As a PAYE lorry driver, what can we claim back off the tax man?
I’ve never really thought much of it being PAYE but a friend in a different profession recently received a rebate due to working from home, washing his work clothes and a few other things. Which got me thinking, surely the tax man can sort us HGV drivers out a few quid so we can get half a days heating.
I use my personal phone to ring the shops when I arrive for example, so can I claim back on that? What about the fuel to get to and from work (unlikely but if people can get money for working at home then… You know). Food at work? Clothing?
I’m not expecting there to be much in the way of a windfall even if we can make a claim but if its possible to do, then why not. The tax man actually owes me about a grand as it is for the last financial year anyway.
Not a lot more than laundry of your uniform.
Definitely not commuting to work.
Anything that is “Wholly and exclusively and necessary” to do your job. So you have to compare yourself to a theoretical other person, would they need to incur that cost. Eg. An employee lives next door to the yard, so they would not incur any commuting costs, it’s your choice that you live so far away.
The cost of your license, and training costs for it and CPC incurred ie you couldn’t do your job without, I think you should be able to claim.
Many years ago i put in a claim for workwear, laundry of said workwear, maps, as all necessary for my work.
Local tax office reluctantly allowed me a nominal amount, which was added to my basic tax code, as i recall once i moved onto bigger companies with outbased tax offices that was removed, don’t think all tax offices are as helpful to people who work for a living.
In theory if they still allow such claims the huge amounts some splurge on satnavs would probably be a valid claim, most proper companies supply workwear and safety boots (or an allowance/contribution towards a higher cost if you value your plates more than the company does), and i’m unsure if they would still allow a claim for cleaning of work clothes.
You might be able to claim tax relief if:
you use your own money for things that you must buy for your job
you only use these things for your work
You cannot claim tax relief if your employer either gives you:
all the money back
an alternative, for example your employer gives you a laptop but you want a different type or model
You may be able to claim tax relief on the cost of:
repairing or replacing small tools you need to do your job (for example, scissors or an electric drill)
cleaning, repairing or replacing specialist clothing (for example, a uniform or safety boots)
You cannot claim relief on the initial cost of buying small tools or clothing for work
You cannot claim tax relief for PPE. If your job requires you to use PPE your employer should either:
give you PPE free of charge
ask you to buy it and reimburse you the costs
You may be able to claim tax relief if you use cars, vans, motorcycles or bicycles for work.
This does not include travelling to and from your work, unless it’s a temporary place of work.
There are some options, but are you prepared to do a bit of work for a relatively modest sum?
You can claim tax relief on meals during the day if you are away all day. You don’t even need receipts, just take note of how many hours your day was. £5 or £10 per day taken out of tax consideration could be £1 - £2 per day.
The rules on temporary workers travel expenses is a bit of a moot point, especially on these forums. There have been some rule changes meaning that employment intermediaries can’t put through expenses anymore. You also wouldn’t be able to claim expenses to a normal place of work, even if you are a temporary worker, however there may be a way round this because many agency workers are offered work day by day, so effectively each offer of work for another day is a new contract, so this could be said to be temporary, even if you are going to the same place.
Travelling expenses are done using a standard rate per mile, which is supposed to cover fuel, wear and tear on your car etc etc. So if £2000 is taken out of tax, for a basic rate tax payer, this equates to around £400 in your pocket if the travel is valid and claimable.
In theory if they still allow such claims the huge amounts some splurge on satnavs would probably be a valid claim, .
No it wouldn’t, as you allude to, you could do their job without such expenditure. Whereas, as a basic minimum, you could probably argue that no one could do the job without spending on a map.
In theory if they still allow such claims the huge amounts some splurge on satnavs would probably be a valid claim, .
No it wouldn’t, as you allude to, you could do their job without such expenditure. Whereas, as a basic minimum, you could probably argue that no one could do the job without spending on a map.
Could be worth pursuing this via an MP, if anyone’s got one worth a light.
Keeping in mind how many clots drive into bridges, it could be argued that a decent satnav is an essential.
Do the uniform one and then just work for the right companies/money on PAYE that you don’t have to think of schemes to bump up your wages, means you don’t have to worry about letters from the tax man.
Noremac:
There are some options, but are you prepared to do a bit of work for a relatively modest sum?
You can claim tax relief on meals during the day if you are away all day. You don’t even need receipts, just take note of how many hours your day was. £5 or £10 per day taken out of tax consideration could be £1 - £2 per day.
The rules on temporary workers travel expenses is a bit of a moot point, especially on these forums. There have been some rule changes meaning that employment intermediaries can’t put through expenses anymore. You also wouldn’t be able to claim expenses to a normal place of work, even if you are a temporary worker, however there may be a way round this because many agency workers are offered work day by day, so effectively each offer of work for another day is a new contract, so this could be said to be temporary, even if you are going to the same place.
Travelling expenses are done using a standard rate per mile, which is supposed to cover fuel, wear and tear on your car etc etc. So if £2000 is taken out of tax, for a basic rate tax payer, this equates to around £400 in your pocket if the travel is valid and claimable.
“The travel and subsistence expense rules will apply in the same way as they would if the worker was engaged directly. It’s therefore likely that each workplace a worker attends will fall within the definition of a permanent workplace and travel to that workplace, from home (or a place that is not a workplace) would be considered ordinary commuting for the purposes of section 338 of ITEPA. Any payment for the cost of this travel would therefore be subject to tax” gov.uk/government/publicati … april-2016
You can still submit a postal claim on a P87 (indeed as from this month that’s the only form of postal claim they will accept - you used to be able to write a letter detailing your claim). For most people with only a couple of jobs it’s easiest to submit an online application.
Oh - and you can still easily get the flat rate allowance for uniform laundering regardless of the size of your employer. It’s only £60 though, so for most drivers paying Basic Rate tax it amounts to an astonishing £1 extra a month in your take-home pay. #everylittlehelps
Dont forget if your wife works part time to use the marriage allowance, gives me a better tax code as she earns about a grand a month so was wasting her tax allowance as she wasnt paying any.
Swordsy:
Dont forget if your wife works part time to use the marriage allowance, gives me a better tax code as she earns about a grand a month so was wasting her tax allowance as she wasnt paying any.
Same applies if it’s your husband or civil partner who has an income lower than their Personal Allowance (currently £12570), and even if they are not working at all. You can’t get it if you pay Tax at Higher Rate though. Still, it’s an extra £20 a month in your bank account instead of the Taxman’s.
You can claim a flat rate fee of £60 for washing your work clothes if they’re a uniform but not if you go to work in say your own jeans and t-shirt.
You can claim the costs of renewing digicard, driving licence, medicals, your DCPC course and travelling to and from your DCPC training at HMRC rates of 45p per mile.
You can claim a flat rate for meals because of the hours you work but only if you have proof of an actual expense so if you’ve taken food with you and not bought any you can’t claim.
Swordsy:
Dont forget if your wife works part time to use the marriage allowance, gives me a better tax code as she earns about a grand a month so was wasting her tax allowance as she wasnt paying any.
Yeah that’s a good one, I donate 10% of my allowance to her, so that she can keep me in the style to which I am accustomed!
Any one working for agency, take a look at this tax.service.gov.uk/check-em … disclaimer seems to suggest that if yur working on a ad hoc bases your self employed or have I got things wrong?
Conor:
You can claim a flat rate fee of £60 for washing your work clothes if they’re a uniform but not if you go to work in say your own jeans and t-shirt.
You can claim the costs of renewing digicard, driving licence, medicals, your DCPC course and travelling to and from your DCPC training at HMRC rates of 45p per mile.
You can claim a flat rate for meals because of the hours you work but only if you have proof of an actual expense so if you’ve taken food with you and not bought any you can’t claim.
You cannot claim travel to work.
Really, how do you do that, can you claim for parking too?
Swordsy:
Dont forget if your wife works part time to use the marriage allowance, gives me a better tax code as she earns about a grand a month so was wasting her tax allowance as she wasnt paying any.
Same applies if it’s your husband or civil partner who has an income lower than their Personal Allowance (currently £12570), and even if they are not working at all. You can’t get it if you pay Tax at Higher Rate though. Still, it’s an extra £20 a month in your bank account instead of the Taxman’s.
