Tax return - working from home expenses?

[Kiwi79]

Hi Phers I am having to do a Self Assessment tax return due to the wonderous high income child tax charge scheme where a penny over 50k including work perks like medical means you need to start paying back the benefits. (But it's OK because two people can earn 49k each no issue)

It's been like this for a few years and once I got the hang of it not so bad if a bit irritating being PAYE.

In 21/22 I worked from home a fair bit but it's very unclear what is reasonable to claim for as I'm not a permanent work from home employee but there were certainly some periods where we couldn't go into the office. They made it nice and easy for PAYE to claim with a special portal but even though I am PAYE I can't go down that road because I have to do self asessment...

Anyone filled in that section on their return. It's called: Help about: Employment 13 - Employment expenses and capital allowances

Amounts involved are too small to justify hiring an advisor

[Austin_Metro]

I’ve put it in box 20 “other expenses and capital allowances” of the Employment section.

I think you put 312 in that box and relief is then given at marginal rate.

But I am not a tax accountant. And hope one comes along shortly …

Edited by Austin_Metro on Tuesday 24th January 23:11

[Mammasaid]

£6 x 52 = £312

That's all I did for 21-22 and submitted it under Other Expenses

[hairy v]

Mammasaid said:

£6 x 52 = £312

That's all I did for 21-22 and submitted it under Other Expenses

me too.

[MustangGT]

Mammasaid said:

£6 x 52 = £312

That's all I did for 21-22 and submitted it under Other Expenses

Is that a 'weekly' rate of £6?

[Mammasaid]

Yes, see here

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/workin...

Basically £6/week is the most you can claim without evidence, however you can claim more, but you need to be able to back it up.

[Tommo87]

Mammasaid said:

Yes, see here

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/workin...

Basically £6/week is the most you can claim without evidence, however you can claim more, but you need to be able to back it up.

The exclusions would seem to indicate that COVID or occasional WFH like the OPs case, is not covered.

It’s written in a way that indicates you can only do it, if the company has NO office to attend, or live in another country, etc..

I am not an accountant.

Kiwi79 said:

Hi Phers I am having to do a Self Assessment tax return due to the wonderous high income child tax charge scheme where a penny over 50k including work perks like medical means you need to start paying back the benefits. (But it's OK because two people can earn 49k each no issue)

It's been like this for a few years and once I got the hang of it not so bad if a bit irritating being PAYE.

In 21/22 I worked from home a fair bit but it's very unclear what is reasonable to claim for as I'm not a permanent work from home employee but there were certainly some periods where we couldn't go into the office. They made it nice and easy for PAYE to claim with a special portal but even though I am PAYE I can't go down that road because I have to do self asessment...

Anyone filled in that section on their return. It's called: Help about: Employment 13 - Employment expenses and capital allowances

Amounts involved are too small to justify hiring an advisor

Edited by Tommo87 on Wednesday 25th January 12:04

[Mammasaid]

Tommo87 said:

Mammasaid said:

Yes, see here

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/workin...

Basically £6/week is the most you can claim without evidence, however you can claim more, but you need to be able to back it up.

The exclusions would seem to indicate that COVID or occasional WFH like the OPs case, is not covered.

I am not an accountant.

It's if you choose not to go into the office because of COVId, however if you were told not to go in then you're covered.

[Kiwi79]

Mammasaid said:

Tommo87 said:

Mammasaid said:

Yes, see here

https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/workin...

Basically £6/week is the most you can claim without evidence, however you can claim more, but you need to be able to back it up.

The exclusions would seem to indicate that COVID or occasional WFH like the OPs case, is not covered.

I am not an accountant.

It's if you choose not to go into the office because of COVId, however if you were told not to go in then you're covered.

This is the tricky bit as it seems if we were told specifically not to go into the office then it's covered. However that wouldn't apply to all of 21/22 for me as I think it was Jan 22 or thereabouts we were told we could go back in.

Edited by Kiwi79 on Wednesday 25th January 12:46

[surveyor]

It's very very grey.

I work from home because my job when I joined was national and we have no offices within 2 hours drive. I'm now in a different role, which does not involve as must UK travel, but the region that I manage is the other side of the country. I am not 'required' to work at home, nor am I required to work in an office. I work from home as going into the office everyday would be stupid. Is that a choice? more of an obvious position....

[Kiwi79]

This seems to imply you can claim for the full year

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-...

HMRC Quote from the article:

HMRC says: "We recognise that ongoing lockdown restrictions mean that many employees are still required to work from home for some or all of the time. Therefore, we're accepting claims for the full year's expenses for the 20/21 and 21/22 tax years for employees who are eligible. This includes customers claiming through self-assessment."

[oyster]

Kiwi79 said:

This seems to imply you can claim for the full year

https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-...

HMRC Quote from the article:

HMRC says: "We recognise that ongoing lockdown restrictions mean that many employees are still required to work from home for some or all of the time. Therefore, we're accepting claims for the full year's expenses for the 20/21 and 21/22 tax years for employees who are eligible. This includes customers claiming through self-assessment."

Exactly. For 2022-23 the rules have reverted back to the pre-Covid ones.

[BlindedByTheLights]

I’ve found it is easier not to bother for fear of getting a future bill. We never claimed the child benefit or the work from home allowance as I felt it’s just too risky.

[poo at Paul's]

I put it on last year and year before but bugger if I can see where to put it this year?
Other expenses section? That’s where I put all the work expenses work refuse to pay!

[Austin_Metro]

poo at Paul's said:

I put it on last year and year before but bugger if I can see where to put it this year?
Other expenses section? That’s where I put all the work expenses work refuse to pay!

Out of interest, what sorts of things?

[anonymous-user]

Going forward.. could you put more into pension etc. Avoiding 40% tax. Saving for your tomorrow. Get the child benefit!

[poo at Paul's]

Austin_Metro said:

Out of interest, what sorts of things?

Taxis that they don’t want to pay, saying I could have taken a bus at 11pm with all my laptop and personal clobber! Refused to pay airport parking as it was 50 quid a day and prepaid long stay was 35 or so. But failed to realise I had 10 hours notice for the flight and was only meant to be gone one day.
Vat was missed off a hotel invoice, a holiday inn, that weirdly had the net and gross columns reversed compared to other holiday inns, so I picked up wrong column in Concur. That pissed me off as they’d spotted it and billed the client including VaT, but paid me net of it!
Various other things, meals over capped rates, (5 quid for lunch, try that in London). Hotels over cap, 100 quid a night, again, good luck with that, etc etc.

It’s normally a hundred wuid or so a year, and it’s wholly work related, so I claim the tax back.

[jonwm]

poo at Paul's said:

Austin_Metro said:

Out of interest, what sorts of things?

Taxis that they don’t want to pay, saying I could have taken a bus at 11pm with all my laptop and personal clobber! Refused to pay airport parking as it was 50 quid a day and prepaid long stay was 35 or so. But failed to realise I had 10 hours notice for the flight and was only meant to be gone one day.
Vat was missed off a hotel invoice, a holiday inn, that weirdly had the net and gross columns reversed compared to other holiday inns, so I picked up wrong column in Concur. That pissed me off as they’d spotted it and billed the client including VaT, but paid me net of it!
Various other things, meals over capped rates, (5 quid for lunch, try that in London). Hotels over cap, 100 quid a night, again, good luck with that, etc etc.

It’s normally a hundred wuid or so a year, and it’s wholly work related, so I claim the tax back.

I had to do similar a few years ago for a hotel, got caught in Yorkshire it bad snow, it was 5pm getting dark and it was coming think, went on Air BNB and found a place 1.5 miles away, it was about £110, well within the limit of work, came to claim and Air BNB was not an authorised supplier and got rejected! Boss was sympathetic but expenses were done off shore and were black and white, no issue with it.

Also claim for my HP ink subscription as work don't pay for it.

Only reason i do SA is or the child allowance but has now got me claiming for other things I probably wouldn't have before like the above, doesn't make up for what I lose though,

What annoyed me a few years ago was my salary was £49k, I had a diesel company car which upped my "Salary" to £55k and family healthcare, I pay tax on the car, tax on the healthcare and lost half the family allowance, seems mental to me when 2 people can earn £49k each.

[Austin_Metro]

poo at Paul's said:

Taxis that they don’t want to pay, saying I could have taken a bus at 11pm with all my laptop and personal clobber! Refused to pay airport parking as it was 50 quid a day and prepaid long stay was 35 or so. But failed to realise I had 10 hours notice for the flight and was only meant to be gone one day.
Vat was missed off a hotel invoice, a holiday inn, that weirdly had the net and gross columns reversed compared to other holiday inns, so I picked up wrong column in Concur. That pissed me off as they’d spotted it and billed the client including VaT, but paid me net of it!
Various other things, meals over capped rates, (5 quid for lunch, try that in London). Hotels over cap, 100 quid a night, again, good luck with that, etc etc.

It’s normally a hundred wuid or so a year, and it’s wholly work related, so I claim the tax back.

Interesting, didn’t know you could claim for that sort of thing.

[astonman]

The main reason the country is in such a bad financial way is all these Tax credits .
They were started by the last Labour government,by people like Peter Hain ( Lord Hain) and Gordon Brown ,to lock the middle classes into a benefit culture ( which is obviously working) The idea was,only Labour would give these benefits,so once started ,you will all continue to vote labour!( Which didn't work).
They are the long lasting effects of the Blair/Brown Labour era, which no conservative Government has had the ability or resolve to remove .
They are the reason ,why there is no money for the NHS etc
Well Hain got his Lordship,so it was a huge success for him .
These benefits are completely unsustainable , and have brought our country to near bankruptcy.