Is clothing and workwear
tax deductible?

Partly. Uniforms, protective clothing needed for your work, and costumes for actors or entertainers are allowable, but everyday clothing is not, even if you only wear it for work (GOV.UK). HMRC's manual follows the Mallalieu v Drummond case, which disallowed a barrister's plain dark court clothes (HMRC BIM37910).

Clothing is one of the most misunderstood expenses. The rule is not about whether you wear it for work; it is about whether it could be part of an ordinary wardrobe. A suit bought for client meetings, black trousers for waiting tables or gym wear for a personal trainer are all everyday clothing, and disallowed. Hi-vis, steel toe caps and branded uniforms are not.

Is clothing and workwear tax deductible?

The HMRC rule

Uniforms, protective clothing needed for the work and costumes for performers are allowable. Everyday clothing is not, even if worn for work. The rule comes from Clothing expenses, HMRC Business Income Manual BIM37910: clothing.

GOV.UK allows uniforms, protective clothing needed for your work and costumes for actors or entertainers, and says you cannot claim for everyday clothing, even if you wear it for work (clothing expenses). HMRC's manual says Mallalieu v Drummond established that no deduction is available for clothing that forms part of an everyday wardrobe, even if only worn for work, while protective clothing and uniforms are allowed (BIM37910).

When you can claim it

• Protective clothing and PPE, such as hi-vis, safety boots, gloves and overalls.
• Uniforms, including clothing with a permanent business logo.
• Costumes for performers.
• Cleaning, repair and replacement of allowable workwear.

When you cannot

• Suits, shirts and smart clothes for work.
• Plain black clothing for hospitality or performing.
• Sportswear and trainers for fitness professionals, unless a uniform.
• Everyday clothing bought for a photo shoot or appearance.

What to claim instead

If you want your work clothing to be allowable, make it a uniform: permanent branding on clothing you wear for work turns it into a uniform in most cases. Protective clothing is allowable whatever it looks like.

How to decide if you can claim it

1. Was it for the business? A cost is only allowable if you incur it wholly and exclusively for the business. If it also serves a personal purpose that cannot be separated, such as clothing that keeps you warm or a meal that keeps you going, HMRC disallows it.
2. Is part of it personal? Where a cost has a business part you can identify, such as the business calls on a phone bill or the business miles in a car, you claim that part and leave the rest out, on a reasonable basis you can explain.
3. Is it a running cost or something you keep? It is a running cost, so on the cash basis it counts when you pay it and on traditional accounting when you incur it. Nothing about it needs spreading over later years.
4. Is there a specific rule? For clothing and workwear, the deciding rule is clothing: uniforms, protective clothing needed for the work and costumes for performers are allowable. Everyday clothing is not, even if worn for work.

Worked example: a landscaper and a consultant

A landscaper spends £420 on steel toe boots, waterproofs and gloves and £180 on branded polo shirts. All £600 is allowable. A consultant spends £800 on suits for client meetings, which is everyday clothing and not allowable, even though she only wears them for work.

The everyday wardrobe test

The question is whether the clothing could be worn as part of a hypothetical person's everyday wardrobe. If it could, it has an intrinsic personal purpose, warmth and decency, and fails the wholly and exclusively test. It does not matter that you only wear it for work or that your profession requires it.

Mallalieu v Drummond

A barrister claimed the cost of plain black clothes she wore only in court, as required by professional rules. The House of Lords refused the deduction, because the clothes also served the personal purpose of warmth and decency. HMRC's manual follows the case for all everyday clothing.

Protective clothing

Clothing that protects you from risks in your work is allowable, such as hi-vis, safety boots, hard hats, overalls, chef whites, scrubs and waterproofs designed for site work. Ordinary outdoor clothing, such as a general-purpose coat, is not protective clothing.

Uniforms and branding

Clothing with a permanent logo or distinctive design that identifies your business is generally treated as a uniform. A logo that can be removed easily is weaker evidence. Nurses', beauticians' and hairdressers' tunics are uniforms.

Performers

Costumes for actors, musicians and entertainers are allowable, where they are costumes rather than everyday clothes. Clothing bought for a performance that could be worn normally is treated with more caution by HMRC; the more theatrical, the stronger the claim.

Cleaning and laundry

The cost of cleaning allowable workwear is allowable, such as laundering uniforms or dry cleaning costumes. Cleaning ordinary clothes you wear to work is not.

Employees’ uniforms

Uniforms and protective clothing you provide to employees are allowable staff costs, and are not a taxable benefit for them. Ordinary clothing you give to employees is allowable for you but a taxable benefit for them.

Footwear

Safety boots, chef clogs and other protective footwear are allowable. Ordinary shoes, even smart ones bought for work, are part of an everyday wardrobe and are not, however much walking the job involves.

Where it goes

Clothing goes in other business expenses, box 30 of the full self-employment pages. If your accounts include ordinary clothing, add it to box 45 as disallowable.

Where it goes on your return and in MTD

On the self-employment pages of your return, the claimable part of clothing and workwear belongs in other business expenses (SA103F box 30). The same category is used in Making Tax Digital quarterly updates, so recording it in the right place once keeps both returns consistent.

If your turnover was under £90,000, you can use the short self-employment pages (SA103S), which ask for a single figure for total allowable expenses rather than a box-by-box breakdown, and the full pages let you give just a total in box 31 too. The category still matters for your own records and for Making Tax Digital, where each quarterly update uses the same categories unless you choose to send one consolidated figure.

The accounting basis changes when a cost counts. On the cash basis, the default for sole traders since 2024/25, it counts when you pay it; on traditional accounting, when you incur it, with things you keep claimed through capital allowances.

How much an allowable cost saves

An allowable expense does not come back to you in full: it reduces your profit, so it saves tax at your marginal rate. For a sole trader in England, Wales or Northern Ireland that is 26p in the pound at the basic rate (20% Income Tax plus 6% Class 4 National Insurance) and 42p at the higher rate. The sole trader tax calculator works out the figure for your own profit.

Records to keep

Keep receipts for workwear and PPE, and a photo of branded clothing showing the logo. Note what each item is used for if it is not obvious.

If Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you (qualifying income over £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028), the records must be digital, and each quarter's costs go into a quarterly update. Check your date with the MTD requirement checker.

Common mistakes

• Claiming suits or smart clothing.
• Claiming gym wear as a personal trainer without branding.
• Claiming cleaning of ordinary clothes.

Related expenses

This item sits in the other business expenses category, alongside art and collectibles, care home fees, charity donations, cryptocurrency, fines and penalties, funeral costs, furniture and glasses and eye tests. The A to Z of expenses answers the same question for every other cost.

If you record your costs in TapTax, each one lands in the HMRC category it belongs to, with its receipt attached, so your quarterly updates and year-end return use the same figures.