How much tax refund will I get as a mechanic?

The value of a mechanics tax refund varies depending on a number of factors.

If you decide on the £120 flat rate expense amount (or just haven’t got any receipts), then you’re looking at about £24 per tax year.

If you’re using the Capital Allowances scheme to claim for tools totaling more than £120, you’ll get around 18% of their cost as a tax refund.

But there are several things that we commonly include on mechanics’ and auto technicians’ tax refund claims that you might not know about, such as: uniform laundering, IMI membership and interest payments on finance agreements.

Mechanic tax rebate expenses

HMRC provide a massive range of tax reliefs and allowances for taxpayers to reclaim overpaid tax. There are other ones that may be applicable to your situation.

For example, if you are sent by your employer to work at a different garage to cover absence for up to 24 months, you may be entitled to mileage.

Occasionally, mechanics and auto technicians may be required to work away from home on specific projects, this probably entitles you to claim for tax relief on accommodation and subsistence costs.

Subsistence means food and beverages to a ‘reasonable’ sum. The hardest part is working out which tax reliefs and allowances apply to you.

Every single tax relief claim is considered on its own merits. No two mechanics tax relief claims will be the same.

All the details of your financial position are taken into consideration by HMRC when they process your tax relief submission.

That’s why there is no clear cut answer to the question of how much tax relief you will get as a mechanic.

They look at how much you earn, how much tax you have paid and several other factors that make your mechanics claim unique.

Reviewed by Tony Shanks, Operations Director Tax Rebate Services and member of Association of Tax Technicians (ATT)
Tool tax refund calculator

It doesn’t matter what your job is if you buy tools for work you can claim a tax rebate. Just enter the total of how much you’ve spent on tools to get your tax rebate estimate.

£
Mechanics tax rebates
If you do not have receipts your ‘Flat Rate’ claim can be backdated for 4 tax years and is worth £120 per year…
A tools tax rebate is available to all mechanics who buy the tools they use for work themselves, when they are not reimbursed by their employer…
£900 is the average tax refund amount we get for our clients that are mechanics making an initial claim…
You have to play your part in the process by submitting a tax rebate form or using the correct section of the self assessment process…
Tool tax rebates

If you are paid under PAYE, tools are tax deductible because you can claim Capital Allowances which gives you tax relief on what you have bought…

The tax relief regulations are very specific about eligibility criteria. And the Capital Allowances rules are not exclusively for self employed taxpayers…

If you are claiming back capital allowances for the actual cost of your tools there is no HMRC limit to how far back you can claim a tool tax rebate…
The amount you get for a tool tax rebate is dependent on several factors, including: how much you earn, how much tax you pay, how much you have spent on tools, what evidence you have to support your claim…
Types of tool tax rebate
Yes, you can claim the tax back on tools you have bought for work…
These can be actual items, like machinery, vehicles or equipment; or intangible things, like patents, or intellectual property…
The government has set up a system of tax reliefs and allowances for work expenses to make the system fairer for taxpayers…

HMRC’s rules state that capital allowances should be claimed within your self assessment tax return (Section 3i and ii, CAA 2001)…

Tool tax rebates other expenses and tax returns
Yes, you can claim a tool tax rebate and a uniform rebate all at the same time…
Yes, if you have to complete a tax return you must enter your tool expenses on your return…
Yes, you should submit a tax refund claim for tools, fuel and anything else that applies to you all at the same time…
Yes, even though you may now be self employed, you can still potentially claim tax relief for when you were employed under PAYE…