Tax Refunds and laundry relief for Carers
Published: 04/05/2017
Spring conjures up images of flowers blooming, birds singing and blue skies. However, there is one particular feature of spring that many of us dread: the tax return.
It’s not necessarily bad news though, as many of us working in the care sector will be able to claim some tax back from the government – guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face! So, how to do it? Well, here are two ways to get you started:
- Laundry relief – £60!
If you wear protective clothing like gloves or aprons to carry out your care work and wash your work clothes at home then you can claim a tax refund and tax relief on the cost of the laundry. Note: You cannot claim for the initial cost of buying this clothing and there must be no facilities at your place of work to wash your clothes.
- Mileage Reclaim
Did you know you can reclaim the tax on the difference between the mileage allowance that you receive from your employer and the HMRC max allowed rate (currently 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles)?
How to claim
You must claim using a self-assessment tax return if you already complete one. If you are not registered for self-assessment you will need to complete form P87 and claim your tax relief either online or by post.
The key things to be aware of when completing the form are:
1) Your office will have its own unique Employer PAYE reference number – you will need to find this out from your employer.
3) The claim for mileage incurred on behalf of your work must be clearly recorded. For example, to help our care team, we calculate a mileage report for each of them showing the total mileage that we have recorded.
4) In all cases it is your responsibility to maintain and declare true and accurate records. It is a serious offence to falsely claim mileage and could lead to prosecution by HM
