Uniform laundry & maintenance

Conditions

1. The upkeep claim follows the clothing. For employees, HMRC's manual says no deduction can be permitted for the cost of upkeep, replacement and repair of ordinary clothing (EIM32480), and where a deduction is permitted for the cost of clothing a deduction should also be permitted for its upkeep (EIM32450). For the self-employed, GOV.UK lists buying, cleaning or repairing protective clothing needed for your work, clothing that protects your everyday clothes while you work (such as aprons or overalls, if you only use them for work), uniforms that are not everyday clothing, and costumes used for acting, entertaining or advertising your business (unless they are everyday clothing) as claimable; Mallalieu v Drummond concerned a barrister's claim for replacing and laundering everyday professional clothes, and the House of Lords found for the Crown (BIM37910).
2. Employees, actual costs: where the upkeep of clothing is deductible, HMRC allows a reasonable deduction for any necessary cost of cleaning the employee actually incurs, which should not include notional amounts such as an estimate of the employee's own labour washing at home (EIM32480). A deduction above the flat rate should not usually be permitted unless the employee has evidence of the amount incurred (EIM32715).
3. Employees, flat rate expenses: section 367 ITEPA 2003 allows a deduction of a sum fixed by the Treasury as the average annual cost of repairing and maintaining work equipment — tools or special clothing — for a class of employees (EIM32705). GOV.UK's list of industries and jobs gives the amounts, and says that if your industry and job are not shown, you can claim a flat rate expense amount of £60. HMRC's manual gives £60 a year, from 2008 to 2009 onwards, as an amount that may be accepted for laundry for employees not covered by a nationally agreed flat rate expense (EIM32485).
4. Some amounts from the lists: agriculture, all workers, £100 a year (GOV.UK's list). GOV.UK's list has separate rows for health and care staff employed by the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers, and these rates apply only to staff of those employers, from 2014 to 2015 onwards: ambulance staff on active service £185 a year; nurses, midwives, therapists and the other roles listed with them £125; plaster room orderlies, hospital porters, ward clerks, sterile supply workers, hospital domestics and hospital catering staff £125; laboratory staff, pharmacists and pharmacy assistants, and uniformed ancillary staff £80 (EIM66795; GOV.UK's list). The list is long and job-specific — check it for your own industry, job and employer.
5. GOV.UK's list gives nurses, midwives and the other roles listed with them in that health and care row — staff of the National Health Service, private hospitals, local authorities and independent care providers — £12 a year for shoes and £6 a year for tights or stockings, where everyone is required to wear the same colour or style. HMRC's manual words the same allowance for nurses and midwives of all grades, including healthcare assistants or workers, where a prescribed style is obligatory (EIM67200).
6. You can claim the actual expense in any year instead of the flat rate (EIM32715). For an actual-cost claim you must send receipts or other evidence that proves you've paid; a flat rate claim needs no evidence. You can claim for the current tax year and the 4 previous tax years. Claims are made through HMRC's online service, or by post for an actual-cost claim; if you complete a Self Assessment tax return, you must claim through your tax return instead.
7. Sole traders claim the actual cost of cleaning and repairing qualifying clothing as a business expense. The flat rate amounts are fixed for classes of employees under section 367 ITEPA 2003 and do not apply to the self-employed.
8. Limited companies: GOV.UK's employer guidance on clothing covers purchase, cleaning and repair costs, and says you do not have to pay tax and National Insurance on most uniforms or protective clothing, though you may still have to report these expenses to HMRC. If employees pay to have other clothing cleaned or repaired and the company pays them back, the value goes through payroll with PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance (Expenses and benefits: clothing). For 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).
9. No relief, or less relief: no flat rate deduction is allowed if the employer pays or reimburses the expenses, or would do so if requested, and it is reduced by any part the employer pays or would pay (section 367 ITEPA 2003). GOV.UK says you cannot claim for laundering your own uniform or specialist clothing if your employer provides a free laundering service and you choose not to use it. HMRC's manual says no deduction can be made for the upkeep, replacement and repair of PPE where the employer is legally obliged to provide it or reimburse its cost (EIM32480).

Common mistakes

• Claiming the flat rate for washing ordinary work clothes — HMRC permits no deduction for the upkeep of ordinary clothing (EIM32480).
• Expecting a £60 payment — the flat rate reduces the tax you pay. GOV.UK's own example: if you claim a flat rate expense of £60 and pay tax at a rate of 20%, you pay £12 less tax.
• Paying a claims firm a cut for something you can check and claim yourself through HMRC's online service.
• Claiming when the employer already pays or reimburses the cost, or offers free laundering you choose not to use — no relief is due (section 367 ITEPA 2003; GOV.UK).

What to keep

• For the employee flat rate: no evidence needs to be sent.
• For actual-cost claims: receipts or other evidence that proves you've paid. HMRC does not allow notional amounts, such as an estimate of your own time spent washing at home (EIM32480).
• Sole traders: receipts and a note showing the cleaned items are qualifying clothing — protective clothing, aprons or overalls used only for work, a uniform that is not everyday clothing, or a costume used for acting, entertaining or advertising the business that is not everyday clothing.

Real-world example

A supermarket employee must wear a recognisable uniform, washes it at home, and the employer provides no laundering. Assuming their job is not on GOV.UK's list, they claim the £60 flat rate expense through HMRC's online service with no receipts, for the current tax year and the 4 previous tax years. Their self-employed neighbour, a builder, instead deducts the actual cost of washing and repairing the overalls and safety boots worn only for work.

Frequently asked