Employees who are currently required to work from home as a
result of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are advised to check their eligibility
for tax relief. Tax preparation specialist David Redfern, director of DSR Tax Refunds Ltd,
issued his advice for homeworkers as HMRC updates its tax relief rates for
homeworkers for tax year 2021/22.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, HMRC’s rules surrounding who
was eligible to claim tax relief as a result of working from home were considerably tighter, explained
Redfern, who stated “With the onset of the pandemic and widespread
homeworking encouraged by the UK government, HMRC loosened its regulations
around who could claim tax relief to cover the additional costs resulting from
homeworking. Prior to last March, those who worked from home by choice rather
than required to by their employer were not eligible for tax relief. Obviously,
this past year has seen a widescale change in working patterns and it is
refreshing to see HMRC loosen its rules to allow more employees to get help to
cover their increased home expenses”. For the current 2021/22
tax year, employees who work from home can claim a £312 allowance to cover
additional costs such as heating, electricity and metered water as a result of
more time spent at home.
To help workers to calculate how much they are entitled to
claim in tax relief, DSR Tax Refunds Ltd has introduced a handy tax refund calculator
on their website, with which employees can check the full range of tax relief
they are entitled to. Redfern stated “We know that many people find the
whole subject of tax and tax relief very confusing and as a company we are
proud to unveil our new calculator to help people see how much they might claim
for working from home, as well as any other expenses they may have incurred as
a result of doing their job. Employees might not be aware but they can claim
the full £312 allowance, even if they have only worked at home for a single day
during the tax year – whether because they have been required to self-isolate
or they have taken part in an online meeting via Zoom or Google Meet,
they don’t have to have been working from home day in day out, and they won’t
need to provide expenses for this allowance”. In addition, employees can
claim tax relief on any expenses they have incurred while furnishing a home
office, such as furniture or laptops although receipts will be needed for these
purchases.
Redfern reassured employees who have been working from home
since the start of the pandemic, stating “Employees who may be worried
that they have been working from home since last March can take reassurance in
the fact that tax refund claims can be backdated for four tax years so, if you
have been working from home since the start of the pandemic, it isn’t too late
to claim your allowance for the previous tax years covered. This also includes
any essential purchases you may have made at the start of the pandemic in order
to kit out a workable home office, however you will only be able to claim for
expenses which have not been reimbursed by your employer – tax relief is
designed to ensure that you are not left out of pocket”. Where an employer
has already reimbursed any working from home expenses or has indicated that
they intend to, tax relief is not permitted for those expenses. Self-employed
workers are not entitled to claim this particular tax allowance but their
working from home expenses can be claimed at a different rate via their self-assessment tax return.
For more information about working from home expenses, or to
use the tax relief calculator, employees are advised to head to the DSR Tax
Refunds Ltd website,
which has a wide range of resources relating to tax and expenses.
About DSR Tax Refunds
Ltd
DSR Tax Refunds Ltd (company registration 12541357) is a firm
of tax preparation experts who specialise in CIS tax returns for construction
workers working within the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) as well as
employees who are eligible to claim a tax refund for their work-related
expenses, including employees working from home as a result of the COVID-19
pandemic. Their friendly and helpful team can help with all relevant paperwork
to ensure clients claims are handled in an accurate and efficient manner.
