You may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if you had to work from home due to COVID-19 over the last two years. With the cost of living increasing, you can claim back now what you’re owed, which may help you to cover the increasing costs of electricity and water.
Claiming Work From Home Tax Relief
You can claim tax relief if you have to work from home if one of the following applies:
- You cant perform your job on your employer’s premises because they don’t have the facilities
- You live far away from the premises making it unreasonable for you to travel every day
- Government restrictions mean you must work from home
You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home, which is defined as:
- If your employment contract lets you work from home part/full time
- You WFH because you catch COVID-19
- Your employer has an office but you cannot attend sometimes if it is full
You also cannot claim if you have not been asked to work from home but have chosen to.
Why Claim the Tax Relief
Due to the Coronavirus pandemic, many people were told to work from home by their employers over the last two years, meaning bills increased due to extra time at home. To help cover these costs, HMRC is allowing you to claim a tax relief.
This will help you to cover costs such as:
- Electricity & heating
- Water
- Broadband
Claiming Tax Relief Deadlines
Although the end of the legal requirement to work from home now means that many people will no longer be eligible to claim the deduction, you can still claim for any of the tax years that you qualify for. You have until 5th April 2025 to claim for the 2020/21 working from home tax relief, and 5th April 2026 to claim for the tax year 2021/22.
How Much Can You Claim
The amount depends on what rate taxpayer you are, see table below for details:
| Taxpayer Bracket | Amount claim per week | Per tax year |
| Basic rate taxpayer (20%) | £1.20 | £62.40 |
| Higher rate taxpayer (40%) | £2.40 | £124.80 |
| Additional Rate Taxpayer (45%) | £2.70 | £140.40 |
If you are paying tax via self-assessment, your total tax payable will be adjusted accordingly.
How Is It Paid?
How the tax relief is paid will depend on which year you are claiming for. Claims for the tax year 2020/21 are paid in a lump sum in your salary. For the 2021/22 tax year, HMRC will adjust your tax code to reflect this in your salary that you owe less tax each month.
How to Claim WFH Tax Relief
You can use HMRC’s online site to make a claim. To do this, you’ll need your Government Gateway ID and password. If you don’t have one of these, you can create one using your NI number and valid ID. During the process, you will be asked a number of work related questions to assess your eligibility. If you intend on claiming an exact amount for costs, you will need evidence of receipts and bills to hand.
It is important to note that if you have already claimed for the 2020/21 tax year, you will not automatically be refunded for the 2021/22 tax year, and instead must apply for this.
Check if you can claim & make a claim now using the questionnaire on the HMRC website here.
If you need help with filing for tax relief, or submitting a tax return, James & Uzzell are tax consultants and accountants based in Swansea who can help you. Contact us today to speak to our friendly team.