In just three years we've helped claim just over £1 million from HMRC for electrical contractors who are ECS cardholders, in partnership with the JIB.

Since coming together to raise awareness on industry tax matters in 2012 we've been working hard to ensure ECS cardholders are fully aware that they can claim money back from HMRC if they travel to temporary work sites using their own vehicle or public transport. The taxman can take a lot out of your pocket without you realising, and and hitting the million pound refund mark for members in such a short time goes to prove that.

“The speed with which we have reached this figure shows just how widely travel expenses are not reclaimed by both PAYE and CIS electrical contractors,”

 says Bradley Post, Commercial Director.

“Yet as we specialise in this area at RIFT, it is no surprise to us and is something we come across every day. Over £180 million in travel expenses alone goes unclaimed in the UK each year, so we know that this is something common across all industries and it particularly applies to construction as these workers travel between various work sites. We urge any ECS cardholders that haven’t yet checked if they are owed a refund to do so.”

The JIB - an impartial organisation that provides members with employment advice, pension schemes and health care benefits - decided to partner with RIFT to ensure that electricians weren’t missing out on what their hard work entitled them to.  

JIB Steve Brawley, Chief Executive says:

“The refunds that RIFT Tax Refunds has produced makes a big difference to the lives of our ECS cardholders and their loved ones.

“And while this is a great landmark, we aren’t stopping here and will continue our relationship with RIFT to ensure electricians get back the cash that is rightfully theirs.”

The average refunds RIFT Tax Refund is around £2500 for a 4-year PAYE claim and £2000 for a CIS one year return, but ECS cardholders have seen as much as £10,798 returned by HMRC.

Mark said:

“I thought I would give them a try as they were cheaper than my accountant. I called on my lunch break and by that evening they were helping me with the forms over the phone. Within 24 hours I even had my money as I went for the RIFT Rapid Refund option. You can imagine what a difference that sum makes to my finances.”

Mark’s story is just one of tens of thousands and highlights not only the scale of unclaimed travel expenses, but how easy and quickly the problem is to address with professional assistance.

“What’s important for people to understand is this isn’t about a loophole or finding a technicality,”

says Bradley Post, Commercial Director.

“This is simply about people getting back what’s already theirs.Taxes are complicated at the best of times and the busy lives many electricians lead mean they often just don’t have the time to look at these matters in detail. Sadly, that’s good news for the taxman and not so good news for those effectively giving away their hard earn pay for no reason.”

Give us a call today on 01233 628648 if you want to check if there's money waiting at HMRC for you to reclaim it.