Working From Home

Dmoblay

Hi, I work from home for a large international company. My contract states that my place of work is home, however I do go into the office once every few months for various reasons. Can I claim anything back for Rent, Electric, Gas, Council tax, stationary, office furniture, etc. etc. etc.?

fengirl_2

You can certainly claim for any stationery, postage, etc that you use for work, although HMRC would want to know why your employer was not providing this.
If you set aside one room for work, then you can claim a proportion of the heat and light in respect of this room. So, if you have 3 bedrooms and two reception rooms, and use one room only for work, then you claim one fifth of those expenses. If the room is only used partly for work, you claim that proportion of the expenses. You don't count kitchens and bathrooms as you have to eat and go to the loo whether you work in the house or not.
As for council tax, mortgage payments/rent, when I was HMIT, this was not allowed on the basis that you would pay council tax and a mortgage whether you worked at home or not (only the additional costs of working from home are allowable), but I have seen other replies on here which suggest that HMRC now allows these deductions, so I would contact HMRC before you start keeping records to support your claim.
Office furniture - you would claim capital allowances for this.
Other will warn you about possible CGT on your property if you use part of it exclusively for work, but the chances of incurring such a charge are infintessimally small (I never saw such a liability in 26ys). You need to weigh the convenience of working from home against the cost of renting an office.

bootman

You will get the flat £2 a week allowance.