P87 expenses claim

[Bertiebassett]

Hi hope someone can help?

I've just found out that I can claim some work expenses using the P87 form. I've also heard that I can backdate claims for 5 years. My first question is: Do I need to fill in a separate P87 for every previous tax year that I want to claim for or does it all go on the same form?

Also...having had a look at the P87 it seems like I need to put down any payment that I have received already towards my expenses. I don't receive any payment directly from my employer but I have managed to get some of my travel costs paid through grant funding (I'm an academic). So my second question is: Do I include any grant funding I've received?

Thank you!

Yes, unfortunatley you have to fill in a new form per year and if your claim goes above a certain amount then you need to go to self assessment. You also only get tax relief on the expenses not full return of monies spent as far as I know..2500 if I remember correctly and please remember this is the actual cost and not the value of the rebate.

This form relates to expenses covered by your employer so if your employer has never paid back the expenses or have never applied for a tax dispensation then you should be able to claim back.

www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/codes-expense-pay.htm#1

www.cheapaccounting.co.uk/blog/index.php/tag/hmrc-p87/

Hope this helps - Julia!

Jirvine many thanks!

As expected this has raised more questions

It sounds like I will need to fill in 4 forms (one for each of the previous 4 tax years). Individually each claim won't be more than the P87 limit, which I believe is £2.5k. However added together the total will be more than that. Will that be ok or should I fill in a self assessment form instead?

Also, what sort of evidence do I need to provide? Obviously I have receipts for some things, but mileage is a bit trickier to prove isn't it?

Finally, if I do get tax relief will it all be applied to my tax code on the next financial year, or does it get distributed across more years? (Sorry if this sounds dumb!)