I was lucky enough to claim the VAT on my PPL as it was considered to be part of the process of becoming a professional pilot.
I had given up a well paid job, started training intensively in the UK to get through as quickly as possible and presented an outline 3 year plan (obviously partly guesswork at that stage) which detailed the first 3 years of my self employment as a pilot.
On top of which I sought professional advice who negotiated with the tax office on my behalf. It's a bit hazy but perhaps the professional advice was about a £1,000 in the first year.
All (well, the majority) my costs of gaining my ratings, through to IR eventually were allowed to be offset against my earnings, which ended up being about 3 years of offset against income tax.
The Accountant did my tax returns, I put in the invoices/costs to him quarterly and he tidied them up and did the necessary.
Some people have not been able to claim as much as this, but an early professional dialogue with the tax/vat office from day 1 seemed to have paid dividends for me.
The money spent with the accountant saved me thousands down the line.