TAX REBATE FOR POLISHING OUR BOOTS

Cut and Pasted from the Sun today

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2007200127,00.html

THOUSANDS of squaddies have been getting extra pay for POLISHING their boots — due to an obscure tax law.

Revenue inspectors have now suspended the perk which allows any crown servant to reclaim the full cost of dress required for their jobs.

Soldiers started claiming up to £1,000 a year for boot polish and cloths, and for washing and dry-cleaning their uniforms.

The Inland Revenue are reviewing the perk after a blitz of requests.



The majority of the AB's I work with will not be able to claim this due to fraud!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I've been claiming the tax relief for many moons (20+ years)- I thought everyone already was aware of this. Good heavens chaps, sack your accountants pronto!

 

That's what the tax rebate was always for, although Ratings and ORs lost the base rate when we went to one-for-one there was always the opportunity to claim for upkeep; dry cleaning etc.

Orficers still have to buy everything except PPE (4s, CS95, bats and Ovies) so we still get a nominal rebate and we can claim tax back on any expenditure beyond the value of the rebate.

In practice the rebate would pay for a pair of shoes, and whilst you don't get much back it's worth hanging on to receipts.

 

I though we got a rebate of about £140 per year to cover dry cleaning, etc. £1000 sounds a little like the standard exaggeration that rags like the Sun do all the time.

If not, have we been missing out for years?

SF

 

I thought it was about £100, but not being a blanket stacker it's not something I keep up to date with.

That's about a couple of pairs of trousers and half a dozen shirts from slops I suppose. Not a great deal.

Still, out in the real world you're not allowed to claim clothing as an allowable expense anyway.

 

Can you claim retrospectively?

 

I understood that in the real world claims for essential protective clothing were admissible.
However in the past my employers have always supplied the required items.

 

I think the 6 year rule may apply andy but i got a nice wedge a couple of years after leaving to cover the cost of my chinese laundry bill whilst on a sea going ship but i suppose that also counts you out andy

 

Hence the point upthread about PPE.

The easiest and most cost effective way for employers to provide PPE is to actually source it and fund it themselves. It's things like suits etc that aren't allowable.

That last really grips when you get appointed into a job which requires plain clothes rather than uniform, to maintain any kind of decent standard needs about six suits, each of which have a life of about seven to nine months.

 

This may date back to the challenge by Barristers seeking to reclaim tax because of the requirement to wear fancy dress in Court. They failed. I sometimes wear strange clothes at work, but I cannot claim any tax concessions either.

Right time to remove dress... :wink: :lol:

 

KnuT! :lol: :lol: :lol: