WFH / Payee... Tax relief?

[DaveCWK]

I'm an average employee on PAYE, who has been WFH full time since COVID started.
My affairs are fairly simple & i've never completed a self assessment.

I was looking at this:
https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/workin...

& was thinking I should submit something this year - Is anyone else in the same situation or can offer guidance? is it worth doing? I'm not entirely sure what I can claim over the tax relief on £6/week, or what evidence is required for say increased heating costs. I took laptop/monitors etc home from work with me but that's it.

[Dimebars]

You can claim tax relief on the £6 per week at your current tax rate of 20% or 40%

HMRC have said that there will be no proof required for this (if you believe Martin Lewis). Details are here https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees

The process is straight forward and can all be done online via form P87

[VR99]

I'm in a similar position to you OP but also unsure what if any tax can be rebated..never completed a tax return (ever) as always been paye, last year my employer contributed to equipment costs so I wouldn't get a rebate on that to my knowledge but possibly a tax rebate of some kind....would also welcome thoughts on this.

[CubanPete]

If you have a government gateway login it takes about 2 minutes and they adjust your tax code.

[Powerkiter]

A number of my employees have completed the online HMRC form and have had their tax codes revised to take account of working from home. They get an additional £320 tax free for this year.

[uknick]

Powerkiter said:

A number of my employees have completed the online HMRC form and have had their tax codes revised to take account of working from home. They get an additional £320 tax free for this year.

How did they do that?

For the flat rate allowance, the best you can get is £312 (£52 x £6) extra tax allowance which equates to £63 or £126 extra cash depending on your marginal income tax rate.

Or, the employer gives them £6 per week, which is not taxable.

Or, you can claim any allowable actual expenditure.

Neither of the last 2 options affects your tax code.

[Eric Mc]

If you work from home as part of your normal work patterns (nothing to do with Covid) AND it is part of your employment contract, you could ALWAYS make a claim for working from home.

HOWEVER, the working from home had to be a compulsory part of your job - not just an available option.

[Powerkiter]

uknick said:

Powerkiter said:

A number of my employees have completed the online HMRC form and have had their tax codes revised to take account of working from home. They get an additional £320 tax free for this year.

How did they do that?

For the flat rate allowance, the best you can get is £312 (£52 x £6) extra tax allowance which equates to £63 or £126 extra cash depending on your marginal income tax rate.

Or, the employer gives them £6 per week, which is not taxable.

Or, you can claim any allowable actual expenditure.

Neither of the last 2 options affects your tax code.

There's an article on the Martin Lewis website and they clicked the link to HMRC through there. I think HMRC have indicated that you no longer need to provide details of the costs, for this year at least during the COVID lockdown.

[VR99]

Powerkiter said:

uknick said:

Powerkiter said:

A number of my employees have completed the online HMRC form and have had their tax codes revised to take account of working from home. They get an additional £320 tax free for this year.

How did they do that?

For the flat rate allowance, the best you can get is £312 (£52 x £6) extra tax allowance which equates to £63 or £126 extra cash depending on your marginal income tax rate.

Or, the employer gives them £6 per week, which is not taxable.

Or, you can claim any allowable actual expenditure.

Neither of the last 2 options affects your tax code.

There's an article on the Martin Lewis website and they clicked the link to HMRC through there. I think HMRC have indicated that you no longer need to provide details of the costs, for this year at least during the COVID lockdown.

I've just done mine on government gateway (thanks all who provided info) and it's £312 that I get back via a tax code adjustment

[uknick]

Powerkiter said:

There's an article on the Martin Lewis website and they clicked the link to HMRC through there. I think HMRC have indicated that you no longer need to provide details of the costs, for this year at least during the COVID lockdown.

Yes, I'm aware of the Martin Lewis article. My query was more to do with your comment about how much they actually got back from HMRC. The comment "they get an additional £320 tax free for this year" could be taken to mean they actually see £320 in their bank account, and not that it is only added to their tax code.

I'm being pedantic, and no apologies as tax is all about pedantry, because there are many newbies on the Money Saving Expert website who think it is actually £6 per week they'll see. It comes as a surprise to them when they only see the marginal tax element of the £6.