Claim tax relief for working from home
If you’ve been working from home in the past 12 months (which most of us have been) you can now claim up to £250 tax relief to cover additional household costs.
How can you claim money for working from home?
Well, the HMRC tax relief applies to anyone working from home from 2020-21, even if you only worked one day at home. In total if you claim for last year and this year, the value is £125 for each year or £6 per week.
Just visit the HMRC website here to check if you’re eligible.
What is the money for?
This tax relief covers all expenses incurred from working from home. This can include all electricity and gas bills, metered water and business phones calls including internet access – which are all bound to have gone up! When completing the form, you must ensure to answer honestly and declare if your employer contributes to any of your additional charges for working from home.
Tax relief of £6 a week equates to a gain of:
£1.20 a week for a basic 20% rate taxpayer (£62.40 a year)
£2.40 a week for a higher 40% rate taxpayer (£124.80 a year)
£2.70 a week for a top 45% rate taxpayer (£140.40 a year)
What else can I claim tax relief for?
You may also be able to claim tax relief on equipment purchased for work use, such as a laptop, chair or mobile phone.
What if I complete Self-Assessment Tax Returns?
If you submit your tax returns by completing a self-assessment, you will be unable to use the above HMRC microsite link to claim the tax relief back. However, you are still due the tax relief. To claim, you must declare this on your self-assessment form.
For online returns, please complete the information under ‘Other expenses and capital allowances’ in the employment section.
For paper returns, this is covered in section 20 on the full return and section 2.5 on the short return.