If you work from home, for example lesson planning, administration, or occasional private clients, then you can normally claim a tax deduction.
There are differing rules for Self Employed – Sole Traders and Business Partners – and Employees, Including Company Directors.
Sole Traders and Partners
Under HMRCs “simplified expenses” regime, you can claim:
- £10 a month if you use your home between 25 and 50 hours a month
- £18 a month if you use your home between 51 and 100 hours a month
- £26 a month if you use your home more than 101 hours a month
Don’t worry if you don’t work 25 hours a month at home – you can still make a claim, but it has to be based on actual or estimated costs of working from home. HMRC may ask you to justify your calculation, but in practice its unlikely. In all honesty a fixed £120 a year is unlikely to cause problems, and HMRCs internal manuals specifically tell Tax Inspectors not to waste time checking small claims.
You can claim a business proportion of home phone/internet on top of these amounts.
Claiming Actual Costs – If you cannot use the standard allowances above, or feel your claim should be higher, then here is how to work out the actual costs:
Step 1 – Work out the costs of running your home, eg:
- Mortgage interest (not capital repayments)
- Rent
- Council Tax
- Water Rates
- Insurance
- Broadband
- Electricity
- Gas
- Cleaning
- Repairs
Step 2 – Apportion this – there is no precise method of doing so, but as a rule use either the number of rooms (excluding kitchens, bathrooms and halls) or a floor area basis. If a room is shared, eg private study and business study then take this account into the apportionment.
HMRCs internal guidance on such claims is at BIM 47815 et seq:
HMRC: BIM47800 – Specific deductions: use of home: contents
Employees including Company Directors
There are changes afoot from April 2026.
Employees can no longer make a claim for Working from Home expenses. The only tax deduction is on amounts reimbursed by the employer.
The employer can reimburse:
- £6/week without additional calculation or evidencing,
- A higher amount if evidenced as being wholly, exclusively and necessarily incurred by the employee working from home.
If the employer wishes to pay actual expenses then the rules are:
- You can claim business use of metered Gas, Electricity and Water – note you don’t need a separate meter but there must be extra units used as a result of working from home
- Costs of business telephone calls
- You cannot claim the whole or a proportion of Rent, Council Tax, fixed Water Rates, Mortgage Costs or Insurance
- Guidance on what can be claimed
HMRC: EIM32815 – Other expenses: home: household expenses: expenses that are deductible - Guidance on what cannot be claimed
HMRC: EIM32820 – Other expenses: home: household expenses: expenses that are not deductible
Effect of claiming for Office at Home Expenses
Unless you have an area specifically dedicated for business use only, there should be no Capital Gains Tax or Business Rates concerns.
If you have people coming to the house on buisness, check with your insurers, and if relevant landlord or mortgage company.
For administration use only, planning consent should not be needed, and it almost certainly isn’t needed for an occasional business meeting.
Planning
The new April 2026 rules give rise to two planning points:
- Company Directors wishing to make a claim for Home Working costs should ensure their company specifically pays them the £6/week (it can be paid monthly of course) or such higher amount as meets the rules above.
- Employers with staff working from home should consider making payment to staff, as staff will no longer be able to claim on a free-standing basis.