You may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if you have to work at home for all or part of the week. If you previously claimed tax relief when you worked from home because of coronavirus (COVID-19), you might no longer be eligible. Who can claim tax relief You can claim tax relief if you have to work from home, for example because: your job requires you to live far away from your office your employer does not have an office Who cannot claim tax relief You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home. This includes if: your employment contract lets you work from home some or all of the time you work from home because of COVID-19 your employer has an office, but you cannot go there sometimes because it’s full What you can claim for You can only claim for things to do with your work, such as: business phone calls gas and electricity for your work area You cannot claim for things that you use for both private and business use, such as rent or broadband access. How much you can claim You can either claim tax relief on: £6 a week from 6 April 2020 (for previous tax years the rate is £4 a week) - you will not need to keep evidence of your extra costs the exact amount of extra costs you’ve incurred above the weekly amount - you’ll need evidence such as receipts, bills or contracts You’ll get tax relief based on the rate at which you pay tax. Example If you pay the 20% basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week, you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6). You’ll usually get tax relief through a change to your tax code. Check if you can claim

Uniforms, work clothing and tools

You may be able to claim tax relief on the cost of: repairing or replacing small tools you need to do your job (for example, scissors or an electric drill) cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform or specialist clothing (for example, overalls or safety boots) Claim relief for a uniform or specialist clothing You can claim tax relief for a uniform. A uniform is a set of clothing that identifies you as having a certain occupation, for example nurse, or police officer. You may also be able to claim for specialist clothing you need for work, even if it does not identify you as having a certain occupation, for example overalls or safety boots. You cannot claim tax relief for: the initial cost of buying clothing for work cleaning, repairing or replacing everyday clothing you wear for work (even if you must wear a certain design or colour) the cost of laundering your own uniform or specialist clothing if your employer provides a laundering service, and you choose not to use it Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) You cannot claim tax relief for PPE. If your job requires you to use PPE your employer should either: give you PPE free of charge ask you to buy it and reimburse you the costs How much you can claim You can either claim: the actual amount you’ve spent - you’ll need to keep receipts an agreed fixed amount (a ‘flat rate expense’ or ‘flat rate deduction’) Check if your job has an agreed flat rate expense . Check if you can claim

Vehicles you use for work

You may be able to claim tax relief if you use cars, vans, motorcycles or bicycles for work. This does not include travelling to and from your work, unless it’s a temporary place of work. How much you can claim depends on whether you’re using: a vehicle that you’ve bought or leased with your own money a vehicle owned or leased by your employer (a company vehicle) Using your own vehicle for work If you use your own vehicle or vehicles for work, you may be able to claim tax relief on the approved mileage rate. This covers the cost of owning and running your vehicle. You cannot claim separately for things like: fuel electricity road tax MOTs repairs To work out how much you can claim for each tax year you’ll need to: keep records of the dates and mileage of your work journeys add up the mileage for each vehicle type you’ve used for work take away any amount your employer pays you towards your costs, (sometimes called a ‘mileage allowance’) Approved mileage rates First 10,000 business miles in the tax year Each business mile over 10,000 in the tax year Cars and vans 45p 25p Motorcycles 24p 24p Bicycles 20p 20p Using a company car for business You can claim tax relief on the money you’ve spent on fuel and electricity, for business trips in your company car. Keep records to show the actual cost of the fuel. If your employer reimburses some of the money, you can claim relief on the difference. Check if you can claim

Professional fees and subscriptions

You can claim tax relief on: professional membership fees, if you must pay the fees to be able to do your job annual subscriptions you pay to approved professional bodies or learned societies if being a member of that body or society is relevant to your job You cannot claim tax relief on life membership subscriptions, or for professional membership fees or annual subscriptions you: have not paid yourself (for example if your employer has paid for them) have paid to professional organisations that are not approved by HMRC Your organisation can tell you how much tax you’re allowed to claim back. Check if you can claim

Travel and overnight expenses

If you have to travel for your work you may be able to claim tax relief on the cost or money you’ve spent on food or overnight expenses. You cannot claim for travelling to and from work, unless you’re travelling to a temporary place of work. You can claim tax relief for money you’ve spent on things like: public transport costs hotel accommodation if you have to stay overnight food and drink congestion charges and tolls parking fees business phone calls and printing costs You may also be able to claim tax relief on business mileage. Check if you can claim

Buying other equipment

In most cases you can claim tax relief on the full cost of substantial equipment, for example a computer, you have to buy to do your work. This is because it qualifies for a type of capital allowance called annual investment allowance . You cannot claim capital allowances for cars, motorcycles or bicycles you use for work, but you may be able to claim for business mileage and fuel costs . You claim in a different way for small items that’ll last less than 2 years, such as uniforms and tools . You can only claim tax relief for equipment expenses if: you need it to do your job you use the equipment for work and there’s no significant private use - this includes using the equipment according to your organisation’s policy If your employer gives you money for the item Reduce the amount you claim tax relief on by the amount of money your employer gives you. Check if you can claim

Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Overview

You might be able to claim tax relief if:

you use your own money for things that you must buy for your job
you only use these things for your work

You cannot claim tax relief if your employer either gives you:

all the money back
an alternative, for example your employer gives you a laptop but you want a different type or model

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

You must have paid tax in the year. You’ll get tax relief based on what you’ve spent and the rate at which you pay tax.

Example If you spent £60 and pay tax at a rate of 20% in that year, the tax relief you can claim is £12.

For some claims, you must keep records of what you’ve spent. You must claim within 4 years of the end of the tax year that you spent the money.

If your claim is for the current tax year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will usually make any adjustments needed through your tax code.

If your claim is for previous tax years, HMRC will either make adjustments through your tax code or give you a tax refund.

Check if you can claim

View a printable version of the whole guide

Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Overview

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Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Overview

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