Martin Lewis warns hundreds of thousands of Brits could miss out on tax rebate

Martin Lewis has informed hundreds of thousands of Brits that they should check whether they're eligible to claim back a chunk of cash in the form of a tax rebate - especially those who work in uniform.

Speaking yesterday (21 March) on his ITV show, The Martin Lewis Money Show, he explained that people working in a uniform could claim back a tax rebate on the cost of maintaining their work outfit.

Most Brits eligible for this won't be able to get back all that much money, with the majority being able to claim £12 in a year, but the Money Saving Expert explained that the amount could be larger than that.

Lewis explained that claiming back some money on this little-known expense could be backdated over the last five years.

What classes as a uniform can be anything from a complete outfit to just a simple branded t-shirt your employer expects you to wear when you show up for work.

Even if you only wore the uniform on one day of the year you're still eligible to claim back a bit of cash.

ITV

However, Lewis then explained that people working in certain professions could actually claim back a larger amount of money and the size of the tax rebate they could obtain would be more significant.

Members of the armed forces would get nothing as the cost of maintaining their uniform is already included in their tax code, but some professions can claim quite a lot.

Firefighters can claim £16 per year, adding up to £80 if someone is able to claim for the full five-year scope, while mechanics get to claim £24 per year and healthcare assistants are able to obtain £25 per year.

On the far end of the scale pilots can claim £204 per year as part of the rebate, which means any one of you reading this who flies for a living could be due an extra grand in your bank account.

Lewis' co-presenter Angelica Bell then shared a message from an electrician who revealed that their workplace saved a combined total of £14,500 as 40 people claimed the rebate.

The Money Saving Expert website has the guidance on what exactly constitutes working in a uniform and what conditions need to be in place for you to claim back a bit of money.

First off you've got to be wearing a recognisable uniform, something with a logo or a distinctive enough appearance that would make a person looking at you in the street know where you worked.

This uniform would be something your employer requires you to wear, an outfit you have no other option but to have on while you work, and you've got to be responsible for buying, cleaning and repairing it yourself.

Then of course you need to have paid income tax in the year that you're claiming the money for, as you can't really get a tax rebate if you didn't pay the tax.