Every year, millions of UK professionals pay subscriptions to maintain their chartered status, professional body membership, or industry qualification — and millions fail to claim the tax relief they are entitled to. HMRC allows tax relief on annual subscriptions to approved professional bodies if your membership is necessary for your employment. For example, a chartered accountant claiming annual ICAEW membership, a solicitor paying Law Society fees, or a teacher maintaining GTC registration may all qualify. The relief is not means-tested, and the amount you can claim is the subscription itself, deducted at your marginal rate of tax. Our self-assessment guide covers how to make the claim.
Which Professional Subscriptions Qualify for Tax Relief
HMRC publishes a list of approved professional bodies whose annual subscriptions qualify for tax relief. Common examples include the ICAEW (chartered accountants), ACCA, the Law Society, the General Medical Council, the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, and many others. The key criteria are that the subscription must be: paid by you as an employee or self-employed person, for membership of a professional body, and necessary for your employment or profession. The subscription must not be paid by your employer. If your employer pays the subscription as a benefit, you cannot claim relief, but if your employer reimburses you, you can still claim on the amount you actually paid.
How Much Tax Relief You Can Claim
Tax relief is given at your marginal rate of income tax. If you are a basic rate taxpayer paying 20% and your professional subscription costs £300 per year, you can claim £60 of tax relief — reducing the net cost to £240. For a higher rate taxpayer at 40%, the relief would be £120 on the same £300 subscription. For self-employed individuals, professional subscriptions are treated as an allowable business expense and deducted directly from your profit before calculating your tax bill, which is effectively the same as tax relief. For employees, relief is claimed through your self-assessment tax return or by asking HMRC to adjust your tax code.
- Basic rate (20%): claim 20% of subscription cost
- Higher rate (40%): claim 40% of subscription cost
- Self-employed: deduct as a business expense before calculating profit
How to Claim Tax Relief on Professional Subscriptions
For employees who do not normally complete a self-assessment return, the easiest way to claim is by contacting HMRC directly and asking them to adjust your tax code to reflect the professional subscription relief. You will need the name of the professional body, the subscription amount paid, and evidence of payment (a receipt or bank statement showing the payment). Alternatively, if you already file self-assessment returns, you can include professional subscription relief in the employment expenses section. Self-employed individuals simply record the subscription as a business expense when filing their self-assessment return. HMRC's website has a searchable tool to check whether your professional body is on the approved list.
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