Working From Home Tax Relief UK 2025-26

What is working from home tax relief?

If you work from home regularly and incur extra costs (heating, electricity, internet), you can claim tax relief on those costs. HMRC offers two methods:

1. Flat rate: Claim £6 per week (£312 per year) without providing receipts.
2. Actual costs: Claim the actual additional household costs you incur. Requires evidence.

Most people use the flat rate because it's simple and no receipts are needed. You get tax relief on the £312, not a £312 refund. A basic-rate taxpayer (20%) saves £62.40 per year. A higher-rate taxpayer (40%) saves £124.80 per year.

Who can claim?

You can claim if all of these apply:

• You are a PAYE employee (not self-employed; self-employed people claim via allowable expenses)
• You must work from home (your employer has no suitable office space, or requires you to work from home)
• You incur additional household costs as a result (heating, electricity, internet)

You cannot claim if:

• You choose to work from home when an office is available (HMRC calls this "personal preference")
• You have no additional costs (e.g., you live with family who pay the bills)
• Your employer reimburses your costs in full

Hybrid working: If you work from home 2 days a week and office 3 days, you can claim the flat rate for the days you work from home. HMRC does not prorate the £6/week if you only work from home part-time. You get the full £6/week if you work from home at least once that week.

Flat rate vs actual costs

Flat rate (£6/week, £312/year):

• No receipts needed
• No calculation required
• HMRC accepts this automatically if you tick the box on the P87 form
• Most people choose this

Actual costs:

• You must calculate the additional cost caused by working from home
• Acceptable costs: heating, electricity, internet (the extra usage, not the full bill)
• Not acceptable: rent, mortgage, council tax, water (these are not "additional" costs)
• You need evidence: bills before and after you started working from home, or a reasonable apportionment

Example: Your electricity bill was £100/month when you worked in an office. After working from home 5 days a week, it's £130/month. The additional cost is £30/month = £360/year. You can claim tax relief on £360 instead of the flat £312.

For most people, the flat rate is easier and the difference is small. Use actual costs only if you have high additional costs and good records.

How to claim

You claim working from home tax relief by submitting a P87 form to HMRC. This is done online via the Government Gateway.

Steps:

1. Go to gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home
2. Click "Claim tax relief for your job expenses"
3. Sign in with your Government Gateway account (or create one using your National Insurance number)
4. Select "Working from home" as the expense type
5. Enter the number of weeks you worked from home in each tax year
6. Choose flat rate (£6/week) or enter actual costs
7. Submit the claim

HMRC will either:

• Adjust your tax code to give you the relief in future months, or
• Send you a cheque or bank transfer for past years

Backdating: You can claim for the current tax year plus the previous 4 years. If you worked from home since 2020-21 (pandemic), you can claim for all those years in one go.

How much do you save?

The tax relief is not a £312 cash payment. It's a reduction in your taxable income by £312. The actual cash saving depends on your tax band:

Tax band	Tax rate	Annual saving (flat rate)
Basic rate	20%	£62.40
Higher rate	40%	£124.80
Additional rate	45%	£140.40

If you claim for multiple years, the saving multiplies. Claiming for 4 years at basic rate = £249.60 total.

Can your employer pay instead?

Yes. Employers can pay up to £6/week (£26/month, £312/year) tax-free to cover homeworking costs. This is called a "homeworking allowance" and does not require a P11D form.

If your employer pays this, you cannot also claim tax relief from HMRC (you can't double-claim). Check your payslip or P60 to see if your employer already pays this.

Many employers introduced this during the pandemic. Some continue to pay it; others stopped. If your employer does not pay it, you can claim from HMRC yourself.

What if you move jobs?

You claim working from home relief via your personal tax account, not through your employer. If you change jobs mid-year, you can claim for the total number of weeks you worked from home across all employers that year.

HMRC will adjust your tax code to reflect the claim. The relief follows you to your new employer automatically.

What records do you need to keep?

For flat rate claims: No receipts needed. You only need to state the number of weeks you worked from home. HMRC may ask your employer to confirm if challenged.

For actual costs claims: Keep bills showing usage before and after working from home, a log of homeworking days, and any correspondence with your employer confirming the requirement to work from home.

HMRC can ask for evidence up to 6 years after the claim. Keep records until the tax year is closed.

Does this affect Universal Credit or benefits?

No. Working from home tax relief reduces your tax bill but does not count as income for benefits calculations. Your gross salary remains the same; you just pay less tax on it.