TAX REFUNDS

Do you wash your work uniform at home?

Are you a UNISON member?

Are you the member of a professional body?

Then you may be entitled to claim tax relief

It is a simple procedure to claim this yourself;

Firstly contact the HCPC (if applicable) and ask for a breakdown of your payments of the past five years. Registrants with other professional bodies may be eligible also.

Secondly work out your UNISON subscription payments for the past five years. (Subscription rates have not increased but may have altered if your pay band or role has changed).

Inform the Tax office that you wash your work uniform at home. The tax relief was increased in 2014 and may not have been applied to your tax coding.

Contact the Tax Office and request to claim tax relief on any combination of the above. Your tax code will be changed and you may be eligible for a refund.

Several Tax Refund Services advertise on social media and websites- DO NOT USE THESE COMPANIES – some hospital departments have submitted forms to reclaim tax from an apparently fraudulent company, one is Tax Reclaim Ltd, who has been setting up stalls in hospital restaurants. Staff then have unwittingly authorised HMRC to refund overpaid tax to the company, which is later found to not exist. Anyone affected has been directed to Trading Standards, local security management and the Counter Fraud team.