UNITE, the biggest UK union representing aircrew workers have negotiated an allowance with HMRC which allows Cabin Crew to claim a significant amount of tax back for the cost of cleaning and laundering their uniforms.
How does the Cabin Crew Tax Rebate work?
Every year, nearly everyone in Britain benefits from a tax-free allowance – that’s money you earn that you don’t pay any income tax on.
Under their agreement with UNITE, HMRC have agreed an additional tax-free allowance of £720 for Cabin Crew who are required to clean their uniform at their own expense.
However, this additional allowance is not awarded automatically and Cabin Crew are responsible for filing a claim themselves to benefit from it.
How much is a Cabin Crew Uniform Allowance worth?
The Flat Rate Expense Allowance for Cabin Crew is £720 per year.
Most cabin crew workers will pay 20% tax and can therefore claim back 20% of £720 each year. This means if you have not been claiming tax relief as a cabin crew member, you have been missing out on £144 each year.
If any cabin crew members fall within the 40% tax bracket, they would receive 40% of the allowance back each year, equalling a tax rebate of £288 each year.
You can use our Calculator to get a quick estimate of how much you could be owed based on your own personal circumstances.
Do I have to work for a specific airline to claim?
To qualify for a uniform rebate, you must work for or have worked for:
- BA CityFlyer
- British Airways
- EasyJet
- Flybe
- Jet2.com
- Monarch
- Thomas Cook Airlines
- TUI
- Virgin Atlantic
If you don’t work for one of the above airlines, but pay income tax in the UK through PAYE, it may still be possible to claim tax back on your uniform laundry costs. Please contact us for further advice.
How do I get started with my claim?
We make it super simple to claim your Cabin Crew Tax Rebate! All we require from you is some basic information and your employment history. We’ll complete the relevant paperwork and liaise with HMRC to get your claim approved.
There are no upfront costs to apply and you’ll never have to pay us out of your own pocket – our contingent fee of 25% plus VAT is settled directly out of the rebate from HMRC.
And what’s more, with our ‘no rebate, no fee’ guarantee, if we are not successful in recovering a refund for you, you won’t owe us a penny!
Every year we help thousands of Cabin Crew claim back money owed to them by HMRC. Since 2013, we’ve put over £20m back in the pockets of our customers by helping them claim the tax relief they’re entitled to.
Cabin Crew Tax Rebate FAQ’s
Once you’ve made a successful claim, you are covered for your whole professional life in the sky! This is because as part of our service, we’ll arrange for your tax code to be updated to ensure you automatically get the uniform laundry allowance in your pay going forward.
HMRC has agreed that claims can be backdated for up to 4 tax years. This means your claim could potentially be worth up to £576 (£144 x 4 years). You can make a claim even if you’re no longer working at the airline. E.g. if you worked for Flybe, Monarch or Thomas Cook during the last 4 years, you can still claim.
Receipts are not needed to claim for the cabin crew tax rebate. In fact, it doesn’t matter whether you do your uniform laundry at home with the rest of your wash or get it professionally drycleaned. This is because the allowance is set at a fixed amount agreed by Unite.
