Tax Allowances

Our purpose is to help UK taxpayers claim back allowances and refunds that they are rightfully entitled to, which they would otherwise miss out on. It is estimated that over 7 million UK taxpayers are missing out each year on hundreds of pounds of tax refunds and allowances that they are entitled to.

Not only are Check A Tax Claim specialists in financial claim tax refunds, we will also look to maximise the money you receive back from the HMRC by requesting further refunds you could be due from other allowances.

In the last 4 years have you…

  • Paid income tax?
  • Been married and your spouse has earnt less than £12,500 a year?
  • Had more than one job?
  • Worked a ‘seasonal’ job?
  • Worked less than 25 hours on minimum wage?
  • Used your own car for business purposes?
  • Worked from home, some, or all of the time?
  • Laundered work wear provided by your employer?
  • Received more than one notice of coding within a tax year?
  • Paid subscriptions to a professional organisation?
  • Temporarily worked from a place which is not your contracted permanent place of work (i.e. contracted at Head Office but work from a site)?
  • Turned 65?
  • Worked for only part of the year?

If you answer yes to any of these questions then you should be entitled to a refund.

Marriage Allowance

Marriage allowance is an elective tax break, which means that it has to be claimed from HMRC, it is not a tax break which is automatically applied through your tax code. When it is claimed it allows the partner with the lower income to transfer up to £1,150 (on a 4 year backdated claim) of their personal allowance that remains to the partner with the higher earnings. By doing this couples can reduce the higher earner’s income tax by up to £250 per year.

To be eligible to make a marriage allowance claim, you will need to meet the following criteria :

  • You must be in a marriage or a civil partnership, this is not for co-habiting couples.
  • One of the partners in the marriage or civil partnership must be earning more than the Annual Personal Allowance (2019-2020 APA is £12,500)
  • One of the partners in the marriage or civil partnership must be earning less than the Annual Personal Allowance (2019-2020 APA is £12,500)

How much can be claimed varies from couple to couple and depends on your individual earnings and how much unused Annual Personal Allowance the lower earning partner has available to transfer. You could transfer up to £1,150 over a 4-year backdated claim to your partner and claim an income tax reduction of up to £250 per year.

In order to establish whether you are entitled to a reclaim, we can review your individual circumstances and liaise with HM Revenue & Customs on your behalf.

Mileage Allowance

Do you use your car for work? You could claim back up to 45p per mile for work related travel.

If you are using your own vehicle for any travel at work to do with carrying out your daily duties or core activities of your job, then you could claim back a mileage allowance based on the total number of miles you have travelled per year for the last 4 years that you have worked and the current tax year.

To be eligible to make a mileage allowance claim, the will need to meet the following criteria:

  • You must be using your own vehicle, not a company paid vehicle.
  • The travel must be related to your day to day work tasks, such as visiting customers, clients or suppliers, and other necessary tasks relating to your work.
  • You must not be reimbursed fully by your employer, you can be partially reimbursed and claim the difference.
  • You cannot claim for travel to a permanent place of work.

HMRC allows you to claim 45p per mile of tax relief for the first 10,000 miles of travel incurred per year, thereafter you can claim 25p per mile for any additional mileage incurred per year. If you are partially reimbursed by your employer, you can claim the difference, for example, if your employer pays you 35p per mile, you can claim the difference of 10p per mile for the first 10,000 miles you travel related to work.

Uniform Tax Refund

Over two thirds of all people who wear a uniform to work can claim a tax refund, find out now if you are due a refund.

Any person who wears a uniform or protective clothing of any type to work, that they are required to wash and maintain could be eligible for a tax refund if the following criteria can be met:

  • You wear a uniform that shows you have a certain job, postman, policeman, nurse, it could also include someone who works for a certain store and wears branded items of clothing, T-shirts, Jackets etc.
  • It is a requirement of your job that you wear a certain uniform.
  • You are required to purchase, clean, repair or replace the uniform yourself.
  • You must have paid income tax for the year you are claiming for.

There are many different industry sectors and professions that can be eligible, including:

  • Hospitality and Catering staff including Restaurant workers.
  • Retail Store Workers, Asda, Sainsbury, Aldi, Lidl, Tesco and many others.
  • Healthcare workers, Doctors, Nurses, Dentists and others
  • Cabin Crew and Airline workers
  • Police Officers, Traffic Wardens and Security workers.
  • Tradespeople, Builders, Plumbers, Joiners
  • Any worker that wears a piece of clothing that has their employer’s logo on it

HMRC allows you to claim for up to 5 years including the current financial year. The amount you can claim depends on the work you do, the standard rate is £60, however some sectors are allowed to claim a higher rate. The average refund claimed is around £220-£250.

Professional subscriptions

Are you a member of a professional body or organisation and pay subscription fees for annual membership? If so then did you know that you can claim tax relief on the cost of the membership?

This is an often overlooked area of tax relief and can mean you are potentially paying more tax than you need to.

This can apply to both employed or self-employed workers, and can reduce your tax bill by claiming relief on any payments made for professional fees and subscriptions.

When we talk about professional fees or subscriptions we mean if you have registered, obtained a licence or become a member of the organisation in question because it’s necessary to your work and the organisation is approved by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

For example, if you are a medical professional you may be required to maintain a membership with the British Medical Association (BMA). As the BMA are on HMRC’s approved list the annual membership fees would qualify as a tax deductible expense.

In order to be eligible, the membership you pay for must be necessary for you to do your job or if it is helpful to your work.

You cannot claim for tax relief for any fees or subscriptions you pay to organisations that are not on the HMRC approved list, or for fees that are paid for by your employer.

If the professional organisation or body is on the HMRC’s approved list, then you will be able to offset the subscription or membership fee against your income when it comes to calculating your annual tax bill. In order to be able to claim tax relief you actively have to make a claim with HMRC, as it is not given automatically. The tax relief is usually given as an allowance in your PAYE code, which is used by your employer when working out your monthly pay.