Are you leaving money on the table? Every year, thousands of UK taxpayers miss out on legitimate tax rebates simply because they don’t know these claims exist.

While most workers are aware of common HMRC rebates like uniform tax relief or mileage allowances, there are several lesser-known tax reliefs that could put hundreds or even thousands of pounds back in your pocket.

The UK tax system operates on a self-assessment basis for many allowances, meaning HMRC won’t automatically refund you.

It’s your responsibility to identify and claim what you’re owed. With the ability to backdate claims for up to four tax years, you could be sitting on a substantial lump sum without realising it.

Let’s explore six hidden tax rebates that even informed taxpayers can easily overlook.

1. Subsistence Tax Relief for Food and Refreshments at Temporary Workplaces

If you’re required to work at a temporary workplace and can’t return to your permanent base or home for meals, you may be able to claim tax relief on your food and refreshment expenses.

This is one of the most overlooked reliefs because many workers assume their lunch is simply a personal expense.

What Qualifies?

To claim subsistence relief, you must meet specific criteria:

• You’re working at a temporary workplace (typically defined as a location where you work for less than 24 months continuously)
• You cannot reasonably return to your permanent workplace or home for meals
• The expenses are wholly, exclusively, and necessarily incurred in the performance of your duties
• Your employer hasn’t already reimbursed you

This relief is particularly valuable for construction workers, IT contractors, healthcare professionals on temporary assignments, and anyone who regularly works at different client sites.

Subsistence tax relief is often claimed at the same time as mileage tax relief when using your own car or van for work purposes.

How Much Can You Claim?

HMRC doesn’t set fixed amounts for subsistence claims. Instead, you claim the actual reasonable costs incurred.

However, you must keep detailed records including receipts, dates, locations, and the business purpose of your travel.

The tax relief is calculated based on your marginal tax rate, so basic rate taxpayers receive 20% relief while higher rate taxpayers receive 40%.

Example: If you spend £10 per day on lunch at a temporary site for 200 working days, that’s £2,000 in expenses.

A basic rate taxpayer would receive £400 back, while a higher rate taxpayer would receive £800.

2. Professional Subscriptions Beyond Union Fees

Most workers know they can claim tax relief on union membership fees, but many don’t realise that many professional subscriptions to approved learned societies, journals, and regulatory bodies also qualify for tax relief.

What Qualifies?

HMRC maintains a list of approved professional bodies and learned societies. These include:

• Professional regulatory bodies (e.g., General Medical Council, Solicitors Regulation Authority)
• Learned societies (e.g., Royal Society, British Psychological Society)
• Professional journals and publications relevant to your trade
• Annual practising certificates required for your profession

The key requirement is that the subscription must be relevant to your current employment and necessary for you to perform your duties effectively.

Claiming Your Relief

You can claim relief on the full subscription cost. For a £250 annual subscription, a basic rate taxpayer would receive £50 back, while higher rate taxpayers would receive £100.

These claims can be made through your Self Assessment tax return or via HMRC’s online claiming service if you’re a PAYE employee.

3. Pension Tax Relief for Higher Rate Taxpayers

While basic rate tax relief on pension contributions is usually applied automatically, higher and additional rate taxpayers must actively claim the extra relief they’re entitled to.

This is a significant hidden rebate that many miss.

Understanding the Gap

When you contribute to a pension, basic rate relief (20%) is typically added automatically by your pension provider through relief at source.

If you’re a higher rate (40%) or additional rate (45%) taxpayer and your pension contributions qualify, you need to claim the additional 20% or 25% respectively through your tax return.

Example: If you contribute £8,000 to your pension, your provider adds £2,000 basic rate relief, making it £10,000.

As a higher rate taxpayer, you can claim an additional £2,000 back through your tax return.

How to Claim

Higher rate taxpayers must either complete a Self Assessment tax return or through HMRC’s online pension tax relief service.

Many people eligible for this relief don’t claim it simply because they aren’t aware of the need to take action.

If you’ve been a higher rate taxpayer contributing to a pension and haven’t claimed this relief, you can backdate your claim for up to four years.

4. Working from Home Tax Relief

Despite widespread awareness following the pandemic, many eligible workers still haven’t claimed working from home tax relief.

This applies whether you work from home regularly or occasionally, as long as your employer requires it and doesn’t reimburse you for the additional household costs.

Current Relief Rates

HMRC offers a simplified flat rate claim of £6 per week (£312 per year) for employees who work from home regularly.

You don’t need to provide receipts or calculate actual costs. This results in a tax saving of £62.40 per year for basic rate taxpayers or £124.80 for higher rate taxpayers.

Alternatively, if your actual costs are higher, you can claim the exact amount you spend on additional heating, lighting, and internet costs attributable to your work from home arrangement.

This requires more detailed record-keeping but could result in a larger refund.

Backdating Your Claim

If you worked from home in previous tax years and didn’t claim, you can backdate your claim for up to four years.

That could mean recovering up to £1,248 (£312 × 4 years) before tax relief, translating to approximately £250-£500 in your pocket depending on your tax rate.

5. Tax Relief on Interest Paid on Finance Agreements for Work Tools and Equipment

This is one of the most overlooked tax reliefs, particularly among tradespeople and professionals who need expensive equipment to perform their jobs.

If you’ve taken out a finance agreement or loan to purchase tools and equipment necessary for your work, you may be able to claim tax relief on the interest portion of your repayments.

What Qualifies?

This relief applies to:

• Hire purchase agreements for tools and equipment
• Personal loans taken out specifically to buy work equipment
• Finance agreements for expensive machinery or specialist equipment
• Credit used to purchase equipment necessary for your employment

The key requirement is that the equipment must be necessary for you to perform your job duties, and your employer must not have provided or reimbursed you for the purchase.

Common Scenarios

This relief is particularly valuable for:

• Construction workers financing expensive power tools or machinery
• Mechanics purchasing diagnostic equipment on finance
• IT professionals buying high-spec computers or servers
• Healthcare workers purchasing specialist medical equipment
• Photographers financing camera equipment

Important distinction: You can only claim tax relief on the interest portion of your repayments, not the principal amount.

You may be able to claim capital allowances on the equipment’s purchase price separately.

How to Calculate Your Claim

You’ll need documentation from your finance provider showing the interest charged. Most finance agreements include an annual statement breaking down how much of each payment goes toward interest versus principal.

Example: If you financed £5,000 worth of equipment and paid £600 in interest over the tax year, a basic rate taxpayer could claim back £120, while a higher rate taxpayer could claim £240.

Documentation Required

To make this claim, you’ll need:

• Finance agreement or loan documentation
• Annual statements showing interest charged
• Evidence that the equipment is necessary for your employment
• Confirmation your employer didn’t reimburse the purchase

This claim can be made via your Self Assessment tax return or through HMRC’s online claiming service for PAYE employees.

Given that finance agreements often run for several years, backdating this claim could result in a substantial refund.

6. Business Use of Personal Phone

If you use your personal mobile phone for work purposes and your employer doesn’t reimburse you, you can potentially claim a proportion of these costs as a tax-deductible expense.

To be eligible the cost incurred for work purposes must be additional to your normal monthly contract line rental.

Calculating Your Claim

You need to work out what percentage of your usage is for work purposes. HMRC doesn’t prescribe a specific method, but you should use a reasonable basis such as:

• Analysing your phone bill to identify work-related calls and data usage
• Keeping a log for a representative period to establish a pattern

Example: If your annual mobile phone contract costs £600 and you use it 40% for work, you can claim £240.

As a basic rate taxpayer, you’d receive £48 back; as a higher rate taxpayer, £96.

Important Considerations

You can only claim the proportion used for work, not personal use. If your employer provides any contribution or allowance for these costs, you must deduct this from your claim.

Keep records of your bills and your calculation methodology in case HMRC requests evidence.

How to Claim Your Hidden Tax Rebates

Now that you’re aware of these six overlooked tax reliefs, here’s how to claim what you’re owed:

Option 1: HMRC Online Service (Recommended for Most PAYE Employees)

You can access the HMRC online iForm for expenses through the official GOV.UK “Claim tax relief for your job expenses” page.

This online service, which uses an “online iForm,” is the digital method for employees to claim tax relief on job-related expenses if you are not required to complete a Self Assessment tax return and your total expenses are less than £2,500 for the tax year.

Using the online service:

• Visit GOV.UK and search for “Claim tax relief for your job expenses”
• Sign in with your Government Gateway credentials (you’ll need your National Insurance number)
• Complete the online iForm with details of your employment expenses
• Submit separate claims for each tax year you’re backdating (up to four years)
• HMRC typically processes online claims within 4-8 weeks

Note: This online service is only available if your total employment expenses are under £2,500 per tax year and you’re not already in Self Assessment. If your expenses exceed this threshold, you’ll need to use Self Assessment instead.

Option 2: Form P87 (Alternative Paper Method)

If you prefer not to use the online service or don’t have access to the internet, you can still use the traditional P87 form (Tax Relief for Expenses of Employment):

• Download form P87 from HMRC’s website or request a paper copy by phone
• Complete a separate form for each tax year you’re claiming
• Post the completed form to the address provided on the form
• Attach receipts and supporting documentation

Option 3: Self Assessment Tax Return

If you’re already registered for Self Assessment, include all eligible employment expenses in the employment section of your tax return.

The relief will either reduce your tax bill or result in a refund if you’ve already paid too much. This method is mandatory if your total employment expenses exceed £2,500 per year.

Documentation is Key

For all these claims, maintaining proper records is essential:

• Keep receipts for at least six years from the end of the tax year they relate to
• Maintain a log or diary showing dates, locations, and purposes of expenses
• Obtain confirmation from your employer that they don’t reimburse these costs
• Keep finance agreements, loan documents, and interest statements

Important: While you don’t need to send receipts with your initial tax return, HMRC may request them later to verify your claim. Always keep comprehensive records.

Don’t Leave Money on the Table

These six hidden tax rebates represent just a fraction of the reliefs available to UK workers. The key takeaway is that HMRC operates on a self-assessment principle for employment expenses.

They won’t automatically refund you for these overlooked claims; you need to take action.

With the ability to backdate claims for four tax years, now is the perfect time to review your circumstances and identify which of these reliefs apply to you.

Even if each individual claim seems modest, when combined and backdated, you could be looking at a refund worth hundreds or thousands of pounds.

Calculate Your Potential Refund

Ready to find out how much you’re owed? Use our free tax rebate calculators to estimate your potential refund for each of these claims.

Our calculators are anonymous, require no personal details, and can help you understand exactly what you’re entitled to claim.

Don’t let another tax year pass without claiming what’s rightfully yours.