Could You Be Owed a Military Tax Refund?

If you are currently serving in the UK Armed Forces, are a reservist, or have recently left the military, you may be entitled to claim tax relief on certain work-related expenses that you have paid yourself.

Military life can involve temporary postings, travel between locations, training, deployments and other work-related journeys. In some circumstances, these expenses can qualify for tax relief from HMRC.

At Tax Bridge Solutions, we make the process simple. Our experienced tax team can review your circumstances, identify expenses that may qualify and prepare your Armed Forces tax rebate claim on your behalf.

Army | Royal Navy | Royal Marines | Royal Air Force | Reservists | Veterans

What Is an Armed Forces Tax Rebate?

An Armed Forces tax rebate is a refund or reduction in Income Tax resulting from eligible employment expenses that have not already been reimbursed by the Ministry of Defence or another employer.

Members of the Armed Forces can have working arrangements that are very different from conventional employment. Temporary assignments, detached duties, training locations and frequent travel can sometimes result in personnel paying work-related costs themselves.

Where HMRC’s rules are satisfied, you may be able to receive tax relief on some of these expenses.

Depending on your circumstances, this can include qualifying:

  • Travel expenses
  • Business mileage
  • Temporary workplace travel
  • Overnight expenses
  • Subsistence costs
  • Uniform maintenance
  • Specialist work-related expenses

Every person’s circumstances are different, so our tax specialists assess each claim individually.

CHECK IF YOU CAN CLAIM

Who Can Claim an Armed Forces Tax Refund?

You may be able to claim if you are, or were recently, a member of the:

British Army

Serving soldiers and officers may have qualifying travel or employment expenses connected with temporary places of duty, detached duty or other military assignments.

Royal Navy

Royal Navy personnel may have eligible employment expenses arising from travel, temporary duties or other qualifying work-related costs.

Royal Air Force

RAF personnel who travel between bases, temporary duty locations or other qualifying workplaces may be entitled to tax relief on certain unreimbursed expenses.

Royal Marines

Royal Marines personnel may also qualify for employment expense tax relief depending on their postings, travel and circumstances.

Reservists

Members of the Reserve Forces may have different working patterns and could have eligible expenses relating to their military duties.

Veterans & Former Armed Forces Personnel

Leaving the Armed Forces does not necessarily mean you have lost the opportunity to claim.

If you incurred qualifying expenses while serving and are still within HMRC’s applicable time limits, you may still be able to submit a retrospective claim.

Armed Forces Travel & Mileage Tax Rebates

One of the most important areas for military personnel is tax relief on qualifying work-related travel. HMRC normally treats travel between your home and your permanent workplace as ordinary commuting, which generally does not qualify for tax relief.

However, different rules can apply when you are required to travel to a temporary workplace as part of your employment.

This can potentially include travel associated with:

  • Temporary military postings
  • Detached duties
  • Temporary bases or places of duty
  • Training locations
  • Courses at another location
  • Short-term assignments
  • Certain deployment-related duties
  • Travel between qualifying workplaces

Whether a journey qualifies depends on the circumstances of the posting and HMRC’s temporary workplace rules.

Our team can review your posting history and travel arrangements to determine which journeys may potentially qualify.

Used Your Own Car for Military Travel?

If you have used your own vehicle for qualifying business travel and have not received the full amount of tax-free mileage available under HMRC rules, you may be able to claim Mileage Allowance Relief on the difference.

We can review:

  • Your qualifying mileage
  • Mileage payments received
  • Your posting locations
  • Dates of assignments
  • Temporary workplace status

and calculate whether additional tax relief may be available.

START A MILITARY MILEAGE CLAIM

What Is the 24-Month Temporary Workplace Rule?

You may have heard that military personnel can automatically claim tax relief for postings lasting less than two years.

The rules are actually more complicated.

Under HMRC’s temporary workplace rules, a workplace can potentially be treated as temporary where you attend it to perform a task of limited duration or for another temporary purpose.

The 24-month rule is one of the tests HMRC uses when determining whether a workplace should be considered temporary or permanent. For example, if you know from the outset that you will spend 40% or more of your working time at a location for more than 24 months, that workplace will generally be treated differently for tax purposes.

This is why it is important that every Armed Forces travel claim is assessed based on the actual circumstances rather than simply assuming that every posting below two years qualifies. Tax Bridge Solutions can review your postings and help determine whether the relevant temporary workplace conditions have been met.

What Armed Forces Expenses Could Qualify?

There are several areas we may examine when reviewing an Armed Forces tax refund.

Temporary Posting Travel

Travel to a qualifying temporary place of duty may be eligible for tax relief where you have personally incurred the expense and have not been fully reimbursed.

Business Mileage

If you use your own vehicle for qualifying journeys, additional tax relief may be available depending on the mileage allowance you received.

Overnight Accommodation

Where overnight stays are necessary for qualifying business travel or temporary workplace duties, eligible unreimbursed accommodation costs may sometimes qualify.

Food & Subsistence

Reasonable food and subsistence costs incurred as part of qualifying business travel may potentially receive tax relief where the relevant HMRC conditions are met.

Uniform Cleaning & Maintenance

Members of the Armed Forces may be entitled to tax relief associated with maintaining required uniforms.

HMRC operates agreed flat-rate expense deductions for certain occupations, including members of the Armed Forces.

Your entitlement can depend on your branch of service and whether the relevant relief has already been provided automatically through your pay.

We will check this as part of your claim to help avoid claiming relief twice.

Public Transport

Qualifying work journeys made by:

  • Train
  • Bus
  • Coach
  • Taxi
  • Air travel

may potentially be considered where you have personally paid the cost.

Examples of Military Duties We Can Review

Your claim could involve periods where you were required to attend locations away from your normal permanent workplace.

Examples may include:

  • Temporary postings
  • Detached duty
  • Training establishments
  • Career courses
  • Trade training
  • Pre-deployment training
  • Post-deployment training
  • Temporary operational assignments
  • Exercises
  • Short-term attachments
  • Secondments
  • Temporary duties at civilian locations
  • Other qualifying military workplaces

The fact that you attended one of these activities does not automatically make the expense tax deductible.

Our role is to review the circumstances and determine which expenses may satisfy HMRC’s requirements.

FAQs

Potentially.

Receiving an allowance or reimbursement does not necessarily prevent you from having a tax relief entitlement.

For example, if the amount paid by your employer for qualifying business mileage is below the relevant HMRC-approved mileage amount, you may be able to claim tax relief on the difference.

However, you cannot normally claim tax relief on expenses that have already been reimbursed in full.

Our team can compare:

What you spent

against

What you were reimbursed

to determine whether any additional tax relief may be available.

In many circumstances, HMRC allows claims for eligible employment expenses relating to previous tax years, subject to the applicable deadlines.

That means even if the posting, assignment or military travel happened several years ago, it may still be worth checking whether you can claim.

Waiting too long can mean losing the right to reclaim tax for an older tax year, so we recommend checking your eligibility as soon as possible.

Recently left the Armed Forces?

You may still be able to claim for qualifying expenses incurred while you were serving.

Don’t worry if you do not have everything immediately.

Depending on the type of Armed Forces tax rebate being claimed, useful information can include:

  • National Insurance number
  • P60s
  • Payslips
  • Posting history
  • Assignment dates
  • Details of temporary duties
  • Mileage records
  • Travel details
  • Expense receipts
  • Details of allowances or reimbursements received
  • Information about your normal place of duty
  • Relevant military documentation

If some information is missing, our team can explain what is required and help you determine the next steps.

No Upfront Costs

You can start your PAYE tax refund claim without paying anything upfront.

No Refund, No Fee

For eligible PAYE tax refund claims, if no refund is successfully recovered, there is no success fee to pay.

Experienced Tax Specialists

Our team understands UK PAYE tax rules, employment expenses and HMRC refund procedures.

We Deal With HMRC

Once the necessary authority is in place, we can handle the paperwork and relevant HMRC communication on your behalf.

Straightforward Online Process

Our service can be completed remotely, making it easy to start a claim whether you are based in the UK or currently serving overseas.

Clear, Friendly Support

Tax can be complicated. We explain everything clearly and guide you through each stage of your claim.

Being stationed outside the UK does not automatically prevent you from making a UK tax refund claim.

Members of the UK Armed Forces can continue to have UK PAYE tax considerations while serving overseas, and qualifying employment expenses incurred during previous postings or assignments may still need to be considered.

Because overseas postings can make travel and workplace rules more complicated, we recommend having your individual circumstances reviewed.

Tax Bridge Solutions provides a secure online service, meaning you can start your claim from virtually anywhere.

Yes. Members of the Armed Forces can potentially claim tax relief on qualifying employment expenses they have personally paid and which have not already been fully reimbursed.

Eligibility depends on the type of expense and your individual working arrangements.

Travel from home to a permanent workplace is normally classed as ordinary commuting and does not usually qualify.

Travel to a qualifying temporary workplace may be treated differently. Your posting and working arrangements need to be assessed against HMRC’s temporary workplace rules.

No.

The 24-month rule is an important part of HMRC’s temporary workplace legislation, but the duration of a posting alone does not automatically determine whether travel qualifies.

Other conditions must also be considered.

Potentially.

If you used your own vehicle for qualifying business travel and were not reimbursed at the full relevant approved mileage amount, additional tax relief may be available.

Tax relief may be available for certain uniform maintenance expenses.

Members of the Armed Forces also have agreed flat-rate expense arrangements. In some circumstances the relief may already have been applied through payroll, so this should be checked before making an additional claim.

Tax Bridge Solutions

Start Your Tax Rebate Claim

0800 208 6701 info@taxbridgesolutions.co.uk

Need help?

Ready to get started on your refund? Got some questions about tax or HMRC? Get in touch with Tax Bridge Solutions, and let us take care of the taxman for you.