An employee may incur an expense in doing their job. Often, the employer will reimburse the employee for the expense. If not, the employee may be able to claim income tax relief for the expense from HMRC. Relief is given where all of the conditions are met for the expense to be deducted from the employee’s earnings for tax purposes. Different conditions apply depending on the nature of the expense.  

The claim can be made through PAYE. However, it must be made on the self assessment tax return if:  

• the employee is required to submit a tax return; or
• the total amount claimed exceeds £2,500.    

Requirement to provide supporting evidence 

HMRC made changes to the process for claiming relief through PAYE with effect from 14 October 2024. The option to make a claim online was withdrawn. Employees were required to make the claim by post and to provide supporting evidence when making their claim. ICAEW explained the new process, including the new evidence requirement, in an article published at the time.  

HMRC said that it was making the changes as it had “identified a growing tax risk driven by ineligible claims for employment expenses”.  

Restoring the online claim 

The option to make an online claim was restored for uniform, work clothing and tool expenses from 31 October 2024. From 23 December 2024, an employee can make a claim and submit evidence for all qualifying employment expenses online using a new iForm.  

It is not possible for a person (eg, an agent) to make a claim online for another person. In this case, the claim must be made using a P87 paper form. 

No changes have been made to the process for making a claim on the tax return.  

Further information 

• HMRC’s policy paper: Evidence required to claim PAYE (P87) employment expenses
• HMRC’s guidance: Claim tax relief for your job expenses