Laundry and dry cleaning

Where work clothes qualify as a uniform or protective clothing, the employee can claim the cost of cleaning the clothes against his tax bill. The taxman has published agreed flat rate for some industries but if you don’t fall into these the standard flat rate is £60 (2008/09).

So, what is a uniform? Obviously, the police, fire service and nurses will qualify here along with several banks and airline staff. Shirts, blouses, socks and shoes do not fall into this category. However, if you fix a permanent company badge to the item of clothing this should make the cleaning of it tax deductible.

Protective clothing is typically overalls, boots and hard hats.