Don’t despair when you see all the taxes and deductions made from your pay check. There are ways to claim tax relief back from the UK government – any extra costs or expenditures that the HRMC approves of. So how can you get paid back?
‘Tax relief’ means that you either:
-pay less tax to take account of money you’ve spent on specific things
-get tax back or get it repaid in another way, like into a personal pensionYou get some types of tax relief automatically, but some you must apply for.
Where do I start the process of claiming tax relief
So let’s go through the steps to claim tax relief in the UK so that you can go about getting some cash back!
- Go to the Income Tax Relief website.
- Choose the option to claim tax relief if you’re employed.
- Scroll down and select see if you can claim.
Yes you are!
Unless there are other dates you wish to claim for, choose this option.
The screenshots were taken from a previous tax year, you will see dates of the current tax year
You may wonder if your PLAB exam fees, PLAB 2 visa fees etc are covered, but if you weren’t paying UK taxes during that time, it is not eligible to be claimed.
……unless you are. Then you choose yes. For the majority of us, the answer should be no.
We’re almost there! Now you can outline what you want to claim back.
…..unless you are. You know your situation best.
You cannot claim on the things your hospital has paid you back for. Sometimes, you can claim for re-location or some study related expenses like ALS etc. – if you’re hospital hasn’t paid them back you can claim them to be tax free.
Professional fees and subscriptions is the option for most of us, but you can also choose to get relief on any scrubs you may have had to pay for, your stethoscope (if bought within the time period), and other expenses for travel that were necessary for your job.
Hopefully you’re claiming for just the one, but you can claim for more if need be.
Congrats! Now let’s continue
The application for claiming tax relief
Things you need at hand to claim tax relief
Keep your pay slip handy.
- Input your employer details, PAYE number, and your job title.
- Add on allowances for a car or bicycle if you have sufficient proof and mileage to show. This can only be claimed for temporary places of work.
- Next you can claim for gas spent on a company car.
- You can then look to claim back any travel expenses incurred for business travel.
More often than not these professional subscriptions are direct debit. So checking your bank account’s direct debit will give you a quick information about the amount of money spent on this subscriptions.
Other expenses for which you can claim
You can also claim on:
- Indemnity cover,
- Royal college subscriptions,
- Exam fees,
- Mandatory courses with travel,
- e-Portfolios, etc.
If you are wondering about other ways you can save some of your precious paycheck please check how to make a budget.
You’ll get a confirmation after the completion and submission of your application and you can expect to see a change in your tax code on your next pay slip!
Need further explanation?
Thank you very much. I appreciate your support and guidance jsk
You’re welcome. Good Luck.
hello maam/sir.. could you please tell approximately how much tax relief can one expect? can you give some examples I’m really confused!!! thank you for your time.
The more professional subscriptions and expenses you have (which has not been reimbursed by your job) the more you can ask for. This year I got almost £900 tax free income which is a combination of my GMC registration, BMA subscription, indemnity insurance etc fees.
Great!! Thankyou for the reply!
You’re welcome
Is university fee paid eligible for tax relief?
Question #1 Are you currently being paid and paying income taxes while you are paying for that university fee?
Question #2 Does your job requires you to take that degree? (like for training progression you have to take MRCP, FRCS exams etc)
If both are yes, only then probably you can claim for tax relief. Otherwise, payment for courses/degrees to enrich your portfolio will not be tax deductible.
Yes. The job was offered on enrolling for the university programme.
Sorry, I quite don’t understand your situation. You got job as a doctor in the UK by enrolling in a university? That’s not quite possible as things don’t work that way.
The job in the NHS is a part of MCh programme by the Edge Hill University.
Thanks for clarifying. Unfortunately, this MCh degree is not ‘necessary’ to work as a doctor in the UK or to progress your career under Royal College of Surgeons. You are choosing to take this route so it’s unlikely that this fees will be tax deductible. You can consult with a tax advisor if you want.
Can we claim refund for the 50% fees ( exam fees, registration fees) through our GMC account showing that we are from low income country?
If you are working in a low income country while holding GMC registration, yes.
I have got my GMC registration this May. I am in Bangladesh now but I am not working currently. Am I eligible to claim 50% refund of my registration fees?
Your annual retention fee is not due until next year I suppose. If you have graduated from medical college less than 5 years ago – then this 50% reduction will not apply to you. You will be already paying discounted fees (£156/year).
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If someone start earning in middle of tax cycle ( 6 April 19 to 5-April 20). then his annual income will be half then will he be taxed according to HIS income ?
eg. If someone get 6 monthly salary of 5000 pounds then his income will be 30000 pounds. Then his tab slab will be 30k for this year or 60k ?.
You will get taxed for what you earn