Claiming A Years Worth Of Tax Relief Working From Home

Since the UK was placed into lockdown at the beginning of March, we’ve seen restrictions come and go. With the country now leaving its second national lockdown, areas across the land are preparing to enter a new tiering system with further restrictions to be announced. This news means there’ll be more of us working from home yet again. Government guidelines still state, for those who don’t work in healthcare, hospitality or non essential retail, then you should be working from home if you can.

Over the summer months, we saw lots of people coming up with inventive ways in which they’d been working from home. We’ve seen people completely revamp their spare room and create a zen working space, to nifty contraptions that allowed workers to enjoy a spot of sunbathing whilst working at the same time. Hats off to that person.

But now with Winter ahead of us, working from home maybe different for a lot of us. Most crucially, the change in weather. There’s only so many layers we can put on before we start to look like the Michelin man.

That being said, working from home has helped people in many ways. They’ve got to spend more time with family and friends, they can make actual tasty home made lunches, you can put whatever radio station you like on and you can even work in your underpants. The list is endless. However, whilst some of us may have been easily saving money, we could have been forking out costs in other areas.

What Does The Claim Cover?

We’re talking water bills, heating, electricity, internet, phone bills and continents insurance. So to combat these extra costs, you can apply for tax relief. Before you go any further, you might want to check if you’re eligible first. You can do so here.

If you’ve been working from home on a regular basis for all or part of the week then you can apply. Even if it’s just been a singular day, you can still apply and get one whole years tax relief. Bear in mind that you can only claim tax relief if your employer has enforced these rules, if you’ve chosen to work from home, you won’t be able to claim.

How Much Can I Claim?

You can claim £6 a week, here are the two ways in which you can:

Employers can pay you £6 a week extra tax-free. Employers can give you an allowance up to this amount and what they give you is free from tax. But with businesses struggling, this might not be the best option.

Instead you can claim tax relief on £6 a week. If your employer won’t pay expenses for your extra costs but you have them, then you can ask for the amount to be deducted from your taxable income. HMRC says that claims in line with the employers’ payment will not need to justify that figure so you won’t need to prove it.

If your expenses exceed £6, then you’ll have to prove it with receipts.

How Can I Claim?

To get your claim in, HMRC has launched a microservice that anyone can access who has an internet connection. When you make your application, this service will automatically apply the whole 2020/21 tax year’s relief via your tax code.

You’ll need to have your Government Gateway ID at the ready so make sure you have an account, if not, you’ll need to create one.
However, unlike usual tax rebates, you won’t get a cheque for this money. Essentially your tax code is changed, so you’ll pay less tax for the rest of the year.

So there we have it. There’s no need to wait to put in your claim, do it today. It’s straightforward and super easy. If you have any questions about your tax obligations or want to know more about tax relief, call us on 0333 987 4672. Alternatively, fill in the form on our contact us page and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.