hi all, i am a roofer working for a local firm, the only help i get with purchsing tools is the use of the firms accounts. i then pay this money back weekly via my pay. i could hire tools (drills etc) but its not always practical to do so. i would like to be able to claim some tax exemption on these tools that i have bought, maybe even a refund. my employer is going to give me copies of all invoices that i have paid to them, this is in excess of £3k over the last 3 years. what i need to do now is write a letter to the taxman/inland revenue asking them to review my case. that is where i am stuck, i am not great at writing letters and would be very grateful if anyone could point me in the right direction.

many thanks

graeme

I'm not aware of any legistlation that allows the taxman to fund the purchase of tools of the trade for any purpose, if the purchaser is an individual. If you register yourself for VAT, there is a possibility you'll be able to reclaim the 17% as the tools are required for your work, hgowever you will then have to add this amount to all Invoices for all your customers. However, as you refer to 'your employer' if the firm is not prepared to discount the tools for you to use, I'm not aware of any schemes that would allow staff to benefit in the way you describe. THe last scheme I heard of, the supply of computers for personal use, was removed at the last budget.

i spoke to inland revenue about this today, they say i can make this claim, each year at the moment there is an amount incorporated into my tax code to allow for the purchasing of tools and work clothing, that amount is approx £50. what i intend to do is show them the amount i have actually spent on essential tools and clothing, they will then use this to work out what my tax code would/should have been, and then change my current code and hopefully issue a refund on overpayment.

not expecting the taxman to fund my tools, but to have my tax contributions worked out on my actual expenses

Are you employed or self employed?

i am employed, on paye tax

I'm not aware of any legistlation that allows the taxman to fund the purchase of tools of the trade for any purpose, if the purchaser is an individual.

I think you can. It's like claiming any other necessary expense incurred to do your job. The expense has to be incurred "wholly, necessarily, and exclusively" for your work.

The expense with which we're all most familiar is travel expenses. Regardless of whether your employer reimburses you for travel, and regardless of the rate, you can claim travel expenses on your tax form at the Inland Revenue's rates ... anything paid by your employer is income.

Tim

I would just add that I hope none of the items is a safety item (eg hard hat, etc.) - which the employer is legally obliged to supply foc under H&S legislation.

I think you can. It's like claiming any other necessary expense incurred to do your job. The expense has to be incurred "wholly, necessarily, and exclusively" for your work. Tim

I tried this ages ago, however it was (effectively) buttons, as the coding change worked out at £3.50 or so over the year, AIUI the OP is hoping to claim in the high figures, and when they stat looking into the 'wholly necessary' bit, the costs of each item rarely exceeds £15! (Just try that at B&Q)! At least VAT does offer 17.5% across everything!

I've done this and it is very simple. Collect all the invoices together, write a letter explaining that you are required to have these tools to do your job and the IR will make a decision. If they decide to refund you the tax bear in mind that you only get the applicable tax rate back, 22% of the invoice total for example. They may refuse to refund the tax if they feel that the item you are claiming for can be used for other purposes.

What you are have at the moment is known as a Fixed Rate Expense Allowance, if you make your own claim you will loose this allowance for the tax years you are claiming for. You are not limited to this tax year, you can claim back for a couple of years if you choose to. If you are a member of a union or professional organisation then check to see if you can claim back your subscription as well.