Uniform Refund

If you work at a job where you are required to wear a uniform as part of their duties and that meet the cost of laundering their uniform, are entitled to claim tax relief in respect of laundry costs. The relief is calculated by means of a flat-rate deduction and the amount depends upon the employee’s occupation. A dental nurse is entitled to claim a deduction of £100 per year and receptionists and other uniformed staff are entitled to claim £60 per year. This equates to tax relief of £20 and £12 respectively for a basic-rate taxpayer.

you may be entitled to claim a tax rebate in relation to your work uniform. There are applicable tax credits for work uniform expenses however these only apply in certain instances:

  • You supply and launder your own uniform
  • You supply your own uniform but it is laundered for free
  • You are required to launder a uniform that is supplied for you
  • If you have to buy your own shoes and clothes for work. If your employer has not given you an allowance for such purchases, and this uniform is only used for work, you can claim for a tax refund.

Courses And Subscription Fees

A deduction is generally allowed for the cost of courses and subscription fees such as union subscription.  HM Revenue & Customs may challenge the deduction where the course provides you with new skills as opposed to maintaining your existing skills.  In practice, this is unlikely to be a problem for typical 1 day, or even 1-week courses and conferences.  A deduction will also be allowed for related travel and accommodation costs unless there is some other purpose for the trip or you were accompanied by your spouse (in which case any costs relating to them must be disallowed).

 

Tax Return Refund

If you overpaid tax on your tax return the HMRC will allow you to claim a tax refund, this can happen if you’ve changed your tax return after you filed it or in case of interning the wrong amount when paying your self-assessment bill or you’ve stopped being self-employed and you have payment on account.

How you claim depends on how you filed your Self Assessment tax return.

If You Did Your Tax Return Online

  1. Log in to your HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) online account.
  2. From ‘Business tax account’, go to ‘Self Assessment Details and Options’.
  3. Choose ‘More Options’ from the right-hand menu.
  4. Click ‘Request a Repayment’ and follow the instructions.

If You Did A Paper Tax Return

You’ll usually get a tax refund paid directly to your bank account if you included your bank details on the Self Assessment form.

If you didn’t, you can call or write to HMRC and explain why you think you’ve overpaid.

If you write to HMRC, include your:

  • Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) – this is on previous tax returns
  • bank details or your nominee’s bank details – you can also ask to be repaid by cheque instead

HMRC will only pay refunds into UK bank accounts.

HMRC will either:

  • send money to your bank account
  • send money to your nominee’s bank account (if you’ve nominated someone else to get the money)
  • send you a cheque (also known as a ‘payable order’) that you can pay into your bank account
  • contact you for more information
  • tell you that you’re not due a refund, and why

You’ve Stopped Work

You Were Made Redundant

Call HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if you’ve overpaid tax because of your redundancy payment. They may be able to refund you before the end of the tax year.

The tax year is from 6 April to 5 April the following year.

You left your job

You can’t get a tax refund straight away if you’re getting any of the following:

  • Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • Employment and Support Allowance
  • Carer’s Allowance
  • Incapacity Benefit, if you’ve been getting it for more than 28 weeks

Fill in form P50 on the HMRC website if you’re not claiming the benefits above and not going to work for at least 4 weeks, for example, if you’re retired, still looking for a job or returning to study.

You Leave The UK To Live Abroad

You need to read the guidance and fill in form P85 if you’re either:

  • leaving the UK to live abroad permanently
  • going to work abroad full-time for at least one full tax year

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April the next year.