Uniforms & branded workwear

Conditions

1. Employees, the uniform test: the essential test is whether the employee would readily be recognised as wearing a uniform by the person in the street. It is not enough that all employees wear clothing of a similar design or colour — HMRC's example is bank counter staff required to wear a shirt or blouse in the corporate colours, which is not a uniform, and no deduction can be permitted for the cost of acquiring it (EIM32475). GOV.UK describes a uniform as a set of clothing that identifies you as having a certain occupation, for example nurse or police officer.
2. Employees, badges and what counts as part of the uniform: fixing a permanent and conspicuous badge to otherwise ordinary clothing may be enough to make it a uniform, but each case must be considered on its merits, and a detachable badge is not sufficient (EIM32475). Even where you do wear a uniform, no deduction is permitted for clothing that is not part of it, for example shoes, socks and underwear (EIM32475).
3. Employees, the purchase cost — the two HMRC sources are worded differently. GOV.UK's guidance says you cannot claim tax relief for the initial cost of buying clothing for work, and that you may be able to claim for cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform. HMRC's Employment Income Manual says a deduction can be permitted for clothing that is recognisably a uniform, where the employee is required by their duties to wear it and must bear the cost of it (EIM32475); it accepts that specialist clothing can include a uniform and permits a deduction where the employee must provide it at their own expense (EIM32465), and its worked example says a deduction would be permitted for the cost of uniform items if the employees had to bear the cost themselves (EIM32476). If your claim turns on the purchase cost, check with HMRC or an accountant. For upkeep and flat rate expenses, see the uniform laundry entry.
4. Employees, everyday clothing: GOV.UK says you cannot claim for cleaning, repairing or replacing everyday clothing you wear for work, even if you must wear a certain design or colour. HMRC's manual says it is immaterial that clothing is only worn at work (EIM32455).
5. Sole traders: HMRC's Business Income Manual says you should allow a deduction for protective clothing and uniforms, and gives a nurse's uniform and evening dress worn by a professional waiter as clothing that is not part of an everyday wardrobe. Ordinary clothing is disallowed even where it amounts to a quasi uniform, as in Mallalieu v Drummond: the only question is whether the clothing might suitably be worn as part of a hypothetical person's everyday wardrobe (BIM37910). GOV.UK lists buying, cleaning or repairing specialist clothing or uniforms that are not everyday clothing as claimable for the self-employed.
6. Sole traders and logos: HMRC's badge rule above (EIM32475) is written for employees. HMRC's guidance for the self-employed does not say whether a logo turns ordinary clothing into a uniform; the test it gives is the everyday-wardrobe test (BIM37910). If your claim depends on a logo, check with an accountant.
7. Limited company, case 1 — the company provides uniforms or protective clothing: 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, but clothing provided as part of a salary sacrifice arrangement does have to be reported (Expenses and benefits: clothing).
8. Limited company, case 2 — the company buys or lends other clothing (clothing that is not necessary protective clothing or a uniform): report the cost on form P11D and pay Class 1A National Insurance on the value of the benefit. If employees buy other clothing and the company pays them back, add the value of the benefit to their earnings and deduct and pay PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance through payroll. For non-durable clothing such as tights and stockings that employees buy and the company pays them back for, add the value of the benefit to their earnings and deduct and pay PAYE tax but not Class 1 National Insurance (Expenses and benefits: clothing).
9. Limited company, case 3 — a cash clothing allowance: take tax and National Insurance separately. For National Insurance, money for clothes that can be worn at any time is earnings and attracts Class 1 NICs; a clothing payment can be excluded from earnings where the clothes can only be worn at work and there is evidence of their cost, and money for non-durable items such as tights or stockings is also excluded. HMRC says the tax position is more restrictive than the NICs position (NIM05657).
10. Limited company, Corporation Tax: HMRC's manual says normal employee costs are allowable (BIM37700). Its clothing page for traders, BIM37910, does not cover companies: its section of the manual relates purely to the self-employed and partnerships (BIM37900).

Common mistakes

• Assuming a logo automatically makes clothing a uniform — for employees, HMRC says a permanent and conspicuous badge may be enough, judged case by case, and a detachable badge is not (EIM32475).
• Treating a corporate dress code as a uniform — HMRC's bank counter-staff example says clothing in corporate colours is not a uniform (EIM32475), and GOV.UK says employees cannot claim for cleaning, repairing or replacing everyday clothing even if they must wear a certain design or colour.
• Relying on one source for an employee's purchase-cost claim — GOV.UK says the initial cost of buying clothing for work cannot be claimed, while HMRC's manual permits a deduction for a uniform the employee must pay for (EIM32465, EIM32476).
• Mixing up staff workwear with promotional clothing given to customers — that is a different question; see the branded merchandise entry.

What to keep

• Receipts for the clothing and, where relevant, for the embroidery or printing that fixes the logo permanently.
• Photos or a description showing the uniform is recognisable as such.
• For companies: records of what was provided to whom, to support the exemption or P11D reporting.

Real-world example

A self-employed plumber has polo shirts and a fleece permanently embroidered with the business name and logo. HMRC's guidance for the self-employed does not address logos, so whether they count as a uniform turns on the everyday-wardrobe test (BIM37910) — a question worth putting to an accountant. The plain work trousers worn with them are everyday clothing and are not claimable. If the plumber ran a limited company that provided uniforms to staff, most uniforms carry no tax or National Insurance; if it instead paid staff back for ordinary shirts and trousers they bought themselves, those payments go through payroll with PAYE tax and Class 1 National Insurance.

Frequently asked