Can I claim glasses or an eye test?
Ordinary glasses and routine eye tests are personal health costs, even if you need them to work.
The tax test is strict: an expense counts only if it's wholly and exclusively for the trade. Glasses correct your eyesight everywhere: on the job, driving, reading the menu. That mix is what HMRC's manual calls duality of purpose, and its line is blunt: if one of the reasons for the spend isn't business, the whole expense fails the test, with no business proportion allowed.
The exception is protective eyewear. Prescription safety goggles, impact-rated specs, a visor the job requires: that's protective equipment, claimable the same way as safety boots and hi-vis.
Quick answers
I only use them for screen work.
The glasses still correct your sight generally, so the personal purpose doesn't go away. Intrinsically dual-purpose items are disallowed in full, not split.
Prescription safety goggles for site work?
Claimable. Protective equipment the job requires is a business expense, the same rule as safety boots.
Every claim, caught automatically
Snap the receipt and SoleTax files it under the right HMRC category, flags what isn't claimable, and keeps the tax number running. 14 days free, no card needed.
Join the betaSources: HMRC's Business Income Manual (BIM37007, wholly and exclusively; BIM37910, protective clothing) and the SA103F Notes 2026. Checked on 8 July 2026.