HMRC have confirmed that employees who are working from home to abide with coronavirus guidelines can continue to claim tax-relief on costs, the icaew.com website reports. However, they will need to make a new claim for the 2021/22 tax year for costs not reimbursed by their employer.

The inews website reports that according to the Office for National Statistics, nearly 47% of people in employment worked from home in April 2020. The official government advice remains to work from home if you can do so, to minimise travel and social contact during the Covid-19 outbreak.

The chance to work form home has been welcomed by many employees, who prefer to save on the time and cost of commuting, or who find their home environment a more productive place to work. It is thought that going forward, many companies will adopt a hybrid policy, where workers can choose to divide their time between home and office.

People who work from home as a requirement of their employer, either full time or for part of the week on a regular basis, are entitled to claim tax relief for costs such as heating, metered water bills, home contents insurance, business calls and broadband. It does not include fixed costs such as mortgages, rent, or council tax.

Self-employed people who file through the self-assessment system are subject to different rules on tax relief. Employees can claim tax relief on either £6 a week from April 2020, or the exact amount of extra costs incurred, with evidence such as bills and receipts. These costs will be reimbursed by the employer.

To continue to claim the expenses when they are not from an employer, a new claim will have to be filed for the 2021/22 tax year through the government gateway website.

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