Employment expenses and tax

Claiming tax deductible employment expenses

You can claim expenses against your employment income if they're work related and you have to pay for them yourself. Work related means that they're wholly and exclusively for the purposes of your employment.

If you're not making a flat rate deduction and you're claiming the actual cost you'll need to keep the receipts.

Allowable expenses

Protective clothing

You can claim a deduction for the cost of replacing, repairing and cleaning specialist or protective clothing, for example hard hats, protective overalls and boots.

Uniforms

You can claim for the cleaning or replacement of a uniform if it identifies you as having a particular occupation, for example, nurse or police uniforms.

It does not include employees who wear clothing of a similar design or colour. For example, bank staff who wear clothing in corporate colours.

Small tools

You can claim a deduction for replacing or repairing small tools of your job. For example a carpenter may need to buy their own work tools.

Flat rate deductions

Expenses for specialist clothing and tools

If you spend money on clothing or tools for your job you can claim up to a standard flat rate instead of the actual cost. If you want to claim the actual cost you'll need to keep the receipts as evidence of your claim.

If your occupation isn't listed you may be able to claim a flat rate deduction of £200, for the cost of replacement and upkeep of protective or specialist clothing.

Occupation	Purpose of expense	Flat rate claim
Occupation	Purpose of expense	2022 and earlier	From 2023
Carpenters, electricians and other people employed in the building trade	Replacing protective clothing and small tools	£250	£400
Chefs	Cost of cleaning and replacing uniform and replacing small tools	£250	£400
Customs officers	Cost of uniform cleaning	£100	£200
Farmworkers and other people in the agriculture industry	Cost of cleaning and replacing protective clothing	£250	£400
Fire officers	Cost of uniform cleaning	£100	£200
Hotel employees (porters, cleaners, domestics)	Cost of uniform cleaning	£100	£200
Hairdressers and other people in the beauty industry	Replacement tools	£100	£200
Kitchen porters and other kitchen staff	Cleaning and replacing protective clothing	£100	£200
Nurse and health care assistants	Cost of cleaning uniform and replacing shoes and tights	£250	£400
Police	Cleaning costs not covered by the employer	£50	£200
Pre-school child care nursery assistants	Cost of uniform cleaning	£100	£200
Prison officers	Cost of uniform cleaning	£100	£200
Unlisted occupation	Replacement and upkeep of protective or specialist clothing	£100	£200

Subscriptions

If you have to pay for a subscription to an approved professional body which is work related you can claim this as a deduction.

List of approved professional bodies on HMRC

Course and examination fees

You can't normally claim a tax deduction for any courses or exams for professional development.

The only exception to this is if you're obliged by the terms of your employment contract to achieve success in a professional qualification for your current role and you have to pay for it yourself.

If your employer pays towards the costs of any expense

If your employer pays in full for the expense you can't claim it as a deduction. If they pay towards it, this has to be deducted from the amount you're claiming.

Motoring expenses

If you use your own vehicle for work (this does not include commuting), you can claim for a proportion of the car's total running expenses. If your employer reimburses you for any costs, deduct this from your claim.

Flat rate mileage allowance

To simplify motoring expenses you can claim a flat rate expense which covers wear and tear, fuel, and servicing.

You need to be able to provide evidence of how you have calculated your business mileage if we ask for it, which must not include any private mileage including commuting to and from your place of work.

Any contribution from your employer towards the expense must also deducted from your claim.

Cars and vans	Motorbikes
60 pence per mile	30 pence per mile

Example of a flat rate mileage claim

Jane is employed as a nanny. Her duties include school pick ups and outings with the children. A car is not provided and Jane uses her own. The employer gives Jane £20 per week towards petrol. (This is not part of Jane's taxable income.)

Jane keeps a weekly record of the mileage for travelling from her employer's home for school pick ups and trips to playgroups, the park and the beach. Travelling to and from Jane's home to work (the employer's home) is not included. The expense claim looks like this:

Work miles for the year (from Jane's records)	Flat rate
3,840 miles	60 pence
Mileage x flat rate (3,840 x 60p) =	£2,304
Less employer's petrol contribution for each week worked (£20 x 48)	(£960)
Mileage claim (this is the amount Jane claims on her tax return)	£1,344

Motor expenses claim form

If you do not want to make a flat rate claim you can complete this form to make a claim based on fuel use and depreciation of the vehicle.

Motor expenses claim

Expenses you can't claim

Working from home expenses

You can't claim a tax deduction for any expenses if you choose to work from home. This includes:

your employer has an office, but you can't go there because it's sometimes full
your employer has an office but your employer allows you to work from home some or all of the time

Clothing

You can't claim expenses for general work clothing including suits and shoes.

Travelling to and from work

You can't claim for the cost of travelling between your home and place of employment, including the cost of parking.

Personal professional development

You can't claim for the cost of any courses or exam fees for continuous professional development, to get promotion or to get new employment. Your employer will normally pay for any courses to maintain your qualifications in any current role.

Other expenses you can’t claim

You also can't claim a deduction from your tax for the following:

the cost of employing another person to perform household duties so that that you can work
any fees paid to an employment agency to help you find work
subscriptions to most trade unions