Accounting for Workwear and Protective Equipment: Issue, Wear Periods and Write-Off

The employer's obligation

Under Article 363 of the Labour Code, employees engaged in work with adverse conditions are provided free of charge with special clothing, sanitary clothing, special footwear and other personal protective and hygiene equipment according to established norms. The purchase, storage, washing, cleaning, repair, disinfection and decontamination of PPE are paid for by the employer.

The employee, in turn, must use the protective equipment properly. Monitoring whether employees are provided with workwear and PPE free of charge according to the norms is among the rights of the occupational safety representative (Regulation approved by Cabinet of Ministers Resolution No. 819 of 24.12.2025).

Where norms and wear periods come from

The list of jobs, issue norms and the procedure and conditions of provision are set by collective agreements and the collective contract. If there are none, the employer sets them in agreement with the trade union committee in line with the standards established by law (Article 363 of the Labour Code).

In practice, norms are documented as an annex to the collective contract or by an order: for each profession, the item of PPE, the quantity and the wear period. The wear period matters not only for safety: it determines when an item can be written off and replaced, and it supports the expense in an audit.

If a company has different units — production, warehouse, office — it is convenient to approve norms for each: office staff usually receive no PPE, while sets and periods differ between the warehouse and the workshop. When working conditions change, for example after a workplace assessment, the norms are revised and communicated to employees against signature.

Accounting under the chart of accounts

Under NAS No. 21, low-value and fast-wearing items within current assets — inventory, tools, household supplies and other means of labour — are recorded in account 1080 Inventory and Household Supplies. Workwear is usually recorded there too, or in a separate sub-account set in the accounting policy.

• Receipt: Dr 1080 — Cr 6010 Payments to Suppliers and Contractors, at purchase cost.
• Issue into use: the cost may be charged in full to production or period expenses when the item is put into use — for example, Dr 2010 Main Production, 9410 Selling Expenses or 9420 Administrative Expenses — Cr 1080.
• Safekeeping control: issued items are tracked off-balance in account 014 Inventory and Household Supplies in Use, by workshop, warehouse and individual user.
• Write-off at the end of the wear period or when unusable — from the off-balance account on the basis of a duly executed write-off act.

Profit tax

Justified and documented expenses are deductible, and expenses arising from legal requirements are, in particular, considered economically justified (Article 305 of the Tax Code). Workwear costs under the Article 363 norms are exactly such a case.

The fixed asset threshold also matters for tax: items costing more than 50 BCV per unit with a useful life over 12 months are depreciable property (Article 306 of the Tax Code). Workwear is almost always cheaper, so its cost is expensed rather than depreciated. Supporting documents are the issue norms, the personal issue card, the issue register and the write-off act.

PIT: when the value is not employee income

Under Article 369 of the Tax Code, the following employer expenses are not treated as employee income:

• providing employees engaged in work with adverse conditions with milk, therapeutic and preventive meals, carbonated salted water and personal protective and hygiene equipment in the manner established by law;
• issuing, or selling at reduced prices, special clothing, special footwear and uniforms necessary for performing job duties.
• The key condition is the link to job duties. Branded clothing for events, business suits for executives or gifts in corporate style do not automatically qualify for this exemption and need a separate assessment.

Selling workwear to employees and termination

If workwear is sold to an employee, the NAS No. 21 chart of accounts records the transaction as a debit to account 4790 and a credit to revenue accounts 9010–9030. Selling necessary workwear at a reduced price is not employee income (Article 369 of the Tax Code).

What happens to workwear on termination — return, deduction of its value or transfer to the employee — should be set out in advance in the collective contract or an internal policy. Deductions from wages are made only in the cases and within the limits set by the Labour Code.

Document checklist

• PPE issue norms by profession with wear periods (collective contract or an order agreed with the trade union);
• a personal workwear issue card signed by the employee;
• issue registers and warehouse transfer notes;
• off-balance records in account 014 by responsible person;
• write-off acts at the end of the wear period or when items become unusable;
• accounting policy: when the cost is expensed and which sub-accounts are used.