Who Qualifies?
During the pandemic (2020/21 and 2021/22 tax years), HMRC allowed almost anyone working from home to claim. That changed from 6 April 2022. The rules are now stricter.
You can claim if your employer requires you to work from home. That means one of these applies:
- Your employer does not have an office (or your role has no workplace).
- You live too far from the office for daily commuting to be reasonable.
- Your employer's premises cannot accommodate you (for example, not enough desks).
You cannot claim if you choose to work from home for convenience. Even if your employment contract says you can work remotely, that alone is not enough. Your employer must require it, or there must be no suitable workplace available.
What Evidence Do You Need?
HMRC does not ask for evidence up front when you claim the flat rate online. But if they enquire later, you should be able to show:
- A letter or email from your employer stating you are required to work from home.
- Your employment contract, if it specifies home as your primary workplace.
- A statement from HR confirming there is no desk or office space available for you.
If you're claiming actual costs rather than the flat rate, keep household bills (gas, electricity, broadband, council tax) and a log of your working hours at home.
Worked Example: Flat Rate Claim
Tom works from home three days a week. His employer has no office space for him. He earns £35,000, putting him in the basic rate (20%) tax band. He claims the £6/week flat rate for the full tax year.
- Weekly allowance: £6
- Annual allowance: £6 x 52 = £312
- Tax relief at 20%: £312 x 0.20 = £62.40 per year
If Tom were a higher-rate taxpayer earning £60,000, the same £312 allowance would save him £124.80 per year (£312 x 0.40).
The flat rate is £6/week regardless of how many days you work from home. One day or five days, the amount is the same.
Savings by Tax Band
The relief is worth more the higher your tax rate. Here's the breakdown for a full year at £6/week:
| Tax Band | Rate | Weekly Saving | Annual Saving |
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic rate | 20% | £1.20 | £62.40 |
| Higher rate | 40% | £2.40 | £124.80 |
| Additional rate | 45% | £2.70 | £140.40 |
Flat Rate vs Actual Costs
You have two options for calculating your claim. Most people use the flat rate because it requires no receipts.
| Flat Rate (£6/week) | Actual Costs | |
|---|---|---|
| Receipts needed? | No | Yes, for all household bills |
| Annual deduction | £312 fixed | Varies, could be more or less |
| Calculation | Automatic | Proportion of bills by room area and hours worked |
| Best for | Most employees | People with a dedicated room and high bills |
| How to claim | P87 form or GOV.UK online tool | Self Assessment tax return |
If you use actual costs, HMRC expects you to calculate the work-use proportion of each bill. For example: if your house has 5 rooms and your office is 1 room, and you work 40 hours in a 168-hour week, the proportion is roughly 1/5 x 40/168 = about 4.8% of each bill. For most people this works out to less than £312, which is why the flat rate tends to be the better option.
Actual Costs: Worked Example
Jane has a dedicated home office (1 room out of 5 in her house). She works 40 hours per week from home. Her annual household bills are:
- Electricity and gas: £1,800
- Broadband: £420
- Council tax: £1,600
- Water: £400
Total bills: £4,220. The work-use proportion is 1/5 (one room) x 40/168 (hours in a week) = 4.76%. That gives her a deduction of about £201 per year. At the higher rate (40%), that saves £80 in tax.
Compare that to the flat rate: £312 deduction, saving £124.80 at 40%. The flat rate wins by £45, and Jane doesn't need to keep any receipts. This is why most people stick with £6/week.
Edge Cases
- You started or stopped working from home partway through the year: Claim £6/week only for the weeks you actually worked from home. You don't get the full £312 unless you worked from home for the entire tax year.
- Two people in the same household both work from home: Each person can claim separately. The £6/week is per employee, not per household.
- Self-employed people: This relief is for employees only. If you're self-employed, you claim a proportion of your household costs as a business expense directly on your Self Assessment return, using either the simplified expenses flat rate or actual costs.
- Agency workers and zero-hours contracts: You can claim for weeks where you worked from home, provided the engagement required it. Keep a record of which weeks you worked at home.
- You have a separate building in your garden: Working from an outbuilding on your property still counts as working from home for the purposes of this relief.
- Your employer closed the office permanently: If your employer shut down its office and now operates fully remote, you qualify. The key fact is that no suitable workplace exists for you.
- You work from home abroad: You cannot claim UK tax relief for working from a home outside the UK. The relief covers additional household costs in the UK only.
Common Questions
Do I qualify if I work from home part of the week (hybrid)?
It depends on why you work from home, not how often. If your employer requires you to work from home on certain days because there is no office space available, or your job requires you to live too far away to commute daily, you can claim for the days you work at home. If you simply choose to work from home when your employer has a suitable office for you, you do not qualify, even if your employer allows it or your contract says you can.
Can I claim for furniture or equipment I bought for my home office?
Not through this relief. The £6/week flat rate covers household running costs only, such as heating, electricity, and broadband. If you had to buy a desk, chair, or computer to do your job and your employer did not reimburse you, you may be able to claim separately for that under the general rule for employee expenses. You would need to show the item is used wholly and exclusively for work, which is difficult for items like a desk that you might also use personally.
How far back can I claim work from home tax relief?
You can claim for the current tax year and the four previous tax years. So in 2026/27 you could go back to 2021/22. However, from 6 April 2022 onwards the stricter rules apply: you must have been required to work from home, not just choosing to. For 2020/21 and 2021/22, the pandemic rules were more relaxed and most home workers qualified.
What if my employer already pays me a working from home allowance?
If your employer pays you up to £6/week (or £26/month) tax-free as a working from home allowance, you cannot also claim tax relief from HMRC on the same amount. You would be double-dipping. If your employer pays less than £6/week, you can claim the difference. If your employer pays nothing, you can claim the full amount directly from HMRC.
Can I claim actual costs instead of the flat rate?
Yes, but you need to keep records. You would work out the proportion of your household bills that relate to your work area and working hours. For most people the flat rate gives a simpler and quicker result. Claiming actual costs only makes sense if you have a dedicated room used solely for work and high household bills.
How to Claim
For the flat rate, use the GOV.UK online tool. You'll need your Government Gateway login. The process takes about 10 minutes. HMRC will adjust your tax code so you pay less tax going forward, and you'll receive any backdated relief as a lump sum.
If you file a Self Assessment return, add the claim there instead. Enter the amount under employment expenses. Don't claim twice (once online and once on your return).
Check Eligibility on GOV.UK