tax credits - allowable deductions from gross salary help please!

[prettyprincesscharlie]

hi everyone

 

im just renewing my tax credits and would like a bit of advice please. im NOT self employed and i dont have a company car but i do wear a uniform and drive to work. i have a few questions id like advice on:-

 

1) on the "work expenses" part - am i able to deduct a reasonable amount for the cost of petrol to n fro work? or am i only allowed to do this if its a company car?

 

2) am i able to deduct the cost of dry cleaning my uniform?

 

3) i pay into a salary sacrfice pension - as its a company pension - am i NOT allowed to deduct this from my total gross earned?

 

i have asked the tac credits people in the past but they give conflicting advice (dont seem to actually know and not really care to help!!) - hence i dont trust their answers!

 

any help very much appreciated.

[Gbarbm]

If you are using your car for travel from home to work no expenses are allowable or deductible because it constitutes a private journey (ordinary commuting)

If you are using your own car for work purposes, say for example to visit clients or to bank takings then you will may receive authorised mileage allowance payments of up to 45 pence per mile for the first 10,000 business miles and 25 pence thereafter.

This is not taken into account for tax credit purposes as it is not deemed as a gainful employment amount or a reward for services.

If your uniform is classed as corporate dress (bears a conspicuous company logo) or protective clothing and your employer does not provide laundry facilities, you can claim the cost of laundering the uniform as long as your employer does not reimburse you.

You can claim this from HMRC by completing form P87 which us downloadable from the HMRC website. Again, this is not deemed to be income for the purposes of tax credits for the reasons as previously stated.

Regarding the pension contributions, I believe that tax credits deduct a certain amount from your total income but I am not 100% sure so I will try and find that out for definite for you

[Gbarbm]

The gross (or grossed-up) amount of what you paid into a pension scheme registered with HMRC. This includes a stakeholder pension and any Free-Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions.

Don't include anything you paid into an 'occupational pension' scheme. This is where your employer took the pension contributions from your pay before deducting tax.

 

You will need to check with your employer what type of scheme it is and use form TC 825 (available from HMRC website) to calculate your income for tax credit purposes

[prettyprincesscharlie]

oh thank you very much for all the info Gbarbm. very much appreciated. x