Tax relief for teachers

[FernSmiles1]

As a teacher myself, I just thought there might be some like-minded people on here that would also like to sign this epetition. It is asking the Tax Office to secure tax relief for teachers to cover the cost of specialist clothing. This means the PE kit that all primary teachers and secondary PE specialists need. It only takes 2 minutes and would be at least some welcome financial help. Thanks! epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/65250

I thoughtyou could already obtain tax relief for specialist clothing as long as it is used solely for business?
( Mind you, a polo shirt and a pair of jogging bottoms is hardly going to break the bank!!)

You can already claim for specialist work clothing and for laundering it too this page here explains how to do it.

Teachers don't qualify for the tax relief on clathing but I honestly can't see a rush to claim tax relief on our trainers if the law changed ... most of us don't buy clothes specifically to wear for PE ...

Our teachers now have a school provided t shirt for PE and are all expected to change into sports wear and trainers whenever they teach PE, in order to set a good example to the children. Some did anyway but this is to make sure they all do, as good practise.

One of the things they have all been informed is that they can claim tax relief on things like trainers though don't know anyone who actually has.

Having staff who do claim the allowance the time it takes may eliminate any benefit gained. So reebok trainers costing £35 giving you £35 per year tax relief. I know my last member staff it took 5 phone calls and over 1.5 hours of her time to get relief.

I've had the same pair of trainers for PE for at least 3 years and they're still like new ...I suppose secondary PE teachers would have more wear and tear.

you can only get tax relief for clothing if its safety clothing or a logoed uniform. Not sure why you think teacher in particular should be given special treatment as alot of people have to buy clothes for work that they don't otherwise wear, i work as an accountant and have to wear smart clothing but at home i'm always in casual.

that petition says it is unfair on teachers and compares to an electrician getting a flat rate of £140. The flat rate is because electrician would have to buy some clothes for safety purposes, eg steel toe cap boots if working on constructions sites, gloves, overall etc etc.

Most teacher i see are smart casual and are wearing clothes they probably wear at weekends.

Its also going abit overboard on the how hard up teachers are angle. There are plenty of shop workers on minimum wage that don't have a uniform and have to wear black trousers for example.

teachers buying safety clothing such as science goggles or lab coat would be able to claim deduction.

Trainers , joggers and a t shirt are not specialist clothing.

Assuming this relates to employment, to qualify as a deductible expense the expenditure has to be incurred wholly and exclusively in relation to the employment. Therefore, anything which can be worn outside work - eg jogging bottoms etc will not qualify. There are lots of tax legal cases about this - Hillyer v Leeke being one

Barristers tried years ago to get awful black suits they only wear in court as tax deductible but failed. It is sometimes hard to know what is solely for work purposes and what is also protecting you from the elements.

the arguement used why its not tax allowable is that an expense has to be wholly, exclusively and necessarily to claim against your income so it can't have an element of private use included.

You have to wear clothes anyway whether you are working or not, if you were not wearing the clothes you wear to work you would be wearing some other clothes, therefore the fact you wear whatever clothes is not wholly and exclusively related to work.

If barristers couldn't get the case won don't hold out much hope for teachers getting special treatment and personally i don't think they should, i have nothing against teachers but can't see why OP thinks they are hard done by on this when its the same for virtually everyone that works.

as a teacher I agree with you 6031769