Employees may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if they have to work at home on a regular basis, either for all or part of the week. This includes having been told to work from home because of coronavirus.
Additional costs include things like heating, metered water bills or business calls, that employees can demonstrate have been incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily as a direct result of working from home. They do not include costs that would stay the same whether they are working at home or in an office.
You may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if you have to work at home on a regular basis, either for all or part of the week. This includes if you have to work from home because of coronavirus (COVID-19).
You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home.
You may be able to claim tax relief for:
- gas and electricity
- metered water
- business phone calls, including dial-up internet access
You cannot claim for the whole bill, just the part that relates to your work.
You may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment you’ve bought, such as a laptop, chair or mobile phone.
How much you can claim
You can either claim tax relief on:
- £6 a week from 6 April 2020 (for previous tax years the rate is £4 a week) – you will not need to keep evidence of your extra costs
- the exact amount of extra costs you’ve incurred above the weekly amount – you’ll need evidence such as receipts, bills or contracts
You’ll get tax relief based on the rate at which you pay tax. For example, if you pay the 20% basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6).
How to claim: https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/claim-tax-relief-expenses/only-claiming-working-from-home-tax-relief?_ga=2.197652332.210682105.1621596950-1457272639.1614846091
Guidance from Gov.uk