Claim Tax Relief for your Job Expenses Your Insurance?

HMRC has given the option to claim tax relief as COVID keeps more and more people away from offices.

When Can You Claim?

You can claim tax relief if:

• You use those things for work
• You buy things using your money
• You have had paid tax in the year

However, you cannot claim tax relief if:

• The employer gives you all the money back that you paid for things you took for work
• You take an alternative of a thing already provided by your employer. For instance, a laptop of a different type or model.

Here is what the rule says:

You can claim tax relief for supplementary household costs if you have to work at home frequently. This means you have to work for a part of the week or the entire week. However, this is applicable only if the work from home is due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But this is not applicable if the decision of working from home is yours and not imposed on you due to the pandemic.

Some of the additional costs that can be considered are:

• Metered water bills
• Heating
• Business calls
• Home contents insurance
• A new broadband connection
• Chair
• Mobile phone
• Laptop

Costs that are not included:

• Rent or council tax
• Mortgage interest

How Much Tax Relief Can You Get?

The tax relief is based on the amount you have spent. It also depends on the rate of tax you pay.

For example,

If you have spent £70 at 20%, you can claim £14.

Some important points to remember:

• You may need to keep records of what you have spent on some claims
• You should claim within four years of the end of the tax year
• For tax for the current year, HMRC will make adjustments required through the tax code
• For tax for the previous year, HMRC will give you a tax refund or make adjustments through your tax code.

The amount you can claim:

• £6 a week from 6 April 2020 (or £4 for previous tax years): In this case, you don’t have to maintain evidence of extra costs
• If the additional cost is higher than the weekly cost, you will need evidence such as bills, receipts, or contracts