With Covid-19 protocols relaxing around England and other parts of the UK, the government has updated the WFH tax relief for 2022/23, taking effect from April 2022. Find out what’s changed, how this affects you, and how you can claim your tax relief if you’re eligible.
What is the WFH Tax Relief?
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When the COVID-19 epidemic first broke out in March 2020, the UK government urged people to work remotely whenever possible. Following this advice, new tax relief laws came into effect, which helped to offset the resulting increase in household expenses.
The government first implemented the working from home tax relief in April 2003. Under the law, employers were to provide employees with work at home arrangements with tax-free payments of £4 per week to help them cover additional household expenditures, such as utility costs.
With the new rules brought on by the pandemic, however, this figure rose from £4 to £6 per week. Under this temporary adjustment in the rules, you weren’t required to provide receipt evidence or calculations that you routinely worked from home. Instead, it meant that an employee could still claim up to £140 annually – even if they had only worked from home for just one day during the pandemic.
WFH Tax Relief 2022/23: What’s Changed?
During the current tax year, a large proportion of employees are back to working in their offices part- or full-time. As a result, the HMRC have decided to tighten WFH tax relief rules for 2022-2023, thus making it harder for workers to be eligible for the tax break.
Under the new rules, you’re not eligible for tax relief if you "choose to work from home". This applies even if your employment agreement allows you to work partially or entirely from home. It also applies if you contract Covid and must work from home temporarily, or if your business has an office, but you're occasionally unable to visit it because it’s too full.
If you’re self-employed, you’re also ineligible for the working from home tax incentive. You can still list some of your expenses on your tax return, however.
Are You Still Eligible for the WFH Tax Relief?
So, who is eligible for the WFH tax relief in 2022/23? Now, you can only file a claim if you are forced to work from home, rather than if you voluntarily do so. Under the new policy, you can claim the tax relief if you have to work from home due to two main reasons:
Your position forces you to reside a long distance away from your office
Your employer does not have a physical office
What Expenses Can You Claim?
The WFH tax relief is designed to cover costs associated with your work, including business phone calls or utilities such as gas (i.e. extra heating during the day) and electricity. You cannot claim for goods or services used for both personal and business purposes, however, such as rent or internet access.
Can You Backdate Your WFH Tax Relief for Previous Years?
Some employers may find they’re not eligible for this tax year’s work from home relief, yet they were eligible for the previous two years and haven’t yet made their claim. In this scenario, you can backdate your claim for up to four years. The deadlines are as follows:
2020/21 tax year WFH tax relief: 5 April 2025
2021/22 tax year WFH tax relief: 5 April 2026
How to Claim Your WFH Tax Relief for 2022/23
Start by visiting the HMRC portal to check your eligibility, then follow the prompts. If you reside in Ireland, you can complete this process using Revenue’s myAccount service. Be sure to have evidence such as receipts and bills on-hand to make this process simpler.
