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If you’re serving in the Armed Forces, have recently left, or have travelled to temporary postings in the last 4 years, you could be owed tax refund from from HMRC.
A lot of Armed Forces personnel pay out of their own pocket for travel, mileage, food, accommodation or other work-related costs. If those costs haven’t been fully covered, you may be able to claim a tax refund.
You may be able to claim an Armed Forces tax refund if:
The rules around Armed Forces tax refunds can be complicated, especially when postings, allowances, overseas travel or mileage rates are involved. That’s where RIFT comes in.
We’ll check your situation, work out what you can claim for and make sure your claim is handled properly with HMRC.
Most likely, yes. The amounts you receive don’t normally cover everything you’re entitled to.
It is important to know that we deduct HDT or GYH allowances from any claim we make as both are paid non-taxed.
Use our Tax Refund Calculator to find out if you are owed anything from HMRC
If you live in married quarters, on or off base, and spend your leave periods there, it would normally be classed as your main residence. The claim in this case would be for any costs for travel between your married quarters and any temporary postings of up to 24 months.
If you already receive a Home to Duty (HDT) allowance for this already, we will review the amounts received against the allowable limits and claim for any shortfall.
Use our Tax Calculator to see if you are owed a refund from HMRC.
If you live on base part of the time but go home to another address for weekends or longer periods of leave, the leave address would be classed as your main residence.
A tax refund claim in this case would be for travel between your home address and your workplace.
If you already receive a Get You Home Travel (GYH) allowance for this, we will review the amounts received against the allowable limits and claim for any shortfall.
Use our Tax Calculator to find out if you are due a refund.
Yes this is very important as we need to have documentary evidence to support your claim.
Please ensure you keep a copy of each of your Assignment Orders for each base that you have traveled to. You can print these from JPA but please note these are deleted after 60 days.
See our checklist of the documents you will need to make a claim. We can help you get copies of anything you are missing if needed.
To get a tax refund, HMRC says you need to be travelling to temporary workplaces. Reservists and Territorial Army personnel tend to spend most of their service in one place, which wouldn't qualify and is an example of when you wouldn't be able to claim an MOD tax refund.
That said, your circumstances might be different from most. Get in touch if you want us to look into it for you. It costs you nothing to find out where you stand.
Use our tax calculator to see if you are due a refund
Find out if you need to complete a Self Assessment Tax Return or if you can claim Flat Rate Expenses.
Yes. You are legally entitled to reclaim 24p per mile, which is the difference between the HMRC allowed rate of £0.45 per mile* and the MOD £0.21 per mile tax exempt allowance. To claim this, you must be on temporary duty. This is defined by the relevant HMRC legislation, not by MOD policy.
HMRC mileage refunds explained
Ask RIFT about your specific circumstances if you are still unclear.
*HMRC EIM32080 Travel expenses: travel for necessary attendance: temporary workplace: limited duration, the 24 month rule.
Despite what some people are saying, MOD personnel really can get UK tax refunds. RIFT Refunds always knew this was true and we fought hard to get the proof. You can read the MOD letter to us and feel assured that this is something that can be legitimately claimed for.
Tax refunds for travel can be claimed, as confirmed in DIN ‘2015DIN01-005’ which has been issued to all service personnel to officially confirm this.
There has been a lot of confusion around tax refunds that RIFT has worked hard to clear up with both the MOD and HMRC.
Different interpretations of what is meant by ‘a temporary posting’ have caused this confusion. Some believed that individuals who claimed a tax refund on HDT were doing so in breach of HMRC rules. RIFT can categorically confirm that none of these potential situations can arise and this is confirmed by the MOD.
Some also thought that making any claim for a tax refund may mean the individual may have to repay rebated money in the future. Others also thought claiming a refund would jeopardise the whole tax exemption of the MOD HDT allowance, disadvantaging many service personnel.
Others were worried about changes to tax codes. Your tax code should not change due to a refund claim but any problems with your tax code are covered in our aftercare service which means we will get any errors fixed for you at no extra charge. Read more about tax codes and how to check if yours is correct.
DIN ‘2015DIN01-005’ has been issued to all service personnel to officially confirm that tax refunds for travel are claimable.
It also states that you can use an agent to make a claim for you. RIFT will act as your agent, providing an end to end service if you don’t have the time or are not comfortable dealing with the technical legislation set out by HMRC.
This supports the previous formal confirmation we received from the Ministry of Defence.
Just like anyone else, you're entitled to a UK tax refund for travel expenses to and from temporary workplaces. If you're making your own way from a UK residence, you could have a pretty big refund on your hands. Watch out, though - if your family has moved abroad with you, then your main residence might be outside the UK. In that case, you can't claim for your travel costs.
Find out everything you need to know about paying UK tax if you work overseas or get in touch.
We need the following information to assess your MOD tax refund and then hopefully process your claim:
See our full document checklist and what to do if you are missing anything.
Other information – We’ll ask you a few simple questions about your financial circumstances e.g. if you have any other sources of income such as rental income, whether you have a student loan or a private pension that may affect your claim, your tax code or mean that you need to submit a self assessment tax return.
The MOD accommodation rules may also have an impact so we will need to understand your living arrangements. This helps us calculate the value of tax you’ve overpaid.
Use our Tax Calculator to find out if you are due money back.
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