How To Claim Working From Home Tax Relief Before the Rules Change for Good

The majority of people who have worked from home in recent years are unaware that they might be in debt. It’s also not a tiny symbolic sum; depending on the length of time you’ve been working remotely and the tax rate, the total can add up in a way that is almost unexpected when you see it in writing. The procedure isn’t too difficult, but it does require understanding what has changed, what is still applicable, and where to file a claim.

This is the part that surprises people. Employees in the UK will no longer be able to claim income tax relief on regular working-from-home expenses for the current tax year between April 6, 2026, and April 5, 2027. For now, at least, that window is closed. However, and this is important, HMRC still permits backdated claims from four prior tax years. Therefore, if you qualified and worked from home in 2022, 2023, 2024, or 2025, you probably have a valid claim that you haven’t filed.

Many people make mistakes when answering the eligibility question. Only if you were forced to work from home—not because it was convenient, not because your employer provided hybrid flexibility, and not because some mornings felt crowded in the office—can you make this claim. HMRC makes a fairly specific distinction: either your employer had no office at all, or your job required you to work from home. Remote work is not eligible if it is a perk of your contract. It’s important to read your employment contract before making any assumptions because it’s a narrower definition than many people think.

The claim itself is fairly simple, assuming you are eligible. For backdated years, you can either claim the precise amount you actually spent on work-related household expenses like gas, electricity, or business phone calls, or you can claim a flat rate of £6 per week, which translates to £1.20 per week back in your pocket if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer at 20% or £2.40 if you’re at the higher rate of 40%. If you choose the exact-amount approach, you will need bills and receipts to support your claim. Most people probably choose the flat rate because it requires less paperwork.

The regulations are somewhat different and possibly more lenient in Ireland. For the days they worked from home, revenue enables remote workers to deduct 30% of their broadband, heating, and electricity expenses. These utility bills are added together, multiplied by the number of days worked from home, divided by 365, and then multiplied by 0.3. After determining the amount of expenses that qualify for relief, you apply your tax rate (either 20% or 40%) to determine the actual savings. In Ireland, employers can contribute up to €3.20 per day, tax-free, toward these expenses. The excess becomes taxable if they pay more than that.

The easiest way for UK workers to submit backdated claims is online via HMRC’s personal tax account. You can also submit form P87 by mail if your total claim for a tax year is less than £2,500. However, you must use the official form exactly as HMRC specifies; postal claims without it are rejected. The claim is processed under employment expenses if you have already completed a Self Assessment tax return.

There is a more general point to be made here. Millions of people were forced into home offices almost immediately as a result of the pandemic, and many of them were legally obliged to do so under circumstances that satisfied HMRC’s own eligibility requirements. That time frame isn’t entirely unattainable because of the four-year backdating window. It’s difficult to ignore how many people discreetly decide they don’t qualify or that the sum isn’t worth the work and choose to ignore it. That might be the case in certain situations. However, the figures add up to something substantial enough to be worth a thirty-minute check for anyone who worked from a kitchen table for two or three years under employer supervision.

For the flat rate, very little proof is needed. You need proof that your employer mandated that you work from home, such as a formal remote working agreement, a letter, or a clause in your employment contract. for bills, receipts, and claims with precise amounts. That’s pretty much it. The rest is handled by the claim form.