Claim tax relief if working from home

If you are an employee who is working from home, you may be able to claim tax relief for part of your household bills that are related to your work. If your expenses or allowances are not paid by your employer, you can claim tax relief directly from HMRC.

You can claim tax relief if you have to work from home, for example because:

• your job requires you to live far away from your office; and/or
• your employer does not have an office.

Tax relief is not usually available if you choose to work from home. This includes if your employment contract lets you work from home some or all of the time or if your employer's office is unable to accommodate you.

Employees can claim tax relief of £6 per week (or £26 a month for employees paid monthly) to cover additional costs if they have to work from home. Employees do not need to keep any specific records if they receive this fixed amount.

Employees will receive tax relief based on their highest tax rate. For example, if you pay the 20% basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week, you will receive £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6). Alternatively, employees can claim the exact amount of extra costs they have incurred but will need to provide evidence to HMRC. HMRC will accept backdated claims for up to 4 previous tax years.

Employees may also be able to claim tax relief for using their own vehicle, be it a car, van, motorcycle or bike. As a general rule, there is no tax relief for ordinary commuting to and from your regular place of work. The rules are different for temporary workplaces where the expense is usually allowable or if an employee uses their own vehicle to do other business-related mileage. Employees may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment they have bought, such as a laptop, chair or mobile phone.