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A uniform you wash at home is a cost you carry yourself, and HMRC accepts that with a yearly allowance for many jobs. The allowance is a fixed amount, so you do not need to total your washing bills to claim it. This article explains what that allowance is for, which rates apply to the jobs most likely to wash their own uniform, and how to keep laundry from taking more time and money than it should. The uniform tax rebate calculator works out what a given rate is worth at your tax rate.
What the allowance covers
GOV.UK says you can claim tax relief for cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform or specialist clothing. For nurses, HMRC's own manual says a flat rate deduction has been agreed for those who must bear the cost of laundering their uniforms, set at £125 a year from the 2014 to 2015 tax year onwards.
You choose between the flat rate for your job, which needs no receipts, and the actual cost, which needs proof of payment. Most people use the flat rate, because it is quicker and does not require them to total up anything.
Rates for jobs that launder their own uniform
The GOV.UK table covers a long list of jobs. These are some where wearing and washing a uniform at home is typical:
- Ambulance staff on active service: £185 a year
- Nurses, midwives, healthcare assistants, therapists, radiographers and similar: £125 a year
- Hospital porters, ward clerks, domestics and catering staff: £125 a year
- Laboratory staff, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants: £80 a year
- Electrical and electricity supply, laundry costs only: £60 a year
- Food industry, all workers: £60 a year
- Any job not listed: £60 a year
Healthcare staff have one more allowance. Where everyone is required to wear the same colour or style of shoes or tights, the table adds an allowance covering 12 pairs of shoes or 6 pairs of tights or stockings.
The relief is the allowance multiplied by your tax rate. GOV.UK's example is £60 at 20% giving £12. On the same basis, £125 at 20% is £25 a year, and £185 at 20% is £37. A 40% taxpayer receives double. You must have paid tax in the year you claim for, and the relief cannot exceed the tax you paid.
When you cannot claim
GOV.UK sets out two points on laundry.
- Employer provides laundering. You cannot claim for laundering your own uniform if your employer offers a free laundering service and you choose not to use it.
- Employer reimburses you. If your employer pays all your expenses, you cannot claim. If they pay part, you can claim only on the part they did not pay.
You also cannot claim for the initial cost of buying clothing for work. The allowance is for keeping what you already wear clean and in repair, and for replacing it.
Which years to include
Because you can claim for the current year and the four before it, it is worth listing which of those years you washed your own uniform in. If you changed jobs in that period, the rate for each year follows the job you held at the time, so a year as a healthcare assistant and a year in a shop will use different figures. Our guide to the NHS claim shows the healthcare route in detail.
The claim itself
You can claim for the current tax year and the four previous ones. The online service on GOV.UK checks your eligibility and the amount. If you file a Self Assessment return, you claim through that.
Claiming direct with HMRC is free. HMRC's own campaign page describes it as fast, free and simple, and says you will not pay agent fees or commission when you do it yourself. Our article on why going direct is free walks through it.
Keeping the work down
You cannot reduce what the allowance is worth, but you can reduce the time laundry takes. A few habits help.
- Have a set number of uniforms so one is always clean and one is drying. Check your employer's policy on how many you are issued.
- Wash on the label's setting. Many uniforms say what temperature suits the fabric, and following it keeps the fabric in shape.
- Treat stains early, before they set, using a stain remover that suits the fabric.
- Dry flat or hung up where air can move around the clothes, and iron only if the label allows it.
- Keep work clothes apart from the rest of the washing, which cuts the chance of mix-ups.
Kit for the washing
Most households already have a machine. What helps is the small kit around it.
Ad A laundry basket with separate compartments lets you keep work clothes apart from everything else. Ad A set of mesh wash bags protects lanyards, belts and small items in the drum. For marks that will not shift in an ordinary wash, Ad a stain remover spray for workwear is worth keeping handy, and the label will say which fabrics it suits.
Drying is where uniform tends to take longest. Ad A folding clothes airer gives you space for a week's worth. Ad A heated clothes airer is an option if you have no other way to dry indoors, though it uses electricity. If you iron, Ad a travel steamer is a quicker alternative for creases.
Where a uniform has a badge or name tape that wears off, Ad iron-on name labels are cheaper than replacing it.
Check your employer's position
The one thing that can end a claim is a free laundering service you choose not to use. If your employer introduces one, or you move to an employer that has one, ask whether it applies to your role before you claim again. Keeping a note of what your employer's policy says at the start of each tax year makes that question easy to answer.