Work expense claim assistant
Find out what you can claim back from HMRC for 2026/27, backdate up to 4 more years, and leave with a ready-to-use claim pack. Free, and no personal details needed.
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Scottish taxpayer? Pick the closest band; your relief will be slightly different because Scotland has its own rates.
Recurring claims like uniform and fees can be backdated 4 years. One-off costs and mileage are counted for this year only.
Only counts if your employer requires it. Worth £6 a week at the flat rate.
Must be on HMRC's approved list (List 3), like the NMC, GMC or a trade institute.
The approved rate is 55p for the first 10,000 miles; you can claim relief on any gap.
Estimated tax back
Nothing to claim yet: go back and add at least one expense.
Your expenses are over £2,500 a year, so HMRC requires a Self Assessment return instead of a P87. The claim pack still applies; it just gets filed through a return.
Figures, evidence checklist and step-by-step filing instructions. Claim direct with HMRC for free; refund firms keep up to 40%.
How work expense claims actually work
If your job costs you money that your employer does not pay back, HMRC gives you tax relief on it: your taxable income is reduced by the qualifying amount, so you get back tax at your own rate. A basic-rate taxpayer gets 20% of the expense, a higher-rate taxpayer 40%. Relief is not a refund of the whole cost: spend £100 on tools and you get £20 or £40 back, not £100.
Claims split into two kinds. Flat rate expenses are fixed annual amounts agreed between HMRC and industries for uniforms and tools: no receipts, no measuring, just the right industry on the form. Actual cost claims cover specific purchases (tools, professional fees, mileage shortfalls) and need evidence: receipts, payment proof and a note of anything reimbursed. Since HMRC's 2024 crackdown and the June 2026 rule update, incomplete claims are rejected rather than queried, so the evidence checklist in your claim pack matters as much as the numbers.
You can claim for the current tax year plus the four before it. That window closes hard: relief for 2022/23 disappears after 5 April 2027. Most first-time claimants have several years of the same recurring expense to collect, which is why the first claim is usually the biggest.
Flat rate expense amounts for 2026/27
A selection of HMRC's agreed occupation amounts. Relief is your tax rate on the amount: at basic rate, a £60 allowance is worth £12 a year.
| Occupation | Flat rate per year | Worth at 20% | Worth at 40% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard uniform (any industry) | £60 | £12.00 | £24.00 |
| Nurse or midwife | £125 | £25.00 | £50.00 |
| Other healthcare staff | £100 | £20.00 | £40.00 |
| Mechanic or skilled engineering trade | £120 | £24.00 | £48.00 |
| Joiner, carpenter or builder | £140 | £28.00 | £56.00 |
| Police officer | £140 | £28.00 | £56.00 |
| Retail worker with uniform | £60 | £12.00 | £24.00 |
| Hospitality worker with uniform | £60 | £12.00 | £24.00 |
Full occupation list: GOV.UK flat rate expenses. Amounts shown are the common cases; some specialist roles have higher agreed rates.
What you cannot claim
- Ordinary commuting: travel between home and your permanent workplace never qualifies, whatever the distance.
- Everyday clothing: a suit you wear only for work is still ordinary clothing in HMRC's eyes; only uniforms, protective gear and costumes count.
- Anything fully reimbursed: if your employer paid it back, the relief already happened.
- Working from home by choice: the £6 a week rate needs a requirement to work from home, not a preference.
- Food and coffee at your normal workplace: subsistence only qualifies alongside qualifying business travel.
Estimates for guidance only, not tax advice. Relief depends on your actual tax position; Scottish rates differ. Full detail in our news story on HMRC's updated P87 rules, or check individual amounts with the Work Expense Tax Rebate Calculator.
