Are you an employee who worked from home during the pandemic but are normally office based?

Are you an employer who asked your office-based staff to work from home during the pandemic?

Did you know that you/they can claim tax relief on the full amount of the Working from home allowance, even if working from home for just one day in a tax year?

Worth having right?

Many employers requested staff to work from home at some point during the Covid-19 pandemic, some still are.  It’s great that equipment was provided to be able to do that but if you or your employees don’t normally claim expenses or submit a self-assessment tax return then you/they are entitled to claim the Working from Home allowance which equates to £312 per year. 

The full allowance for all tax years that are affected can be claimed, provided that you/they worked from home during those tax years.

It’s actually based on the rate that tax is normally paid, so a basic rate taxpayer on 20% will get £1.20 in tax relief per week (£62.40 for the year) which is given by an adjustment on the tax code.

And that’s absolutely worth having isn’t it!

You/your staff can find out if you’re eligible and claim too on the below link.

The process is really easy for employees who don’t generally claim or are paid expenses.  A Government Gateway ID (which the link talks through) a National Insurance Number and a recent P60 or passport is all that’s required.  https://bit.ly/3dIM9vb

If other expenses are normally paid to staff such as mileage or fuel, travel & hotels, professional fees & equipment purchases, then they are still entitled to the working from home allowance, but the employer would need to capture this in the employees annual P11d forms or for the self-employed, under their self-assessment form.

Aspire Accounts work with individuals and business owners to help them through the myriad of HMRC guidance and ensure that they are taking full advantage of entitlements and keeping their workforce informed of theirs too.