Claiming for Business Clothing Against TAX

[Maxamus]

Well this has me worried now.

Im a highways engineer and i buy and provide my own personal protective clothing. This includes high visibility jacket, hard hat, site boots and vest.

I have in the past claimed for cleaning costs for when they get dirty and i have to take them down to the dry cleaners.

I will soon be replacing my protective clothing with new ones and will be putting these through as an expense.

According to my accountant im doing nothing wrong by claiming for them or the dry cleaning costs.............

is my accountant right?

[Sockpuppet]

The word is "protective". Its a health and safety related cost not a "uniform cost".

You wouldn't wear a high vis vest down the pub...or would you.

[ASB]

Well this has me worried now.

Im a highways engineer and i buy and provide my own personal protective clothing. This includes high visibility jacket, hard hat, site boots and vest.

I have in the past claimed for cleaning costs for when they get dirty and i have to take them down to the dry cleaners.

I will soon be replacing my protective clothing with new ones and will be putting these through as an expense.

According to my accountant im doing nothing wrong by claiming for them or the dry cleaning costs.............

is my accountant right?

Yes.

http://search.hmrc.gov.uk/kbroker/in...&ss=&mt=0&to=0

[Bigbird]

I think PPE is treated differently to "normal" clothing though.

BIM37910 - Wholly & exclusively: expenditure having an intrinsic duality of purpose: Clothing
Different treatment for ‘uniform’, ‘costume’ and an ‘everyday wardrobe’
You should disallow expenditure on ordinary clothing worn by a trader during the course of their trade. This remains so even where particular standards of dress are required by, for example, the rules of a professional body.

The case of Mallalieu v Drummond [1983] 57TC330 (which is discussed in detail below) established that no deduction is available under Case I/II Schedule D for the costs of clothing which forms part of an ‘everyday' wardrobe. This remains so even where the taxpayer can show that they only wear such clothing in the course of their profession. It is irrelevant that the person chooses not to wear the clothing in question on non-business occasions, the only question is whether the clothing might suitably be worn as part of a hypothetical person’s ‘everyday' wardrobe.

Most professionals have to keep up appearances but their clothing costs are not allowable (even where they amount to a quasi uniform as in Mallalieu).

The cost of clothing that is not part of an ‘everyday' wardrobe (for example a nurse’s uniform or evening dress (‘tails’) worn by a professional waiter) faces no such bar to deduction.

You should therefore allow a deduction for protective clothing and uniforms.

Will have to trawl through the expenses booklet again but I think there are even circumstanes where you can claim allowance for PPE as an employed taxpayer..........

[Bigbird]

Found it! You can indeed claim a deduction for PPE even if you're an employee, but only for the PPE itself and not for any other stuff you may wear under it. Incidentally the mallieu case referred to in my quote above was the lady solicitor that some of the other posters have referred to and she did indeed lose her case at the Lords stage.

EIM32470 - Other expenses: clothing: protective clothing
A deduction can be permitted for the cost of genuinely protective clothing that is worn as a matter of physical necessity because of the nature of the job and where the employee must bear the cost. This will typically cover items such as overalls, protective gloves and boots.

In the case of Woodcock v CIR (51TC698) the taxpayer wanted a deduction for the cost of ordinary clothing worn underneath protective clothing and for his shoes and glasses worn at work. A deduction was refused because none of this clothing can be said to be worn wholly and exclusively in performing the duties of the employment.

Where you accept that a deduction can be permitted for items of protective clothing you should not also permit a deduction for other clothing worn at the same time, see example EIM32471.

[boredsenseless]

I think I've found the solution:

Become a naturist, then any clothing you would wear to work would have to be deemed business clothing because you normally don't wear any outside working hours.

But we are all IT geeks so that wouldn't be nice for the rest of the planet would it!