Offsetting the Cost-of-Living Crisis with 10 Tips for an Efficient Tax Return

Tax can often be considered a complicated and convoluted process for many people – particularly for those who may not have the means or capital to hire an expert. Staggering figures reveal that over £20 billion of tax benefits remain unclaimed every year, and for the blue-collared and PAYE industries, the reality is that little is known about the annual refunds workers can claim back. Amidst an economic recession that’s bedding in, in addition to an energy crisis so severe it’s set to plunge millions of families into fuel poverty, Brits are looking for any means necessary to assist with soaring costs.

With this in mind, Tommy Mcnally, leading tax expert and founder of Tommys Tax, which boasts thousands of five-star reviews on Google and Trust Pilot – provides some of his top tips which could help over 37 million self-employed, PAYE, and CIS workers efficiently manage their returns and alleviate some of the financial pressures in the current climate.

Claim your food costs:
If you travel more than 1.5 hours a day to work, leave home before 6am, or work past 8pm, you could be eligible to claim a refund on food costs. A maximum of £7.50 can be claimed per day, 5 days a week. If you’re travelling and staying overnight, or if you’re travelling to more than one location for work purposes, you can also claim a tax refund on food allowances.

Claim a refund on uniform:
If you wear a uniform for work, you may not realise that you can claim a maximum of £16 a week for your washing. You can claim a refund for cleaning, repairing or replacing your uniform – however, keep in mind that you cannot claim relief on the initial cost of buying clothing for work.

Claim your travel expenses:
For those who travel a lot for work, you can claim refunds on travel expenses if you have travelled to two different locations. This is applicable to those whose employers don’t cover these expenses with the likes of a company car or fuel card, and can be from public transport, parking, congestion charges and tolls.

Hotel accommodation:
You can claim a tax return for staying in hotels for work-related trips such as conferences, work parties, training courses and if you’re travelling to a temporary place of work. The temporary place of work is mostly used by people in the construction industry both PAYE and self-employed. An example of this would be for employees who work far away or have training/work event days. The employer would cover the travel but would not cover the hotel stays – so, in this instance, you could claim that back.

Claim back your training costs:
If the employer does not cover this and it is required to perform duties (e.g health and safety courses), or if it’s training that helps you improve your skills and knowledge (e.g. refresher courses), you can claim back your training costs.

Mobile phone usage:
If you use your own mobile and/or personal devices to make work-related calls/texts or to check emails, you can receive a tax refund for this. Similarly, if you’re a business owner of if you’re self-employed, you can expense the full costs of your mobile phone bills – only if the mobile phone contract is held in the name of the company and the payments are made directly from the business bank account. There is no set amount that you get back – you will need to calculate a reasonable split of your bills (and VAT) between business and personal usage.

Receive a tax refund for you electronics:
You can claim a refund on items such as laptops, printers and any other stationary costs if you need it for your job, and you use the equipment primarily for work and not for private use. This does not include allowances for cars, motorcycles or bicycles.

Working from home:
You can claim tax relief on having to work from home only if you live too far away from your office, if your employer does not have an office, or if you’re self-employed. With this, you can claim a refund on gas and electricity and broadband – but only if it’s used for your work.

Claim back your fees for professional bodies/trade unions/membership:
If you have to pay a fee to perform your duties (e.g. nurses, construction), you can claim back a tax-refund on this. Similarly, if you have to pay for an annual subscription to approved professional bodies, learned societies, or professional membership fees, you can claim tax relief.

Claim back your payroll admin fees:
Business owners and those who are self-employed can claim a tax-refund on payroll admin fees if the company is charged after requesting a payroll firm to overtake all their admin and payroll duties.

The average take home refund per year for PAYE workers is £600 (but they can historically claim back 4 years’ worth of this), while the average take home refund for CIS employees is £2800. Tommys Tax normally caps the expenses at £4500, so unless the customer is a higher earner, the refund amount will not change.

Tommy Mcnally, leading tax expert and CEO of Tommys Tax comments on why tax refunds could act as a vital lifeline for millions of families across the UK:

“With nearly everyone impacted by the increasing cost of living across the board, there are ways in which people can inject a much needed boost into their bank accounts. One of these ways is the many tax rebates that people are eligible for, but don’t make use of and that is where we’re here to help. Taxes can be boring, confusing and anxiety-inducing, but if done right could make a real difference to people’s lives.”