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NL · FR · EN
A dust coat and safety boots, yes. A suit for the fair, nowhere. And a sweater with your logo on it only in the Netherlands — if the logo is big enough. Every rule below comes from each country’s own legislation or tax authority.
The short answer is the same in all four countries.
Clothing you could also wear outside work is not allowable — even if you only wear it for work. Clothing you would not wear outside work, such as overalls, a dust coat or safety boots, is. That holds in the UK, Belgium, the Netherlands and France.
The difference comes down to one thing: the logo. The Netherlands counts a sweater or polo with a large enough logo as workwear. The other three countries do not. This page is about your profit — income tax or corporation tax — not about VAT.
An antique dealer wears roughly three kinds of clothing for the business: something to shift furniture in, something with the shop’s name on it at the market, and something smart for the fair or the auction.
| Clothing | UK | BE | NL | FR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overalls, dust coat, safety boots, work gloves | Yesprotective clothing | Yesspecific work clothing | Yeswerkkleding | Yesspecial work clothing |
| Sweater or polo with your shop’s logo | Noeveryday clothing | Noleisure wear, logo irrelevant | Yes, iflogos together ≥ 70 cm² | Nono text on logos |
| Suit or smart clothes for the fair | NoMallalieu v Drummond | Notown and ceremonial wear | Nowearable outside the business | Noeveryday life clothing |
A logo does not turn a sweater into overalls. Three of the four countries say nothing about it, so the basic rule stands: you could wear it privately. Only the Netherlands wrote down an exception.
BIM37910 mentions no logo
the law mentions no logo — art. 53, 7° WIB 92
clearly visible, tied to the business — art. 7 URIB 2001
no text on logos — BOFiP BNC § 310
How big is 70 cm²? A logo of 10 by 7 centimetres, roughly one and a half bank cards. The Dutch rule says “tezamen”, together: a logo on the chest and one on the sleeve add up. The logo must be clearly visible and refer to your business.
GOV.UK lists what a self-employed trader can claim: uniforms, protective clothing needed for your work, and costumes for actors or entertainers. And straight after: “You cannot claim for everyday clothing (even if you wear it for work).”
HMRC’s Business Income Manual, BIM37910, gives the reason. Under Mallalieu v Drummond, no deduction is available for clothing that forms part of an everyday wardrobe, even where you can show you only wear it in the course of your trade. HMRC does allow protective clothing and uniforms.
Article 53, 7° of the Belgian Income Tax Code 1992 excludes clothing costs, unless it is specific work clothing: imposed by health-and-safety rules or a collective agreement, or special clothing adapted to the work and required, necessary or customary given its nature. In both cases, clothing worn in private life as town, evening, ceremonial, travel or leisure wear stays excluded. A sweater is leisure wear, logo or not.
Article 3.16 of the Dutch Income Tax Act 2001 excludes clothing “met uitzondering van werkkleding” — except workwear. Article 7 of the Uitvoeringsregeling inkomstenbelasting 2001 adds that ordinary clothing counts as workwear if it carries one or more clearly visible logos tied to the business, together covering at least 70 cm².
The French tax guidance spells it out for the liberal professions (BOI-BNC-BASE-40-60-60, § 310): clothing is deductible only when it is special work clothing, such as a barrister’s gown, and not when it does not differ from what is worn in everyday life. For a trader there is no clothing-specific text; the general rule applies that an expense must be in the direct interest of the business. Neither text mentions a logo.
That counts in none of the four countries. What matters is whether you could wear it privately.
That threshold is Dutch. HMRC has no logo rule: a branded sweater is still everyday clothing.
Mallalieu v Drummond is exactly that case: clothing suitable for everyday wear is not allowable, whatever the reason you bought it.
Checked on 28 September 2026, each time at the source. UK: Expenses if you’re self-employed → Clothing on GOV.UK and HMRC Business Income Manual BIM37910. Belgium: article 53, 7° WIB 92, via the Flemish Codex and Fisconetplus. Netherlands: article 3.16 Wet IB 2001 and article 7 Uitvoeringsregeling inkomstenbelasting 2001, via wetten.overheid.nl, and the Belastingdienst page Kosten voor werkkleding. France: BOI-BNC-BASE-40-60-60, § 310, and BOI-BIC-CHG-10, on bofip.impots.gouv.fr.
This explains your bookkeeping; it is not tax advice. If in doubt about a specific item, ask your accountant and give them the reference.
Only uniforms and protective clothing needed for your work. GOV.UK says: you cannot claim for everyday clothing, even if you wear it for work. HMRC's Business Income Manual, BIM37910, gives the reason: after Mallalieu v Drummond, no deduction is available for clothing that forms part of an everyday wardrobe, even when you only wear it in the course of your trade.
In the Netherlands yes, if the logos together cover at least 70 cm² and refer to your business: that is article 7 of the Dutch Uitvoeringsregeling inkomstenbelasting 2001. In the UK, Belgium and France a logo makes no difference: none of the texts mentions one, and a sweater remains clothing you can wear privately.
No, in none of the four countries. HMRC disallows ordinary clothing worn during the trade. Belgium explicitly excludes town and ceremonial wear. France refuses clothing that does not differ from what is worn in everyday life.
Protective clothing and real workwear: overalls, a dust coat, safety boots, work gloves for moving furniture. That holds in all four countries, each time because you do not wear it outside work.
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