Tax relief for heating/lighting as work from home?

keith969

I work from home and have a room I use as an office. I need to heat this, have lighting, power for computer / printer / fax / internets etc. and especially this time of the year the heating needs to be on more or less continually all day. The company I work for does not contribute anything towards this.

I believe I can claim a amount against tax for this, but how does one calculate what the amount should be?

fengirl_2

The HMRC agreed rate for providing a room at home for work is £3pw. In order to claim, you need to write to your tax office telling them when this requirement commenced and asking for your code number to be changed. If this applies to previous years, ask for a repayment for those years, NOT a code change.
Note that your contract of employment needs to specify that you have to work at home - it cant just be a convenience thing.

Daisey

Fengirl

I thought the rate was only £2 per week.

https://www.hmrc.gov.uk/manuals/senew/SE32830.htm

Has it changed recently?

System

The rate is now £3. For 2007/2008 it was £2.

http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/incometax/relief-household.htm

ckerrd

Your employer will have, I assume, assessed your place of work to ensure that it complies with current DSE legislation?

Nothing to do with tax I know, just an H&S thing

keith969

ckerrd wrote: »

Your employer will have, I assume, assessed your place of work to ensure that it complies with current DSE legislation?

Nothing to do with tax I know, just an H&S thing

They are a US company and I am their only employee in the UK, so no, unless I tell them its necessary...

Daisey

Thanks.

I always find it difficult to find the information on HMRC and obviously got an out of date page.

ckerrd

keith969 wrote: »

They are a US company and I am their only employee in the UK, so no, unless I tell them its necessary...

I would have thought that any company would have been aware of the laws in countries where they have staff, but obviously not.