In April 2020, the government announced a temporary tax break for those working from home. The tax break allows for employers to pay their workers up to £6 a week tax-free to cover additional costs incurred for working from home.
If an employer chooses not to pay their staff the £6 a week, workers can still claim the tax relief from HMRC, if they have worked from home for at least one day since 6 April 2021.
Depending on the rate of tax in which a person pays, will determine how much tax relief they can claim.
- Basic rate taxpayers can claim £1.20 tax relief a week (20% of £6)
- Higher rate taxpayers can claim £2.40 tax relief a week (40% of £6)
Over the year that will amount to £62.40 for basic rate taxpayers and £124.80 for higher rate taxpayers.
The tax break was originally supposed to end in April 2021 however, with the pandemic still meaning people have to work from home, the government has extended the relief until April 2022.
Those who submitted a claim for last year will have to submit a new claim for the 2021/22 tax year.
Once the claim has been submitted and the online application has been approved, HMRC will adjust employees tax codes accordingly for the 2021/22 tax year. Employees will then receive the tax relief directly through their salary until the end of March 2022.
Employees will not have to prove their bills have increased unless they are applying for tax relief on costs over the £6 per week.
HMRC has estimated that around five million people would benefit from the allowance. If you have not claimed your tax relief for the 2021/22 tax year, you can do so via the government website.
