Every worker told they can get tax cash back for clothes, mileage and power

Officials have told every worker that they may be able to claim money back on a host of items they have bought for their job. Taking to X, formerly Twitter HM Revenue and Customs said people could be missing out on cash.

It said: “Did you know that you may be eligible to claim for help towards costs relating to your work, if your employer doesn’t cover these? Check if you are eligible before making a work expenses tax claim or you may have to pay it back at a later date.”

According to the GOV.com website you might be able to claim tax relief if you use your own money for things that you must buy for your job and you only use these things for your work.

However, it warns people might not be able to claim tax relief if your employer either gives you all the money back or it’s for an alternative, for example your employer gives you a laptop but you want a different type or model.

Anyone working from home may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs. You can claim tax relief if you have to work from home, for example because your job requires you to live far away from your office or your employer does not have an office.

It can’t be claimed if you choose to work from home – including if your employment contract lets you work from home some or all of the time or your employer has an office, but you cannot go there sometimes because it’s full.

So people who are eligible can claim for business phone calls, gas and electricity for your work area but they cannot claim for things they use for both private and business use, such as rent or broadband access.

You can either claim tax relief on: £6 a week from 6 April 2020 (for previous tax years the rate is £4 a week) – you will not need to keep evidence of your extra costs or the exact amount of extra costs you’ve incurred above the weekly amount – you’ll need evidence such as receipts, bills or contracts. HMRC sites the example of if you pay the 20% basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week, you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6).

Tax relief can also be claimed for areas including for a uniform or specialist clothing, uniforms, work clothing and tools. People can also claim it for vehicles if they use cars, vans, motorcycles or bicycles for work.

This does not include travelling to and from your work but if eligible people can claim tax relief on the approved mileage rate. For the full rundown and links for lodging claims click here.