The eligibility criteria for the Government’s work from home tax relief was relaxed during the pandemic, as restrictions prevented many people from physically going to work.
Thanks to this, if you were required to work from home for a limited period, you may have been able to claim the tax relief in full for the tax years 2020/21 and/or 2021/22.
However, be warned that as of 6 April 2022, the eligibility criteria was tightened, so you may no longer be eligible for this relief.
What has changed?
Whilst there are more restrictions on who can claim, you could still be eligible for the tax relief if you have to work from home due to reasons beyond your control.
This relates to if there are no premises for you to work at or there are any Government restrictions in place that mean you must work from home.
You may also be able to claim this relief if your job requires you to live far away from your office, so commuting daily would be unreasonable.
The amount that you can claim has not changed from previous years. If you are entitled to the relief, you can either claim £6 per week from 6 April 2020, or the exact amount of the costs that you have incurred above the weekly amount.
To claim the extra costs, you will need to provide evidence of these, such as bills, contracts or receipts.
Do you need to do anything?
In the circumstance that you claimed the working from home tax relief in previous years, this could have affected your tax code.
Therefore, you need to recognise if you are still eligible for this relief; if not, you may be receiving tax reliefs that you are no longer entitled to.
To resolve this and avoid underpaying PAYE, you must inform HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to remove your previous claim.
Need advice on claiming tax reliefs? Contact us.