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Tool Tax Relief Calculator for Tradespeople

If your employer requires you to provide your own tools, you can usually claim tax relief on the cost. Many trades have an agreed HMRC flat rate (mechanics £120 a year, for example); bigger purchases can be claimed at actual cost with receipts.

Enter the annual amount and the years you want to include.

Written by RefundCalculator Editorial TeamLast checked

Estimate your tools tax relief

For tools and equipment you must provide for your job — flat-rate or your actual annual spend.

Tax years to include

Claims can go back four tax years. Each year uses its own rates.

Where do you pay income tax?

Trades with agreed flat rates

  • Vehicle mechanics and repairers — commonly £120 a year.
  • Joiners and carpenters — commonly £140 a year.
  • Plumbers and heating engineers — commonly £120 a year.
  • Electricians — commonly £120 a year.
  • Engineering and foundry workers — several categories between £60 and £140.
  • If your trade is on HMRC's list, the flat rate needs no receipts — see the occupation list linked above.

Flat rate versus claiming actual costs

The flat rate is the easy route: fixed, set-and-forget, no evidence required. If you genuinely spend more on tools each year — and can prove it with receipts — claiming actual costs is worth more. You cannot do both for the same spending: pick whichever is higher in each tax year. Many claimants take the flat rate for past, undocumented years and actual costs going forward with a disciplined receipt habit.

Expensive kit and capital allowances

A single big purchase — a diagnostic tablet, a welder, a full toolkit — usually lasts several years, so tax relief runs through capital allowances (often the Annual Investment Allowance, giving full-year relief) rather than a simple expense claim. Employees claim through form P87 or Self Assessment; CIS subcontractors claim on their return. HMRC's free employment expenses helpline will confirm the right treatment for an unusual item in minutes.

What this estimate can't tell you

  • The item must be wholly and exclusively for work under HMRC rules.
  • Flat rates replace receipt-based claims for the same costs — you cannot double up.
  • Capital purchases over about £120 may follow capital allowances through Self Assessment instead.

The free HMRC route

Everything this calculator estimates can be claimed directly from HMRC at no cost — usually online in a few minutes or via a short form. Refund companies charge a percentage of money that is already yours. We never handle claims and are not affiliated with HMRC.

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