Tax Refunds for Healthcare Workers
22nd February 2016
You spend your whole career looking after people. Isn't it time someone took care of you for a change?
Finally, word's starting to get around about tax refunds in the healthcare sector. Whether they're NHS, private or self-employed, healthcare professionals have been paying too much tax. At RIFT, we've been helping them make HMRC turn its head and cough up their hard-earned cash.
For the most part, this is about travel. If you're a healthcare worker making your own way to temporary workplaces, you might be owed some money for your expenses. It's not about cheating the system; it's about getting back money you've overpaid. The taxman only wants what he's owed, and so do you.
A rise in long-term health conditions, such as diabetes and asthma, has resulted in a greater need for health professionals to work in the community. In addition, healthcare workers increasingly work in multidisciplinary teams in partnership with social services and other community care services - and that generally means more travel for work.
The aim of this change is to provide services and personalised care plans to allow those who need continuing care to manage their conditions and stay in their own homes. However, this can mean that you quickly find yourself out of pocket if you're paying lots of extra travel expenses yourself and not being fullly refunded by your employer.
What's less known, though, is that travel costs aren't the only expenses you can claim for. Depending on your circumstances, you might be owed money for things like:
- Clothing: whether it's a uniform or specialised protective gear. If you're paying for its care, you can claim.
- Professional body membership: from the BMA to UNISON, your fees could count toward your tax refund claim.
If you're already chasing a tax refund through RIFT for your travel, we can handle all of these additional claims for you.
There's no extra charge; it's all part of the service. If you're not already claiming with us, now's a perfect time to start. Your refund can stretch back as far as four years, so it's not too late to start.
If you haven't got a travel claim you can still apply for these via our Flat Rate Expenses service.
The NHS has to make huge savings of £20billion over the next few years and at the same time meet an increased demand for services, particularly because people are living longer. The effects of this can be mixed for healthcare professionals, and many people are having to work on contracts or in other ways that are unfamiliar to them in terms of payment, employment regulations and taxation.
We know it can be difficult to get around to looking after yourself after you've spent all day looking other people, shift work with unsociable and often long working hours coupled with a working environment that can be stressful and emotionally draining probably means tax is the last thing on your mind when you get home.
Our experts have a great bedside manner, and we've never lost a patient or their claim yet.
Call or email for a chat, and see what we can do to make your finances healthier.