Working from home tax relief lets employees claim back some of the additional household costs incurred by working at home rather than in an office. The rules have tightened since the broad COVID-era allowances, but relief is still available if you genuinely need to work from home for your job.
Who qualifies
You can claim if your employer requires you to work from home as part of your job — for example, because there's no office available, your role is home-based by contract, or you live too far from the nearest office. Working from home by choice doesn't qualify. If your employer provides an office and you simply prefer to work from home, you cannot claim.
During the COVID pandemic (2020-2022), HMRC accepted claims from virtually everyone who worked from home. That blanket approach has ended. The current rules require a genuine need to work from home, not just a preference or informal arrangement.
Hybrid workers can claim for the days they work from home, provided there's a genuine requirement (not just an agreement) for them to do so. HMRC's guidance is somewhat grey here — if your employer requires you to work from home two days a week with no desk available in the office on those days, that's more likely to qualify than a voluntary hybrid arrangement.
The flat rate method
The simplest way to claim is the HMRC flat rate of £6 per week (£312 per year). You don't need to provide evidence of actual costs — it's a fixed amount. The tax relief is based on your marginal rate:
Basic rate taxpayer (20%): saves £62.40 per year (20% of £312)
Higher rate taxpayer (40%): saves £124.80 per year
Additional rate taxpayer (45%): saves £140.40 per year
Not life-changing, but it takes five minutes to claim and the relief applies for the whole tax year, even if you only work from home part of the week.
Claiming actual costs
If your additional costs are higher than £6 per week, you can claim the actual extra amount instead. This might include a proportion of your electricity, gas, water rates, home internet, and business phone calls. You need to calculate the proportion attributable to work — for example, if you use one room of a six-room house solely for work, and your heating bill increased by £300 per year, you might claim £50 (one sixth of the increase).
Claiming actual costs requires records and evidence. HMRC can ask for bills and calculations. For most people, the effort of tracking actual costs isn't worth the modest additional relief over the flat rate. But if you have a dedicated home office with significant running costs, it can add up.
Equipment and furniture
If your employer requires you to buy equipment for home working and doesn't reimburse you, you can claim tax relief on those costs. A desk, office chair, computer equipment, printer — these are all potentially claimable. However, the items must be used exclusively or mainly for work.
If your employer provides equipment (laptop, monitor, etc.), there's nothing to claim — the employer has already covered the cost. If your employer offers a home working allowance or reimbursement up to £6 per week, that's tax-free and you can't claim additional relief on top.
How to claim
There are two routes:
Online through GOV.UK: Use the HMRC online portal to check eligibility and submit a claim. For the flat rate, this takes about five minutes. HMRC adjusts your tax code so you pay less tax going forward, and issues a refund for any overpayment in the current year.
Through self-assessment: If you already file a self-assessment tax return, include working from home expenses on the employment page. You can claim actual costs or the flat rate.
You can backdate claims for up to four years. If you've been working from home since 2022 and haven't claimed, you could potentially reclaim for multiple tax years.
What you cannot claim
Mortgage interest or rent — working from home doesn't let you offset your housing costs against tax. Council tax — same principle. Broadband installation — if you would have had broadband regardless of working from home, it's a personal expense. Furniture for comfort rather than necessity — a standing desk might qualify, but an ergonomic massage chair probably wouldn't.
The key principle is that you can only claim for additional costs caused by working from home, not for costs you would have incurred anyway.
Self-employed working from home
If you're self-employed and work from home, the rules are different and generally more generous. You can use HMRC's simplified expenses flat rates (£10-26 per month depending on hours worked at home) or calculate the actual proportion of household costs attributable to business use. Self-employed people claim through their self-assessment tax return, deducting the costs from their business income.