Protective clothing & safety gear

Conditions

1. Sole traders: GOV.UK says the self-employed can claim allowable business expenses for buying, cleaning or repairing protective clothing needed for your work, such as safety boots or hard hats, and clothing that protects your everyday clothes while you work, such as aprons or overalls, if you only use them for work. HMRC's Business Income Manual says you should allow a deduction for protective clothing and uniforms (BIM37910).
2. Sole traders: ordinary clothing stays disallowed even if you only wear it for work. HMRC's test is whether the clothing might suitably be worn as part of a hypothetical person's everyday wardrobe (BIM37910).
3. Limited company providing protective clothing to employees or directors: GOV.UK's employer guidance says you do not have to pay tax and National Insurance on most uniforms or protective clothing, but you may still have to report these expenses to HMRC. If you provide uniforms or protective clothing, you can get exemptions, which mean you will not have to include them in your end-of-year reports; clothing provided as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement does have to be reported (Expenses and benefits: clothing).
4. Limited company, Corporation Tax: the company's costs must be incurred wholly and exclusively for the purposes of the trade (section 54 CTA 2009), and HMRC's manual says normal employee costs are allowable (BIM37700). HMRC's clothing page for traders, BIM37910, does not cover companies: its section of the manual relates purely to the self-employed and partnerships (BIM37900).
5. Employees, as HMRC's Employment Income Manual puts it: a deduction can be permitted for the cost of genuinely protective clothing that is worn as a matter of physical necessity because of the nature of the job and where the employee must bear the cost, typically items such as overalls, protective gloves and boots (EIM32470, under section 336 ITEPA 2003). No deduction is due for ordinary clothing worn underneath protective clothing (EIM32470).
6. Employees, as GOV.UK's guidance on uniforms, work clothing and tools puts it: you cannot claim tax relief for PPE, because an employer whose staff need PPE should either give it free of charge or ask you to buy it and reimburse you. The same guidance says you cannot claim the initial cost of buying clothing for work, and that you may be able to claim for cleaning, repairing or replacing specialist clothing such as overalls or safety boots. The two HMRC sources are worded differently on buying protective clothing: if your claim turns on that difference, check with HMRC or an accountant.
7. Employees and PPE: HMRC's manual says employers are legally obliged, for health and safety reasons, to provide PPE or reimburse its cost for employees who need it, following a risk assessment, to do their job, and that tax relief cannot be claimed if the employer should be providing or reimbursing it (EIM32470).

Common mistakes

• Treating ordinary warm clothing as protective. For employees, HMRC's manual says outdoor workers may require warm clothing, but the fact that particular clothing may be necessary for a job does not make its cost deductible (EIM32455). For the self-employed, the question is whether the clothing might suitably be worn as part of an everyday wardrobe (BIM37910).
• An employee claiming tax relief on PPE their employer should have provided or reimbursed — HMRC says relief cannot be claimed in that case (EIM32470).
• Assuming everything worn on site qualifies — the ordinary clothes worn under overalls are everyday clothing. HMRC refused an employee's claim for ordinary clothing worn underneath protective clothing (EIM32470), and GOV.UK says the self-employed cannot claim for everyday clothing even if they wear it for work.

What to keep

• Receipts for each item, with a note of what it protects against and why the job requires it.
• For employees: evidence that you bore the cost yourself and that the employer did not provide or reimburse the item.

Real-world example

A self-employed electrician buys safety boots, protective gloves and a hard hat for site work — protective clothing that GOV.UK's guidance for the self-employed treats as claimable. The ordinary jeans worn under the overalls are everyday clothing and are not. If the same electrician were an employee who needed that kit to do the job, the starting point is that the employer should provide it free of charge or reimburse its cost (EIM32470).

Frequently asked