Can I claim tax relief for working from home as an employee?

Full answer

Tax relief for employees working from home is more restrictive than many people assume, and HMRC tightened its approach following the end of the temporary COVID-19 concessions. **The core eligibility test** To claim, you generally need your employer to require you to work from home as part of your employment -- for example, because your job is genuinely home-based, or your employer has no office for you to work from -- rather than you personally choosing to work from home some or all of the time for convenience, even under a formal hybrid working policy. HMRC's guidance specifically excludes claims where an employee could work at an employer's premises but chooses to work from home instead. **The £6-a-week flat rate** If you do qualify, the simplest option is to claim tax relief on a flat rate of £6 per week, without needing to keep receipts or calculate exact costs. Relief is given at your marginal tax rate, so a basic rate (20%) taxpayer saves £1.20 per week (about £62 a year), while a higher rate (40%) taxpayer saves £2.40 per week (about £125 a year). **Claiming exact costs instead** Alternatively, you can claim tax relief on the exact additional household costs caused by working from home (a proportion of extra heating, electricity, and metered water, for example, but not costs you would have paid anyway like rent, mortgage interest, or council tax) -- this requires keeping bills and calculating a reasonable, defensible apportionment, and is usually only worthwhile if your actual extra costs clearly exceed £6/week. **How to claim** Most employees claim through HMRC's online 'claim tax relief for your job expenses' service or via a P87 form if claiming outside Self Assessment, or include the claim on a Self Assessment return if you already file one. HMRC previously allowed a full year's claim even for partial-year home working during the pandemic, but post-pandemic rules generally expect claims to reflect the period actually worked from home under a qualifying arrangement. **What your employer does instead** Separately, your employer can choose to pay you up to £6 per week tax-free directly (rather than you claiming relief from HMRC yourself) to cover home working costs -- if your employer already does this, you cannot also claim the same relief yourself from HMRC, as that would be double-counting. **Practical tip** Check your employment contract and any homeworking agreement to confirm whether home working is genuinely required (not just permitted), as this evidence may be needed if HMRC queries the claim.

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