SE32465 - Other expenses: clothing - specialist clothing

The Courts have recognised that there may be exceptions to the general rule in SE32455 that the cost of clothing is not deductible.

The rules of Schedule D for computing the profits of a trade contain a similar rule that expenses must be incurred wholly and exclusively for a business purpose. In the Schedule D case of Caillebotte v Quinn (50TC222) Templeman J commented that

“the cost of protective clothing worn in the course of carrying on a trade will be deductible, because warmth and decency are incidental to the protection necessary to the carrying on of the trade.”

In the same way a deduction can be permitted under Schedule E for the cost of protective clothing, see SE32470. In the Schedule E case of Hillyer v Leeke (51TC90) Goulding J recognised that the cost of clothing could be deductible where the clothing is

“of a special character dictated by the occupation as a matter of physical necessity.”

We also accept that specialist clothing can include clothing that is a uniform or part of a uniform, see SE32475.

A deduction can only be permitted where the employee must provide the specialist clothing at his or her own expense.