MONEY saving expert Martin Lewis has confirmed it’s still possible to claim back cash for working from home.
On last night’s episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show on ITV, the finance guru explained that some can still claim tax relief worth up to £280 if you worked from home in the previous two years.
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He revealed that home-workers can claim tax relief on expenses of £6 a week to help cover extra costs, such as heating and electricity.
Mr Lewis explained that in October 2020, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) launched an online tool to help people claim during the pandemic.
It means even if you only needed to work from home for a single day, you can get a whole year’s tax relief.
The rules only apply to staff whose employers who required them not to come into the office, not those who simply chose to.
The amount you get back will depend on the rate of tax you pay.
If you are a basic rate tax payer, the relief is worth 20% – that means that you’ll get £1.20 per week.
This adds up to £62.40 over a year for anyone earning between £12,500 and £50,000.
For higher rate tax payers, your relief will be worth 40% or £2.40 per week.
This adds up to £124.80 for the year for anyone who earns more than £50,000 per year.
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If you didn’t claim the tax relief, but did work from home in 2020 or 2021, you can still do it now.
Claiming tax back on expenses for working from home has always been available, but the rules were loosened during the pandemic.
It means almost anyone who had to work from home during this period can make a claim.
The rules have now been tightened again, so you may no longer be eligible in the 2022-23 tax year.
But you can still backdate a claim up to four years.
Under the scheme, your tax code is adjusted so you’re not paying as much tax, but only for current year claims.
Claims for previous years are paid as a lump sum in your salary.
The scheme is designed to help people cover the extra costs of working from home, like energy bills and internet connections.
The Government has created a handy online tool to help you get the working from home tax back.
The service is easy to use and takes just a few minutes to make a claim.
You’ll need several documents to hand in order to claim tax back.
That includes:
- Something to prove your identity – this could be a passport, driving licence, or you can answer various questions based on your credit file
- A P60 or recent payslip
- National insurance number
- Your Government Gateway user ID and password or you can create a user ID if you do not already have one
You also can’t claim if you’re self-employed – since you work for yourself you can claim expenses on your tax return.
HMRC has an online tool to help you submit a claim.
