Working from home can lead to extra costs - from heating and lighting to phone bills and internet usage. Fortunately, there are ways to claim tax relief on these expenses. In this guide, I’ll outline three common methods and help you decide which might be best for your situation.
1. Apportioned Costs (Self-Employed)
If you’re self-employed, you can claim a proportion of your household bills based on how much of your home is used for business.
Example from HMRC:
- You have 4 rooms in your home, and one is used solely as an office.
- Your annual electricity bill is £400.
- You can claim £100 as allowable expenses (£400 ÷ 4).
- If you only work from home one day a week, you’d claim £14.29 (£100 ÷ 7).
This method requires reviewing your bills and calculating a fair business-use portion. If your workspace is shared or used for personal activities, you’ll need to apportion further.
2. Simplified Flat Rate (Self-Employed)
If you’re self-employed, HMRC offers a simplified way to claim home working expenses without needing to review all your bills. Instead of calculating usage room by room, you can claim a fixed monthly amount based on how many hours you work from home.
The current rates are:
- £10 per month: If you work between 25 and 50 hours from home in a month.
- £18 per month: If you work between 51 and 100 hours.
- £26 per month: If you work 101 hours or more.
These amounts can be added to your self-assessment tax return and will reduce your tax liability. You can adjust the claim each month depending on how many hours you worked from home.
This method is often quicker and easier than calculating exact usage, and in many cases the difference in claim value will be minimal, so it’s worth comparing both approaches to see which works best for you.
3. Weekly Allowance (Employed)
If you’re employed and your employer requires you to work from home, you can claim £6 per week tax-free. There are two ways to do this:
- Your employer pays you £6/week directly (tax-free).
- You claim £6/week as a tax deduction.
If you file a Self Assessment return, you can include this in your expenses. If not, you can submit a P87 form online to make the claim. No receipts or evidence are required, but your employer must have mandated home working. Voluntary home working does not qualify.
Limited Company Directors
If you run a limited company, paying yourself the £6/week allowance through the company can also reduce your Corporation Tax liability. This is often the most efficient route for directors working from home.
Additional Costs
The above methods cover property-related expenses. You can also claim a proportion of:
- Telephone bills.
- Internet usage.
These should be calculated based on approximate business use. For example, if 30% of your internet usage is for work, you can claim 30% of the bill.
Contact Us
If you need any further infomation, or you have any questions at all, feel free to get in touch.
All figures correct as of 7 November 2025.
