RCN welfare adviser Ian King explains how you can get money back on your RCN membership fees and work-related expenses
I’m sure that if the RCN offered a discount code on membership fees it would be shared widely on Facebook. With more than 400,000 members looking to make a saving, it might even “go viral” on Twitter.
But there’s actually already a really easy way to get up to 20% off your RCN membership fees. In fact, you can get money back on a range of job-related expenses.
If the RCN offered a discount code on membership fees it would be shared widely on Facebook
As a guide, members who are UK tax payers can claim up to 20% tax relief on their RCN subscriptions. What you’ll actually get depends on what you’ve spent and the rate at which you pay tax.
Claiming tax back doesn’t need to be a chore and you don’t need to go to an expensive specialist company for help. This is a must-do for most members. And it will take you hardly any time at all to do it.
Get what you’re owed
Based on our current membership fees, members who are registered nurses could claim back £39.37 a year. In practice, this means that they’ll actually only pay £157.48 – instead of £196.85. Let’s be honest, we’d all be using a 20% off your membership discount code if it was available.
So let’s make the most of the tax relief on offer. And if this is the first time you’ve claimed tax relief, you can claim for the current tax year and submit a backdated claim for the previous four tax years all on one form.
Don’t worry if you’re not sure how much you’ve paid the RCN in the last four years. Members can download details of their payments for tax relief in MyRCN.
Remember, it’s not just your RCN subscriptions you can claim for. If you’re registered with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC), you can make a claim for your fees. If you have an annual subscription to Nursing Standard, you can claim for that too.
It’s not just RCN subscriptions you can claim for
Nursing staff can also claim an allowance of £12 a year if you have to wear special types of shoes in the workplace and additional tax relief of £6 per year for tights and socks.
If your employer doesn’t look after the cleaning arrangements or provide free laundry facilities for you to use, you can get tax relief at the rate of £125 a year on that too.
So let’s not delay any longer. Complete the form and send it to: Pay As You Earn and Self-Assessment, HM Revenue & Customs, BX9 1AS.
Find out more
As long as you pay tax in the UK you can apply for tax relief. Non-UK tax payers aren’t eligible to claim. You’ll get tax relief based on what you’ve spent and the rate at which you pay tax. You can’t claim if your employer either gives you all the money back or provides an alternative benefit.
Contact HMRC on 0300 200 3300 or visit the GOV.UK website for more information.
