Healthcare Worker Tax Rebate Guide
Private sector and NHS healthcare professionals can qualify for a Healthcare Worker Tax Rebate. We’ll make sure you get yours.
Whatever your specific role is, if you are a healthcare worker, then you are eligible to claim a Healthcare Worker Tax Rebate.
You undoubtedly spend some of your hard-earned wages on things that you may not consider to be ‘work expenses’. For example, using your private vehicle for work journeys, or sticking your uniform in the washing machine.
More good news!
You are not just restricted to making a claim for this tax year – you can backdate an initial claim for your last four taxpaying years. You continue to make this tax saving into the future as your tax code will be altered to take it into account.
See how the regulations apply to you and how to get through the process, with our free Healthcare Worker Tax Rebate guide.
What can Healthcare Workers claim a tax rebate for?
We’ve listed below some of the most common expenses that workers within the health industry can claim a tax rebate for:
Rebate for professional fees
HMRC allows tax relief to be reclaimed on the cost of most professional bodies and some Unions, for example a nurse can make a claim for tax relief on their NMC and RCN membership fees.
Uniform tax
If you need to wash your own work uniform, and the NHS or other employer doesn’t reimburse you or offer laundry facilities, this is an allowable expense.
The current uniform washing allowance for healthcare workers is worth £125 each tax year.
Rebate for the cost of shoes and tights
Tax relief is available for many healthcare workers who buy shoes and tights for work use, and aren’t reimbursed by their employer.
The current allowances are £6 for tights and £12 for shoes per tax year.
Tax relief for car use and business mileage
You can claim tax relief if you use your own vehicle to travel for work − for example a mobile care worker who visits patients in the community. You can’t claim for normal commuting to your permanent place of work.
You need to be able to produce records of journeys, dates and mileages to make a successful claim for your full entitlement.
Work from home tax rebate
Health care workers who have to work from home may qualify for a working from home rebate which is worth £6 per week and is meant to help cover some of the cost incurred of home based work.
Tax relief for assets or equipment
This tax relief covers items that have to be bought to enhance the performance of your employment duties, and must not have been provided by your employer. Examples could be a laptop or office desk.
This type of claim is made under the capital allowances rulings. If the purchase has a lifespan of more than two years, it will generally be allowed for tax relief by HMRC, but you’ll need a receipt or other proof of purchase.
The time limit for making a claim depends on whether you’ve completed a Self Assessment tax return.
Use our free tax rebate guides to find out more.
Healthcare worker tax rebate example
A common example of a care worker tax rebate claim involves the expense of travelling to temporary places of work using your own car and not being reimbursed the full HMRC mileage rates tax free by your employer.
Care workers in this scenario can be entitled to a mileage tax rebate if they use their own vehicles to visit what HMRC classes as a temporary workplace. A claim for .45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles and .25p per mile thereafter is possible.
If the employer pays for mileage expenses this has to be deducted from a claim if it is paid tax free.
Other tax relief can be claimed for at the same time as a mileage claim on the same P87 form or self assessment tax return.
How to claim your Healthcare worker tax rebate
To claim your healthcare worker tax rebate you should contact HMRC who are also known as the tax office.
For first time claims HMRC expects you to complete a form P87 which can be done either online or printed off and posted to the address on the form.
If you are claiming back for more than one tax year at the same time you can include it on the same P87 form for no more than the last four tax years.
When you have submitted your claim HMRC will review it and will let you know the outcome usually within about 8-12 weeks.
HMRC will normally send any tax rebate due because of your care worker claim to the bank details entered on your P87 or by cheque through the post.
If you complete a self assessment tax return your claim should be included in the employment section of your tax return instead of completing a P87.
Your tax code as a Healthcare Worker
After you have made a tax rebate claim HMRC will usually update your tax code to include the expenses you have claimed as a health care worker.
HMRC does this so you don’t have to make a claim each tax year for the same expense and means you receive the tax relief you are owed by paying less tax every time you are paid.
Your tax code tells your employer how much tax to deduct from your salary so checking your tax code (found in your personal tax account) before and after a claim is recommended.
Widening Access Training Scheme
If you worked under the widening access training scheme from 1999 you could be owed a tax and national insurance refund. It applies to thousands of NHS staff including Doctors, Nurses and healthcare workers.
Put simply, the scheme allowed for some tax and national insurance exemptions which the vast majority of NHS staff have no idea exist. Discover more about this in our WAT scheme tax rebate guide.
