{"id":6583,"date":"2020-08-25T15:47:43","date_gmt":"2020-08-25T14:47:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/?p=6583"},"modified":"2025-02-10T17:11:45","modified_gmt":"2025-02-10T17:11:45","slug":"how-much-can-i-claim-for-laundry-expenses-self-employed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/expenses\/how-much-can-i-claim-for-laundry-expenses-self-employed\/","title":{"rendered":"How much can I claim for laundry expenses (self-employed)?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>\u2018How much can I claim for laundry expenses (self-employed)?\u2019 &#8211; one of our most commonly asked questions. The answer is that it depends on a few things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In certain industries, you can claim a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/job-expenses-for-uniforms-work-clothing-and-tools\">flat rate expense<\/a> for the cost of your uniform, and for having to wash it. This, however, is more closely associated with the employed workforce.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Which industries claim laundry expenses?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Commonly, you claim a tax relief if you have to wear a specific uniform or specialised clothing that your employer doesn&#8217;t provide for you. You must be obliged to wear this uniform to work to be able to claim.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re self-employed, a similar logic applies, although you claim this back when you pay your <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/personal-tax-return\/\">tax return<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are some examples of industries where it&#8217;s a common claim:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Construction workers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Healthcare workers<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintenance workers<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"embed-container\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Tax in 10(ish) seconds - what are expenses?\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/H2yyiSfSdoE?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">But what about laundry specifically?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Story time!&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Back in 2018, a First Tier Tribunal case heard of three individuals working in the sewage and maintenance industries. Those in the sewage industry reported having to go in and out of sewers up to 13 times in a day.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The worker in outdoor maintenance reported having to wear protective clothing for being at risk from needles, rodents and animal faeces.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Each argued that they had to wash their uniforms\/work clothes regularly to be able to do their jobs and that they should be able to claim this back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The tribunal deemed this reasonable (we think so, too) \u2013 and it passed the wholly, exclusively and necessarily test. But they also ruled that evidence was <em>always<\/em> needed to demonstrate this expense!<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div> <!-- .c-body -->\n\n<div class=\"b-highlight-mini m-nude m-align-left\">\n    <div class=\"b-block-body\">\n        <h2>What is the wholly, exclusively and necessarily test?<\/h2>\n<p>When it comes to calculating expenses, you must make sure that your expense passes these three criteria:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Wholly &#8211; your expenses but be wholly for your business<\/li>\n<li>Exclusively &#8211; your expense is an exclusive result of your business<\/li>\n<li>Necessarily &#8211;\u00a0 it must be necessary to the running of your business<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div> <!-- .b-highlight-mini -->\n\n<div class=\"c-body\">\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">So, how much can I claim for laundry expenses (self-employed?)<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If your laundry expenses pass the wholly, exclusively and necessarily test, you can claim self-employed expenses. You do this when you do your <a href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/glossary\/self-assessment\/\">Self Assessment<\/a> tax return.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div> <!-- .c-body -->\n\n<div class=\"b-highlight-mini m-neutral m-align-left\">\n    <div class=\"b-block-body\">\n        <p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>income tax<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> rates in the 2025\/26 tax year \ud83d\udc47<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><strong>Income<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Tax rate<\/strong><\/td>\n<td><strong>Tax band<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Up to \u00a312,570<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">0%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Personal allowance<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a312,571 to \u00a350,270<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Basic rate<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a350,271 to \u00a3125,140<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">40%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Higher rate<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">over \u00a3125,141<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">45%<\/span><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Additional rate<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n    <\/div>\n<\/div> <!-- .b-highlight-mini -->\n\n<div class=\"c-body\">\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>The flat rate expense for uniform is \u00a360. Basic rate taxpayers claim 20% of that back, higher rate taxpayers claim 40%. If you want to claim back the exact amount you\u2019ve spent, make sure to hold onto the receipts!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some occupations are understandably able to claim more for clothing they wear for work:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Nurses and midwives can claim for shoes, socks and tights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Ambulance staff can claim specialist uniform<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.uk\/guidance\/job-expenses-for-uniforms-work-clothing-and-tools\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Check here to see if you can make an expenses claim<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Bear in mind, if your job doesn\u2019t actually require you to wear a uniform or specific clothing, and you just choose to do so &#8211; you unfortunately won\u2019t be able to claim your laundry expenses on your tax return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018How much can I claim for laundry expenses (self-employed)?\u2019 &#8211; one of our most commonly asked questions. The answer is that it depends on a few things. In certain industries, you can claim a flat rate expense for the cost of your uniform, and for having to wash it. This, however, is more closely associated [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[464],"tags":[356,411],"class_list":["post-6583","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-expenses","tag-expenses","tag-self-employed"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>How much can I claim for laundry expenses (self-employed)? &#8211; Taxfix<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The answer to the question &quot;How much may I claim for laundry charges (self-employed)?&quot; is that it depends.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/taxfix.com\/en-uk\/expenses\/how-much-can-i-claim-for-laundry-expenses-self-employed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How much can I claim for laundry expenses (self-employed)? 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