Healthcare professionals: Are you missing out on P87 tax relief?

Employees sometimes incur costs personally that are necessary for their job. Where these are not reimbursed, you may be able to claim tax relief depending on the circumstances.

If you are taxed through PAYE and do not complete a self-assessment tax return, a P87 form is a simple way to claim relief on work-related expenses. You can claim up to £2,500 per tax year and backdate claims for up to four previous tax years.

What you can claim

To qualify, expenses must be “wholly, exclusively and necessarily” incurred for your work and not reimbursed by your employer. You need to retain evidence of costs incurred to be submitted alongside any claims.

Professional fees and subscriptions

You can claim for professional fees or subscriptions required for your role, such as memberships to approved bodies (e.g. GMC, BMA). HMRC maintains a list of eligible organisations. The list is available on the UK Gov website here.

Uniforms, tools and clothing

Everyday clothing, which includes where your employer only specifies that a certain colour must be worn to work, is not eligible for tax deductions.

HMRC offer a flat rate expense allowance for various industries, covering upkeep and specialist work attire. This includes uniforms or branded clothing. To check the flat rate allowance for your job role, click here.

Working from home

You may claim if your employer requires you to work from home. You cannot claim if you are working from home out of choice, or if the employer has an office but the office space is full. You can claim £6 per week (from April 2020) or actual additional costs. You cannot claim for expenses that you use for both private and business use.

Using your own vehicle

You can claim approved mileage rates for business travel (excluding normal commuting unless to a temporary place of work). The approved mileage rates which cover all costs of running your vehicle are:

	First 10,000 business miles in the tax year	Each business mile over 10,000 in the tax year
Cars and vans	45p	25p
Motorcycles	24p	24p
Bicycles	20p	20p

You need to keep mileage logs with journey details including reasons for journeys, and start and end points. If using a company car and paying fuel personally, you can claim those fuel costs. Any claims are after deducting amounts reimbursed by your employer.

Travel and overnight expenses

If you required to travel for work on a business trip and costs incurred are not fully reimbursed, you may be able to claim for:

Public transport
Hotel stays
Meals
Parking, tolls, congestion charges
Business calls and printing

Training and CPD

Generally, training and CPD costs are not allowable as they are not incurred in the performance of your duties of employment; instead, it’s preparing you to carry out your duties. However, relief may apply where training is mandatory during a training contract (e.g. certain medical training and exams) to gain the qualification to be able to do the role in the first place.

A list of medical courses and exams, published by HMRC, can be found here.

How to claim

You can submit a P87 online or by post via HMRC. Claims must be made within four years of the relevant tax year.

If your expenses exceed £2,500, or you already file a tax return, you must claim through self-assessment instead.

HMRC’s page on P87’s and how to complete these can be found here.

Key takeaways