WellTax Blog

How employees forced to work from home can claim a compensation

October 15, 2020

Employees can get an allowance of £6 a week or £26 a month from their employers (paid tax free). Alternatively, during this pandemic period, the taxpayers can subtract these amounts from their income in order to reduce their tax base and obtain a lighter taxation.

This initiative is called “Allowance for working from home”. This allowance is aimed at covering the additional costs that employees incur as a result of working from home, such as lighting and heating in the work room, and business telephone calls.

It should be noted that the allowance of 6 pounds per week refers to the current tax year (from 6 April 2020 to 5 April 2021), while it was 4 pounds per week in reference to the previous tax year (from 6 April 2019 to 5 April 2020). If the allowance is extended to the next tax year (2021-2022), another application must be submitted. Alternatively, employees can claim a tax relief on the actual expenses incurred, as long as they are able to provide evidence, such as phone bills.

The possibility for employees working from home due to Covid-19 to apply for a deduction, if they haven’t received reimbursement of additional expenses from their employers, was announced in a parliamentary request which was answered positively on March 27.

Employees can apply for tax relief by entering the additional expenses in their tax return (self-assessment return or, by submitting the P87 form) or simply through the Government platform. It is possible to check eligibility and request tax relief by visiting the following link:

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home

HMRC confirmed that the allowance can be obtained in full, even if an employee divides his or her time between working from home and working from the office. It is therefore not necessary to specify the number of days spent working from home.

Employees who return to the office, after having previously informed HMRC that they were working from home, are not obliged to notify HMRC of the change.

For more information regarding the allowance for working from home, please contact us at info@well-tax.com or follow us on our social media.

 

Photo by Standsome Worklifestyle on Unsplash

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