Employee WFH allowance
Toni Hunter
?? Collaborative, approachable accountancy and business advisor. Improving the impact of charities and ambitious professionals with clear financial governance.
During the COVID pandemic the government relaxed the conditions to enable those working from home to be paid ￡6 a week tax-free by their employer, or, where that was not paid by the employer, they could claim relief for ￡6 a week against their employment income for a tax refund from HMRC.
Those relaxed rules applied for the 2020/21 and 2021/22 tax years, but from 6 April 2022 the rules reverted to the strict statutory position and we are still receiving queries regarding this.
Employees can claim tax relief if they have to work from home under a homeworking agreement, for example because:
In short, tax relief cannot be claimed if the employee chooses to work from home.
For the self-employed and directors...
the rules did not change during COVID and the usual calculations for fair use of space in your home for business activities apply. Give us a call on 01480 708030 if you would like to check that you are claiming enough.
Or, if you can't be bothered with a little math, you can claim the same ￡6 per week as employees (which doesn't go far)
Or, if you spend more than 25 hours per week at home, a flat rate allowance can be claimed, which again is simple, but perhaps not maximising the relief available.
Director, Fenland District Brokers Ltd
1 年I wonder if the tax position changes behaviour, or whether it will be absorbed with a shrug?
Creating opportunities for collaboration. Advisor and mentor to small businesses. Accountability to stay on track to achieve your goals. Steward of the Citizen Collective.
1 年If I was the gambling sort, I'd bet that very few people who run their own businesses know about this Toni - unless they've got a red-hot accountant who goes out of their way to make sure they're claiming everything they're entitled to (and we all know that's a rare beast!) ?? It's one of the big conundrums of running a business that people will spend many unproductive hours supposedly "marketing", aka scrolling Instagram, but will avoid the most basic financial tasks. I can only re-iterate that anyone who has you in their corner is very fortunate indeed!