Martin Lewis warns anyone who wears a uniform to check if they’re owed £100s in cash – here’s 5-step method to claim

MARTIN Lewis has urged workers to claim back cash if they usually wear uniform.

If you wear a uniform at work and have to wash, repair or replace it yourself, you may be able to reclaim hundreds of pounds worth of tax for up to five years of expenses.

You can reclaim whether it’s just a branded T-shirt or if you’re a fully uniformed pilot, police officer or nurse.

The standard flat-rate expense allowance for uniform maintenance is £60 a year.

By claiming a uniform tax refund, you’ll get back the amount of tax you would otherwise have paid on that £60.

So if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer, you’ll get 20 per cent of £60 as a rebate – which is £12.

Higher-rate taxpayers will get back £24.

You can backdate claims for the previous four tax years.

You’ll have until April 5, 2024, to claim the relief for 2019/20 – after that, you’ll lose the ability to backdate for that year.

It’s also worth noting that some jobs come with a flat rate uniform allowance.

For example, pilots and flight deck crew can claim up to £1,022 a year, joiners up to £140 and ambulance staff up to £185 a year – you can check the full list.

During the Martin Lewis Money Show Live, he said: “There’s no need to pay anyone for doing this and it’s easy via a P87, but you need to go quick for 19/20.”

Who is eligible?

The cashback goes towards the effort you make washing your uniform for work.

But to be able to claim tax relief, all of the following must apply to you.

You wear a uniform recognisably linked to a certain job e.g. branded t-shirt, paramedic or police officer

Either a logo or a company name must be recognisable to a member of public.

You are required to wear it by your boss

In other words, you had no choice but to buy it. But if you only had to wear it for one day, don’t worry.

You can still claim the entire year’s tax relief.

You have to purchase, replace, mend or clean it yourself

You won’t be able to claim if your employer does this sometimes, though.

You paid income tax during the year you’re claiming for

Because it’s supposed to reduce your tax liability, you can’t claim if you haven’t paid any tax that year.

How do I claim?

To claim a uniform tax refund for the first time, you’ll need to keep receipts and fill in a P87 form before sending it off to HMRC here:

Pay As You Earn

HM Revenue & Customs

BX9 1AS

This is what you’ll be asked:

• Employer’s name and address
• Your occupation, job title and industry sector
• Your details, including your national insurance number and your pay-as-you-earn (PAYE) reference
• Whether you’re claiming flat-rate expenses (usually you will be, if not, you’ll need detailed records of costs)
• How you want to be paid – into your bank account or by cheque

Your tax code should have adjusted when you last claimed if you’ve done it before – so you shouldn’t need to fill out a form – but you can call up HMRC on 0300 200 3310 if you don’t think it has.

You can do a reclaim over the phone.

The only group of uniformed workers who can’t claim the rebate are those in the armed forces – their uniform costs should be covered in their own individual tax codes.

Once HMRC processes your claim, it will send a letter back telling you how much you’re eligible for and when it’ll come through.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money@the-sun.co.uk.

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