Can I claim a National Education Union tax rebate?
The National Education Union is the teaching union which amalgamates the National Union of Teachers and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers.
Their helpful equation: ATL + NUT = NEU.
They aim to be “stronger together” and with a combined membership of over 450,000 educational professionals they will represent most of the UK’s workers in this sector.
When does the National Education Union start?
The National Education Union will officially be born on September 1st 2017. According to their new website, a two year transition period will follow to avoid a sudden closure of the NUT and ATL.
Who is the National Education Union for?
All existing NUT and ATL members will automatically become members and new subscriptions will be taken from its start date.
The NEU is for education professionals at varying levels and stages of their career, including: student trainees, NQTs, experienced teachers, support staff, lecturers and leaders. It also doesn’t matter which type of educational establishment you work in, the NEU has a voice everywhere, including: 6th Form Colleges, FE/HE colleges, universities, academies, independent schools and nurseries, and local authority schools (Early Years, Primary and Secondary).
Is my subscription going up to cover the cost of this new Trade Union?
The assurance on the current, basic NEU website is that the 2017 subscription cost will not change. If you are already an NUT or ATL member, the amount you pay in subscription fees will not increase.
Can I still claim tax relief on my subscription fees?
The quick answer is – we don’t know yet. At the moment, the NEU website doesn’t go into these details. The NEU is not on the government’s ‘Approved professional organisations and learned bodies’ list, yet. As soon as we know, we will let you know so watch this space.
In the meantime, you can still claim tax relief on your membership to other professional bodies and organisations in the education sector. Each organisation or Trade Union must negotiate its own agreement with HMRC about tax relief for its members. At the moment, these include:
- Association of School and College Leaders
- VOICE
- NASUWT
- University and College Union
- Society for Education and Training
- National Association for Special Educational Needs
There are also a plethora of subject specific organisations that you may have joined as part of your job, including:
- Association for Physical Education
- British Association of Teachers of Dance
- D and T Association
- Geographical Association
Neither of these is an exhaustive list, by any means, and it is worth checking to see if any professional organisation you belong to has a similar arrangement with HMRC.
NEU members can claim for other expenses
It’s not just subscription fees, there are several work expenses that members of the NEU are entitled to claim tax relief for. For example: working from home, using your own vehicle for work travel, and buying and laundering specialist clothing.
I didn’t know about this, is it too late to claim my tax rebate for professional subscription fees?
A work expenses tax relief claim can be backdated for your tax years, as long as you were paying tax during that time, if you haven’t claimed already and if your employer has not reimbursed this cost. There are other expenses you can claim for as well which are detailed in our free teacher tax rebate guide.
How do I make a tax relief claim for my NEU fees?
You can read all the regulations and download all the forms form GOV.UK. You can ring HMRC if you have any queries as you go through the process.
The claim should be submitted either online or by post directly to HMRC who will then reply in writing usually within 12 weeks. You will normally receive a new PAYE tax code as well which will reflect the cost of your NEU subscription.
