Uniform Tax Rebate

When uniforms look great and fit well, they make employees feel proud of their jobs. This is one reason to make sure your uniforms aren’t embarrassing or ill-fitting. After all, who feels good when they’re wearing baggy shirts or goofy-looking hats? If your employees know they look great and professional, they’re more likely to feel proud to work at your office.

Asking employees to wear distinctive uniforms in the colors associated with the company can go a long way in establishing an impression in the mind of the consumer. Uniforms identify workers as individuals who are associated with a company and its products, and they help to brand the company by distinguishing it from the competition. Consistency in employee appearance can create a positive impression on the customer and contribute to projecting the corporate image.

When uniforms look great and fit well, they make employees feel proud of their jobs. This is one reason to make sure your uniforms aren’t embarrassing or ill-fitting. After all, who feels good when they’re wearing baggy shirts or goofy-looking hats? If your employees know they look great and professional, they’re more likely to feel proud to work at your office.

Asking employees to wear distinctive uniforms in the colors associated with the company can go a long way in establishing an impression in the mind of the consumer.

Uniforms identify workers as individuals who are associated with a company and its products, and they help to brand the company by distinguishing it from the competition. Consistency in employee appearance can create a positive impression on the customer and contribute to projecting the corporate image.

Just as a police uniform identifies a law officer, a uniform can identify an employee who is out in the field making a service call or delivery to a customer’s home. Uniforms can also ease the mind of people handing over their keys when their car needs servicing, or when taking advantage of valet parking at a restaurant.

Work uniforms help instill a sense of pride and responsibility and can convert employees into “brand ambassadors” outside the actual workplace.

When it comes to washing your uniform, it is advised that you wash shirts, tops and polo shirts after each wear, in order to limit the damage that perspiration can cause to fabrics. Most other garments do not need cleaning after each wash unless they are visibly stained, in fact, washing items after each wear unnecessarily can damage the shelf life of the garment as it can subject the garments to needless wear and tear.

Pre-soaking your uniform can keep your uniform clean. After an intense training session, don’t wash your uniform immediately. Instead, fill a large bucket with warm water then add a capful of heavy duty laundry detergent plus a cup of baking soda. Soak your uniform for at least an hour. If you can, soak it overnight before washing the uniform.

But before you pre-soak your uniform, you should check if water in your residence is soft or hard. If it is the latter, it will be harder to clean your uniform because hard water has excess minerals that can make detergents less effective in removing soil. If that’s the case, you should add water conditioner to your pre-soak bucket.

If you have a uniform made of pure cotton, it will surely wrinkle after air drying. In ironing the uniform, choose the right setting (cotton setting) and use an ironing board. Start with the trousers and then iron the legs so that the creases will be at the side of the legs, and not the front. Then iron the top or jacket as if it was a t-shirt, with its creases running down the outside of the sleeve.

So if you wear a uniform at work and have to wash, repair or replace it yourself, you may be able to reclaim tax from the HMRC. And this applies whether it’s a just a branded t-shirt or you’re a uniform like a doctor, police officer or firemen. You claim for the past four years, so even if you don’t wear a uniform at your current job right now, you may be able to claim.

Uniform Tax relief may be claimed for the following:

  • Cleaning costs of your uniform
  • Buying or replacing of uniforms
  • In other cases: Specialised shoes, stockings and other clothing items

How much you can claim may varies depending on the type of industry you work for. The Standard flat rate expense allowance (FREA) for general uniform maintenance is £60 for the 2015/2016 tax season meaning that a basic-rate tax payer will be able to claim £12 back, or 20% of £60, and the higher-rated tax payers will be able to claim £24 or 40% of £60 back in their tax forms. Since the £60 is a flat rate there is no documentation required and there is no reason to report the amounts you spend.

Below is a list of the yearly allowance for specific sectors:

General sectors – £60

Airline Cabin Crew – £720

Airline Pilots – £1,022

Agriculture – £100

Ambulance Staff – £140

Fire Service – £80

Police Officers – £140

Prisons – £80