard allowance for spending on uniform maintenance is £60 (for 2011/12) – so basic rate taxpayers would be able to claim £12 back (20% of £60) and higher rate payers £24 (40% of £60). The £60 is a flat rate, so you don't need to record and report all the individual amounts you spend.

Most people can claim for the past six years, if you've been wearing the uniform all that time – though before April 2008 the flat rate was £45 per year. A basic rate taxpayer, claiming the max. possible for the last six years (and this one), could reclaim £75 in total.

Some occupations have more specific limits, often to do with specialist uniforms, with the maximum allowance of £140. A higher rate taxpayer would get back £56 tax on that. Check to see if your profession is listed.

The only way you can get more than the standard payment is to prove that your annual uniform laundry bill is higher. Speak to the tax office if you want to do this as it's a little more complicated.

How do I do it? If this is your first time claiming a tax allowance or the amount you paid out was more than £1,000, then you'll need to claim the money back by post.

By letter: Send a letter to the tax office on your payslip/P60, or to the generic address HM Revenue & Customs, Pay As You Earn, PO Box 1970, Liverpool, L75 1WX. Write 'Repayment Claim' on the envelope to speed things up.

The letter should include and mention the following (where applicable):

Employer's name and address and dates of employment for the past six years
Your occupation, job title and industry sector
Details of any laundry or cleaning services provided by your employer, if any
Details of payment or vouchers provided by your employer to cover laundry or other costs, if any
Why your uniform can't be worn outside of work (eg, it includes the company logo)
Whether you want the rebate to be deducted from the current year's or you would like a cheque
You will then be sent a letter telling you how much you're entitled to. It could take around 5 weeks to process your claim.

By phone: If you've claimed before and had expenses of less than £1,000, you can do the reclaim over the phone. Call 0845 300 0627 (or 0135 535 9022) 8am to 8pm, Monday to Friday or 8am to 4pm on Saturday.

If, as part of its normal tax admin, HMRC sends you a P810 'Tax Review' form – to check your tax code is correct – you can also fill this in to claim tax relief. For expenses over £1,000, or if you changed jobs midway through a tax year, you'll need to fill out additional forms.

Anything else worth knowing? You can't claim for the initial cost of buying the clothes.

MamaMoo_2

Wow. Apologies, I take it back!

Pollycat

Martin Lewis has just mentioned this in his slot on Daybreak.

rogerblack

Pollycat wrote: »

Martin Lewis has just mentioned this in his slot on Daybreak.

In short - it's anything you can't avoid spending on, that's solely and unavoidably for work purposes.

If you can't get your work uniform washed at work, and have to do it yourself, that's a cost to you in wear and tear on the machine, electricity, and detergent.
Similarly with any other work cost you can't avoid.

neverdespairgirl

If you are self-employed, you can claim only for specialist clothes, too.

I'm a barrister, and self-employed. So I can claim off my tax for buying and cleaning my wig / gown / collars, but not for shirts or suits, because the Inland Revenue counts those as normal clothes.

bluelewis

Thankyou all just for the record my job is a agriculture,industrial and domestic fuel tanker driver i have to wear a company specific uniform which always gets fuel oil on it which is not very kind to washing machines,we are expected to have clean uniform daily which can sometimes be 3-4 pairs of overalls a week but they only provide 2 pairs so awash midweek is of the norm.
Thankyou all again i will be writing to them quite soon
thanks bryan:D

slj1505

Hi

I was just wondering if anyone knew whether HM Armed Forces personnel are able to claim this?