Guidance

Check how much tax relief you can claim for uniforms, work clothing and tools

Use this list to check if you can claim a fixed amount of tax relief (also known as 'flat rate expenses') for your work expenses if you're an employee.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 1 January 2015
• Last updated: 2 November 2022 — See all updates

‘Flat rate expenses’ (sometimes known as a ‘flat rate deduction’) allow you to claim tax relief for an agreed fixed amount each tax year to cover what you spend on the clothing and tools you need to do your job.

The tax relief will reduce the amount of tax you pay. For example, if you claim a flat rate expense of £60 and pay tax at a rate of 20% in that year, you will pay £12 less tax.

If you are claiming a flat rate expense, you do not need to keep a record of what you have spent or any receipts.

If you want to claim the exact amount you have spent must keep receipts and make a claim by post.

If your employer pays all of your expenses, you cannot claim any tax relief.

Find out more about claiming tax relief for uniforms, work clothing and tools.

There are different rules for expenses if you’re self-employed.

Check if you can claim a flat rate expense

You can find out if your job has an agreed flat rate expense by checking online or using the list of industries and jobs.

Check and claim online

You can use the online service to check:

• if you’re allowed to claim
• how much you can claim
• how to claim

Check using the list of industries and jobs and submit a claim

1. Check the list to see how much you can claim based on your job and industry.

2. If your employer pays towards your expenses, deduct the amount they pay to get the figure you can claim.

3. Make a claim, or enter the amount in box 18 of the SA102 page if you need to send us a Self Assessment tax return.

List of industries and jobs

This table lists the industries, jobs and how much tax relief you can claim.

If your industry and job are not shown, you can claim a flat rate expense amount of £60.

Industry	Job	Amount you can claim £
Agriculture	All workers	100
Airlines	Pilots, co-pilots, helicopter pilots and uniformed flight deck crew	1,022
Airlines	Cabin crew — stewards and stewardesses	720
Aluminium	Continual casting operators, process operators, de-dimplers, driers, drill punchers, dross unloaders, firemen (engaged to light and maintain furnaces), furnace operators and their helpers, leaders, mould-men, pourers, remelt department labourers and roll flatteners	140
Aluminium	Cable hands, case makers, labourers, mates, truck drivers and measurers and storekeepers	80
Aluminium	Apprentices	60
Aluminium	All other workers	120
Armed forces	All ranks in the Royal Air Force, Royal Marines and the army	100
Armed forces	Royal Navy	80
Banks and building societies	Uniformed doormen and messengers	60
Brass and copper	Braziers, coppersmiths, finishers, fitters, moulders, turners and all other workers	120
Building	Joiners and carpenters	140
Building	Cement works, roofing felt and asphalt labourers	80
Building	Labourers and navvies	60
Building	All other workers	120
Building materials	Stone masons	120
Building materials	Tilemakers and labourers	60
Building materials	All other workers	80
Clothing	Lacemakers, hosiery bleachers, dyers, scourers and knitters, knitwear bleachers and dyers	60
Clothing	All other workers	60
Constructional engineering (includes buildings, shipyards, bridges and roads)	Blacksmiths and their strikers, burners, caulkers, chippers, drillers, erectors, fitters, holders up, markers off, platers, riggers, riveters, rivet heaters, scaffolders, sheeters, template workers, turners and welders	140
Constructional engineering (includes buildings, shipyards, bridges and roads)	Banksmen, labourers, shop-helpers, slewers and straighteners	80
Constructional engineering (includes buildings, shipyards, bridges and roads)	Apprentices and storekeepers	60
Constructional engineering (includes buildings, shipyards, bridges and roads)	All other workers	100
Electrical and electricity supply	Workers incurring laundry costs only	60
Electrical and electricity supply	All other workers	120
Trades ancillary to engineering	Pattern makers	140
Trades ancillary to engineering	Labourers, supervisory and unskilled workers	80
Trades ancillary to engineering	Apprentices and storekeepers	60
Trades ancillary to engineering	Motor mechanics in garage repair shop	120
Trades ancillary to engineering	All other workers	120
Fire service	Uniformed fire fighters and fire officers	80
Food	All workers	60
Forestry	All workers	100
Glass	All workers	80
Health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers	Ambulance staff on active service	185
Health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers	Nurses, midwives, chiropodists, dental nurses, occupational, speech, physiotherapists and other therapists, healthcare assistants, domiciliary care workers, phlebotomists and radiographers. Shoes and stockings or tights allowance (where everyone is required to wear the same colour or style)	125 12 shoes 6 tights or stockings.
Health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers	Plaster room orderlies, hospital porters, ward clerks, sterile supply workers, hospital domestics and hospital catering staff	125
Health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers	Laboratory staff, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants	80
Health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers	Uniformed ancillary staff — maintenance workers, grounds staff, drivers, parking attendants and security guards, receptionists and other uniformed staff	80
Heating	Pipe fitters and plumbers	120
Heating	Coverers, laggers, domestic glaziers, heating engineers and all their mates	120
Heating	All gas workers and all other workers	100
Iron mining	Fillers, miners and underground workers	120
Iron mining	All other workers	100
Iron and steel	Day labourers, general labourers, stockmen, timekeepers, warehouse staff and weighmen	80
Iron and steel	Apprentices	60
Iron and steel	All other workers	140
Leather	Curriers (wet workers), fellmongering workers and tanning operatives (wet)	80
Leather	All other workers	60
Particular engineering (work on commercial basis in a factory or workshop producing components such as wire, springs, nails and locks)	Pattern makers	140
Particular engineering (work on commercial basis in a factory or workshop producing components such as wire, springs, nails and locks)	Chainmakers, cleaners, galvanisers, tinners and wire drawers in the wire drawing industry and toolmakers in the lock making industry	120
Particular engineering (work on commercial basis in a factory or workshop producing components such as wire, springs, nails and locks)	Apprentices and storekeepers	60
Particular engineering (work on commercial basis in a factory or workshop producing components such as wire, springs, nails and locks)	All other workers	80
Police force	Ranks of police officers up to and including chief inspector	140
Police force	Community support officers including Metropolitan Police	140
Police force	Other police employees (but not special constables)	60
Precious metals	All workers	100
Printing	Letterpress section — electrical engineers (rotary presses), electrotypers, ink and roller makers, machine minders (rotary), maintenance engineers (rotary presses) and stereotypers	140
Printing	Bench hands (periodical and bookbinding section), compositors (letterpress section), readers (letterpress section) telecommunications and electronic section wire room operators, warehousemen (paper box making section)	60
Printing	All other workers	100
Prisons	Uniformed prison officers	80
Public service — docks and inland waterways	Dockers, dredger drivers and hopper steerers	80
Public service — docks and inland waterways	All other workers	60
Public service — public transport	Garage hands including cleaners	80
Public service — public transport	Conductors and drivers	60
Quarrying	All workers	100
Railways	See the appropriate category for craftsmen (for example engineers, vehicles) all other workers	100
Seamen	Carpenters Passenger liners	165
Seamen	Cargo vessels, tankers, coasters and ferries	140
Shipyards	Blacksmiths and their strikers, boilermakers, burners, carpenters, caulkers, drillers, furnacemen (platers) holders up, fitters, platers, plumbers, riveters, sheet iron workers, shipwrights, tubers and welders	140
Shipyards	Labourers	80
Shipyards	Apprentices and storekeepers	60
Shipyards	All other workers	100
Textiles and textile printing	Carders, carding engineers, overlookers and technicians in spinning mills	120
Textiles and textile printing	All other workers	80
Vehicles	Builders, railway vehicle repairers and railway wagon lifters	140
Vehicles	Railway vehicle painters, letterers, and builders’ and repairers’ assistants	80
Vehicles	All other workers	60
Wood and furniture	Carpenters, cabinetmakers, joiners, wood carvers and woodcutting machinists	140
Wood and furniture	Artificial limb makers (other than in wood), organ builders and packaging case makers	120
Wood and furniture	Coopers not providing their own tools, labourers, polishers and upholsterers	60
Wood and furniture	All other workers	100

Published 1 January 2015
Last updated 2 November 2022 + show all updates

1. 2 November 2022

   Guidance about how to check how much you can claim based on your job has been added. The list of industries and jobs has been updated to include domiciliary care workers.

2. 1 February 2019

   The flat rate expenses you can claim tax relief on for uniforms, work clothing and tools have been updated.

3. 4 July 2018

   Guidance on how much tax relief the police force can claim has been updated.

4. 1 January 2015

   First published.