Of the over 10,000 applications we’ve had from teachers, deputy head and head teachers, 67% of them have paid too much in tax and were due a refund from HMRC.

Why Are Teachers Often Due Refunds?

Every individual may be eligible for certain allowances, tax reliefs, and benefits, depending on their own circumstances and whether or not they meet eligibility criteria. However, some professions or sectors are more likely than others to be able to make additional claims for costs incurred as part of their job. Teaching is one such profession.

From travel to textbooks, there are a myriad of expenses that teachers could and should be claiming on each tax year to reduce the amount they pay in tax, but it’s still not widespread knowledge that you can do this. Obviously, it would be preferable if all of these expenses were able to be reimbursed directly by schools, however, it’s often the case that schools don’t have the budget to offset ad hoc costs that teachers incur. The consolation is that at least these expenses can be made tax-free (where applicable), and at the Tax Refund Company, our goal is to make the process of claiming tax refunds as straightforward as possible.

What Types of Expenses Qualify for Tax Rebates?

There are lots of work-related expenses that teachers can claim on:

• Travel Expenses: This does not include your usual work commute, but does include school days out, travel to teacher training days, and other journeys that are necessary for your job, but go beyond your expected daily commute. There are limits on claiming mileage which can be specific to the type of vehicle used. Make sure you check with uk to understand exactly what you can claim on.
• Specialist Clothing: Once again, the clothes that you wear day-to-day at work will not qualify for tax relief, however, certain departments might have an expectation of specialist clothing which you can claim tax relief on. For example, if you work in the P.E. (physical education) department, you can claim for the sportwear required to do your job. If you work in the science department, you might require lab coats or other protective clothing to work safely. Both of these examples would qualify under ‘specialist clothing’.
• Books: This is the most obvious expense, and also the most overlooked. If you buy replacement textbooks for students or books for research purposes, make sure to keep receipts for every purchase that won’t be reimbursed by the school.
• Training and Professional Fees: Union memberships, registration with regulators and professional bodies, and any additional qualifications required while in employment can all potentially be claimed as a business expense.

How Much Tax Could You Claim Back?

HMRC has a cut-off point; they will only allow you to claim a refund for the previous four tax years, not including the current tax year. This means that, if you have kept accurate records of your income, expenses and any allowances you’re entitled to (now or over the past four years), then you could claim a refund from HMRC on those overpaid taxes.

When your salary lands in your account each month, income tax has already been taken off depending on your marginal rate of tax (beginning at 20% for everything earned above your Personal Allowance). Any purchases you make are therefore considered ‘tax paid’. However, if your expenses qualify as work-related, they should be tax free. You can therefore claim back the tax paid on those items up to four years after paying for them.

For example, if you are a basic rate taxpayer (paying 20% income tax), and you spend £400 across the year on school materials, union fees, etc, then you can reclaim 20% of that £400 – giving you a tax rebate of £80.

Don’t Leave Money on the Table

An £80 rebate might not sound like a lot in the grand scheme of things (although it’s certainly nice to have) but the average refund that we’ve been able to secure for people working in the education sector is £326. These refunds include money owed through incorrectly applied tax codes, missed allowances or HMRC mistakes, not just claiming on expenses, but any of these reasons could also apply to you.

To date, the largest refund that we’ve secured for a teacher is £8,915!

We have also noticed a trend, which is that the higher up your position in the school is, the greater chance you’re overpaying on taxes; deputy and head teachers are more likely to be owed a tax refund, and more likely for that refund to be larger than for the average teacher.

At the Tax Refund Company, we have been reviewing taxes and arranging for refunds for over 30 years on an individual level, or across entire businesses, institutions/schools, professional bodies and unions. We want to remove the stress of checking your own tax codes by conducting free tax reviews for you. Off the back of our review, if we believe that you’re owed a refund from HMRC, we will contact them directly to arrange for your refund to be issued.

If you want to check whether you’re owed a tax refund, or you want to refer our services to someone else, then get in touch and we’ll be happy to help you.