Rates last updated: 10 October 2026 · How we verify
Flat Rate Expenses for Nurses in Ireland: Which of the Four Amounts Is Yours
If you're a nurse working in Ireland, Revenue gives you a fixed tax allowance every year for the cost of your uniforms and your NMBI registration. You don't need receipts. You do need to claim it — every year, yourself.
There isn't one nurse figure. There are four, from €258 to €733, plus an extra €80 if you work short-term agency contracts. Which one is yours depends on a question about uniforms you may never have been asked.
In the example below, a staff nurse who never claimed gets back €1,172.80 for four past years, and another €293.20 for this year.
The four nurse amounts
Revenue's published list of flat rate expenses gives nurses these annual allowances. The amounts are the same in every year from 2020 to 2026.
| Your uniform arrangement | Annual allowance |
|---|---|
| You have to supply and launder your own uniforms | €733 |
| You have to supply your uniforms, but don't launder them | €638 |
| Your uniforms are supplied, but you have to launder them | €353 |
| Your uniforms are supplied and laundered by the hospital | €258 |
| Short-term contracts through an agency — extra amount | +€80 |
You can check the full list in Revenue's flat rate expenses document.
Three things about this table matter more than the numbers.
The category follows your obligation, not your habit. The question is what your employer requires: do you have to provide your own uniforms, and do you have to wash them? If the hospital supplies and launders your uniforms but you choose to buy extra ones, you're still in the €258 category.
Even the lowest category is worth claiming. If your uniforms are supplied and laundered, you still get €258. That's because the allowance also covers your NMBI annual retention fee — Revenue's list says so explicitly.
The agency €80 is on top. If you work short-term contracts through an agency, Revenue's list gives an additional €80 on top of your uniform category.
What it's actually worth
A flat rate expense is a deduction, not a credit. It reduces the income your tax is calculated on, so it's worth your tax rate on that amount — not the amount itself.
| Category | Allowance | At the 20% rate | At the 40% rate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Supply and launder | €733 | €146.60 | €293.20 |
| Supply only | €638 | €127.60 | €255.20 |
| Launder only | €353 | €70.60 | €141.20 |
| Supplied and laundered | €258 | €51.60 | €103.20 |
Which column applies to you depends on your income. If you're single and part of your income is above €44,000, the deduction comes off income taxed at 40%. If all your income is within €44,000, it's worth 20%.
A worked example
Say you're a staff nurse earning €52,000. You're single, so part of your salary is taxed at 40%. Your employer requires you to supply and launder your own uniforms, and you've never claimed the allowance.
| Year | Allowance | Calculation | Back to you |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | €733 | €733 × 40% | €293.20 |
| 2023 | €733 | €733 × 40% | €293.20 |
| 2024 | €733 | €733 × 40% | €293.20 |
| 2025 | €733 | €733 × 40% | €293.20 |
| Past four years | €1,172.80 | ||
| 2026 | €733 | claimed during the year | €293.20 |
The past four years come back as a refund once you file a return for each one. The current year is applied through your payslips once you claim it. This assumes your income was above the 40% threshold in each of those years.
If you worked short-term agency contracts on top, add €80 to each year's allowance: €813 a year is worth €325.20 at the 40% rate.
2022 closes permanently on 31 December 2026. After that date, the first €293.20 in this example is gone.
If you're a healthcare assistant or a doctor
The same list has separate lines for other hospital roles, with different amounts.
| Role | Annual allowance |
|---|---|
| Nursing assistants (including attendants, orderlies and nurses' aides) — supply and launder own uniforms | €526 |
| Nursing assistants — supply but don't launder | €440 |
| Nursing assistants — launder uniforms supplied | €234 |
| Nursing assistants — uniforms supplied and laundered by the hospital | €93 |
| Hospital doctors, including consultants | €695 |
The doctors' amount includes the subscription to the Medical Council; what else doctors can and can't deduct is in our guide to tax deductions for doctors. If you're a healthcare assistant, our tax guide for healthcare assistants covers which line fits your job, agency shifts and how to claim.
Revenue's list has no separate line for midwives or student nurses. If that's you, check with Revenue which line applies to your role before you claim.
The rules that trip people up
You have to claim every year. Revenue's guidance is explicit: you make a claim for each tax year to get the allowance. If it was on your tax credit certificate once, don't assume it carried forward. Check this year's certificate in myAccount.
You can't claim it for costs your employer pays. The allowance is for expenses you actually bear. If your employer reimburses you for uniforms or pays your NMBI fee, those costs aren't yours to claim.
The NMBI fee is already inside the figure. Because the allowance includes your annual retention fee, you can't claim the flat rate and then claim the fee separately as well.
Actual costs are an alternative, not an addition. If your real work expenses are higher than the flat rate, you can claim the actual amount instead. But the test is strict — the expense has to be incurred "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" in doing your job — and you need receipts and a return after the year ends. For most nurses, the flat rate is the practical route.
How to claim it
For this year: sign in to myAccount, select "Manage your tax" for the current year under PAYE Services, then "Claim tax credits" → "Your job" → "Flat Rate Expenses". Choose your occupation and category and submit. Your tax credit certificate updates, and the relief comes through your next payslips.
For the past four years: in myAccount, go to "Review your tax for the previous 4 years", pick the year, and complete the Income Tax Return. Add the flat rate expense under "Tax Credits & Reliefs" → "Your job". Do this for each year you're claiming.
If you file a Form 11 through ROS because you have other income, claim it there instead.
While you're filing those returns, it's worth claiming everything else at the same time: the Rent Tax Credit, medical expenses and any other reliefs you're due. The full list is in the top Irish tax deductions you could be missing, and the process is walked through step by step in claiming your PAYE tax back for the first time.
If you trained abroad
If you trained abroad, the flat rate expense can be one of several reliefs nobody mentioned when you started. If you also work agency shifts alongside a hospital post, check how your tax credits and rate band are split between the two jobs — that's covered in tax refunds for Filipino workers in Ireland. For nurses who arrived on a Critical Skills permit, the first-year position is in tax refunds for Indian workers in Ireland. The rules for every occupation are in flat rate expenses in Ireland.
If you'd rather have all four open years reviewed together, our Tax Back service checks every year and every relief. No refund, no fee.
If you've been nursing in Ireland since 2022 and never claimed, the money is sitting in four separate years. Start with 2022 — it's the one with a deadline on it.
Related reading
Questions we get asked
I don't know which uniform category I'm in. How do I find out?
Ask your employer what you're obliged to do: supply your own uniforms, launder them, both, or neither. Your answer to that question is your category. It's about the requirement, not what you happen to do.
My uniforms are supplied and laundered. Is it still worth claiming?
Yes. You still get €258 a year, because the allowance also covers your NMBI annual retention fee. At the 40% rate that's €103.20 a year; across four past years, €412.80.
I work through an agency. What do I get?
Your uniform category plus an extra €80, if you're on short-term contracts through an agency. For a nurse who supplies and launders their own uniforms, that's €813 a year.
Can I claim for years I worked in Ireland before I left?
Yes, within the four-year window. A return for each year can be filed from abroad through myAccount, and 2022 closes on 31 December 2026.