HMRC amends working from home rules

The temporary concessions introduced by HMRC for homeworking during the pandemic came to an end on 5 April 2022. Pre-pandemic rules now apply for employees looking to claim tax relief.

Higher rate taxpayers received an annual tax cut of £124.80 from the £6 a week tax free allowance. However, to claim relief now, there must be an arrangement between employer and employee requiring homeworking on a regular basis. This requirement is met if, for example, an employee works from home two days a week, even if these two days vary from week to week.

Relief is typically available where an employee lives a long way from their employer’s office, or the employer doesn’t have an office. Relief cannot be claimed if the employee chooses to work from home, including working from home because of Covid-19 or where it is not possible to work from an employer’s office because it is full.