Uniform and work-clothing tax relief

What the relief is

Uniform tax relief, formally Flat Rate Expense (FRE), comes from section 367 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003. HMRC publishes a long list of occupations and the agreed flat amount each one can deduct, in Employment Income Manual EIM32712. There is no need to keep receipts or prove actual spending; the flat rate stands in for typical industry costs.

The amount is the deduction from your taxable income. Your actual saving is that figure multiplied by your marginal tax rate.

Who qualifies

Four conditions:

1. You are an employee (PAYE), not self-employed.
2. You wear a recognisable uniform or protective clothing at work. A uniform with a clear employer logo, or specialised clothing like overalls, scrubs, hi-vis, or steel-toe boots, qualifies. Plain everyday clothing that your employer asks you to wear (a black shirt, smart trousers) generally does not.
3. You have to clean, repair, or replace the uniform yourself.
4. Your employer does not provide a laundry service, replacements, or a tax-free laundry allowance for it.

How much you actually get (by occupation)

Selected examples from HMRC's published list:

• Standard ("any other industry not separately listed"): £60. Basic-rate £12, higher-rate £24.
• Healthcare (nurses, midwives, ambulance staff): £125. Basic-rate £25, higher-rate £50.
• Construction (joiners, carpenters, mechanics): £140. Basic-rate £28, higher-rate £56.
• Police (constable, sergeant): £140. Basic-rate £28, higher-rate £56.
• Firefighters (uniformed): £80. Basic-rate £16, higher-rate £32.
• Teachers (in physical training, art, design and technology): £100. Basic-rate £20, higher-rate £40.
• Pilots, flight engineers, cabin crew: £1,022. Basic-rate £204, higher-rate £409.
• Catering staff (uniformed): £60. Basic-rate £12, higher-rate £24.

The full list runs to several hundred occupations and is the canonical reference. Your job title may match exactly or fall under the standard £60. The full list is at EIM32712 on gov.uk.

How to claim it yourself

For a standard amount up to £2,500 a year, the easiest route is the online P87:

1. Sign in to your Personal Tax Account.
2. Open the "Tax relief for expenses of employment" service.
3. Select "Uniform, work clothing and tools" as the type of relief.
4. Confirm the occupation and the years you want to claim for.

HMRC adjusts your tax code for the current year and pays previous-year refunds by cheque or bank transfer. Decisions usually arrive within four to six weeks.

Backdating four years

Standard four-year rule. As of April 2026 the open years are 2022/23 to 2025/26. A first-time healthcare worker claim catching all five years (current year plus four backdates) at £25 a year basic-rate is a £125 lump sum. Pilots and flight crew claiming for the first time can see the four-year backdate worth around £820 at basic rate or £1,640 at higher rate.

The traps people fall into

• Claiming for "smart" clothes. A plain black shirt and trousers your office requires you to wear is not a uniform. The clothing must be unambiguously work clothing.
• Forgetting about the employer. If your employer launders, supplies replacements, or pays a tax-free laundry allowance, you have not borne the cost.
• Claiming the wrong occupation amount. Pick the one that fits. The list is more specific than people expect; if your role is not on it, the £60 standard applies.
• Paying a refund firm. The whole process is free and takes five minutes. There is no version where a firm's involvement makes the refund larger.

How Untap helps

Talk to Nell, our voice agent, and she matches your job title to the right occupation amount, then deep-links to the gov.uk P87 service with the years you can still backdate. The form is yours; we just save you the time of looking up the amount.

← Back to all guides