Has anyone successfully applied for this? I saw one of those adverts on Facebook the other day and it got me thinking if we’re eligible given that we launder our own uniforms and don’t have facilities provided to do it for us…
{cough}Cheapskates!{/cough}
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Hey, if I can get a little bit back I will! Same with mileage relief as they only give us 25ppm rather than the government’s 45ppm rate.
There is an FRE for full-time / mobilised reservists / FTRS, otherwise the Gov page suggests £60 / yr - of course, you can back-date this too - DON’T use any of the on-line claim firms!
Speak to an accountant or if you know someone who works for themselves or has to self assess, who could find out, after all it’s what they pay accountants to do … finding ways to get tax relief.
An old mate of mine said he paid £500 for an accountant to look over his own work and saved him at least 3 times that.
I have done so for work as I have a work polo shirt, but not for my cadet uniform. In theory you should be able to claim it as you don’t have access to service laundry facilities and you pay tax on VA. One point to note is that it isn’t actually £60 that you get, they just don’t tax you on £60 of your income, so £12 at the basic rate.
I’ve done it for my work uniform and the 45ppm. Got a tax reduction.
Doing it for work is great but I was wondering if anyone has any specific examples of CFAVs using it?
thats what your UUA is for
No it’s not??? It’s to find replacements and wear.
mmmm. How can i replace a worn out pair of DMS shoes for £25?
You can’t but that’s not the point. UUA is for replacing worn out kit not laundering it.
I thought UUA was also for re-ranking, or is that something you can get TR on.
What about 5’s or are they a vanity / fitting in thing?
Officers can reclaim the re-ranking fee for No1s on a 1771. I’ve done so for all my rank changes. You need to present against a receipt, and the maximum payable is capped, so if you choose a top-end tailor the entire fee isn’t recoverable.
As for 5s, they’re at personal expense.
Guys!
The entire ACO is financed from taxes, some of you get clothes paid for out of taxes. Some of you even get pay.
Yet you want to avoid paying even a few pence that goes towards that.
As grandad used to say “pay up and look big”
Er, no. If it is an entitlement, claim it (& back-date if if appropriate). If you are flush for money, donate any refund to sqn funds. 
HMRC are very quick to claw back owed taxes, but it doesn’t work the other way. Also, their accuracy, at times, is “sub-optimal” - some years ago, I advised them 4 times over 6 months (including 2 registered letters) that my circumstances had changed & that I needed to pay more tax. All 4 notifications were acknowledged, but they didn’t change a thing! Come the inevitable “you owe us some dosh letter,” I refused & successfully claimed against their ineptitude.
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Umm and your point is?
My initial question was around eligibility not whether I would claim it.
We don’t get pay, we get “volunteer allowance” don’t forget.
Ultimately why should I allow the government to keep money which it says I don’t have to?
It just seemed the discussion was a bit one sided; I expected a lot of “incoming!”
It may be called Volunteer allowance, but don’t use the plural pronoun. Only the ones who also get free clothing get it.
Only you can answer your last sentence. I could see the point in claiming it if you put what you got into squadron funds.
Yes that was my sarcastic voice. I’m aware it isn’t volunteer allowance.
And so I drive to the squadron and get HTD at 25ppm. Reality is it costs most than that to use a car to drive there, just the MOD don’t directly reimburse me that much. Why would I then lose out again by giving any money back to the squadron? It’s not like I don’t give more of my time as well.
Would you suggest that the police do the same thing? Or regulars? After all they’re paid by the tax payer why should they get an allowance for their laundering?
Er, 25ppm minus 75 pence…