If you're planning to work from home this year, you might be one of millions of workers that are eligible for a cash payment from the HMRC.
Remote workers across the UK could pocket a work from home allowance of £125 for the 2021 to 2022 period to make soften the blow of your household bills.
Whether you're working from home full time or part-time, you could be entitled to the tax relief to go towards additional household costs, from gas and electricity to phone calls and internet access.
Employees can claim the refund from either their employer or the HMRC themselves.
Or, if you're a sole trader, you can claim it through your work expenses.
But it should be noted that if you're working from home by choice, and have not been asked by your employer to do so, you unfortunately won't be eligible.
You can either claim tax relief on:
- £6 a week from 6 April 2020 (for previous tax years the rate is £4 a week)
- the exact amount of extra costs you’ve incurred above the weekly amount - but you’ll need evidence such as receipts, bills or contracts.
If you do meet the requirements, you can claim the rebate based on the rate you pay tax at.
For example, if you pay the 20 per cent basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6).
Rather than receiving a direct payment into your account, eligible workers will have their tax codes altered for the year.
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Here's how to claim the payment:
- Head to gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home
- Answer a brief questionnaire to make sure you're eligible
- Use your Government Gateway log-in
If you don't have a Government Gateway ID, you can set one up in just 10 minutes.
It works best if you have your National Insurance number and a recent payslip, P60, or valid UK passport.
And voilà.
Expect the tax relief to appear in your salary soon!
