An update to the rules means that even if you only spent one day working from home during the whole conornavirus crisis, you can still claim the £ 125 tax refund – and Martin Lewis explained how
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Martin Lewis found that it doesn’t take more than a day of homework to claim a full year of tax relief
The tax break is designed to cover the extra costs you accumulate by doing your work from home instead of at the office
But it turns out the HMRC is a lot less picky about how much you actually spend than you might think
« If you have been required to work from home for even ONE DAY since April 6th… you can now legitimately claim tax relief for all additional costs for the whole YEAR – worth £ 60 or £ 125, Martin tweeted
« When we first saw it, we couldn’t quite believe that meant you automatically got the refund request for the entire fiscal year, no matter how long you were at home « , he explained in a blog post on MoneySavingExpertcom
But people can’t claim tax relief if they choose to work from home – your boss must have told you
The money is designed to cover additional costs associated with working from home, such as heating and upgrading broadband
Bosses are allowed to pay you an additional £ 6 per week – excluding tax – to cover these costs
But even employees who have not received payment for work-at-home costs directly from their employer can apply for HMRC tax relief
Eligible taxpayers can claim tax relief based on the rate at which they pay taxes
For example, if a salaried worker pays the base tax rate of 20% and requests tax relief of £ 6 per week, they will receive £ 120 per week in tax relief (20% of £ 6 per week) to cover the cost of their household bills
If you don’t already have one, creating a government gateway ID usually takes around 10 minutes.This works best if you have:
Once the application is approved, the online portal adjusts the applicant’s tax code for the 2020/21 tax year
The HMRC also reminds employees such as healthcare workers and nursing home staff that they can also claim tax relief on work-related expenses, including cleaning of uniforms
The extra money can help thousands of workers whose efforts help save lives during the coronavirus pandemic
Employees who clean, replace or repair uniforms or tools, or pay fees and subscriptions for their work, can apply online directly to HMRC and see if they are eligible for tax relief on labor costs
The IRS also said that in 2018/19 two-thirds of those claiming expenses were using an agent, rather than using the HMRC directly They will have had to pay a fee or commission
But people paid through Pay As You Earn (PAYE) can apply directly to HMRC and keep all the money
HMRC encourages clients requesting work from home tax relief to apply directly, and said agents will not be able to use the new service to request relief on behalf of a client
Work from home tax break
World news – UK – Martin Lewis explains how to get £ 125 back for a single day of work from home
