Working from home expenses

w00519773

I was reading this article recently: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/news/2020/04/employed-help-coronavirus-furlough/.  There is a section which talks about claiming expenses when working from home i.e. 'Working from home? You can claim tax back on additional home expenses'.  I have looked at my gas and electricity usage and compared it to this time last year and I can see I am using more.  I have also looked here: https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home
I would be interested to hear what other people are doing.  
1) Is the employer paying expenses? Did you have to ask?
2) Are you going to claim back tax on the expenses? If so when?
3) How did you calculate the work from home expenses?
4) Are you doing nothing?

JamoLew

How much are you saving on commuting ?

w00519773

JamoLew said:

How much are you saving on commuting ?

I cycle to work.

JamoLew

depends how much value you put on the time you save then i guess.
For me:
1) nope - wouldn't dream of asking as each day I am at home it's one less person potentially spreading stuff around the hospital
2) probably could, but can't be bothered for the small amount of difference averaged over 12 months
3) n/a
4) yes

Carrot007

I have worked from home mostly anyway for a few years.

Back when I started I worked out even if I kept the heating on all the time (GCH), I would still be quids in over my 30 mins commutes.

And many people have much longer travel times and costs.

Then to be fair the cost I may get back would be such a pain to do and so little, not worth my time.

Of course some people may differ. However I would expect it to be a minority.

TELLIT01

There is a tax allowance of £6 per week.  If you are on standard rate tax you get 20% of that figure i.e. £1.60 per week.  I appreciate everybody has different situations but we are definitely better off with my wife working from home.  No heating costs at this time of year but a saving in petrol by driving 14 miles less each day plus no commuting time.  She doesn't go to the sandwich shop or her works restaurant every day and spend a fiver or more on lunch either.

lincroft1710

w00519773 said:

JamoLew said:

How much are you saving on commuting ?

I cycle to work.

So you are saving on tyre and brake block wear. Plus not being subject to the dangers of maniacs on 4 wheels cutting you up. Also, unlike the majority of those on furlough you are (or should be) receiving 100% of your salary.

PollyEsther

lincroft1710 said:

w00519773 said:

JamoLew said:

How much are you saving on commuting ?

I cycle to work.

So you are saving on tyre and brake block wear. Plus not being subject to the dangers of maniacs on 4 wheels cutting you up. Also, unlike the majority of those on furlough you are (or should be) receiving 100% of your salary.

There's nothing relevant here as the costs of commuting to and from a place of employment do not qualify for tax relief. 

lincroft1710

PollyEsther said:

lincroft1710 said:

w00519773 said:

JamoLew said:

How much are you saving on commuting ?

I cycle to work.

So you are saving on tyre and brake block wear. Plus not being subject to the dangers of maniacs on 4 wheels cutting you up. Also, unlike the majority of those on furlough you are (or should be) receiving 100% of your salary.

There's nothing relevant here as the costs of commuting to and from a place of employment do not qualify for tax relief. 

I never said anything about the costs of commuting and tax relief, it was the saving the OP would be making by not commuting!

PollyEsther

lincroft1710 said:

PollyEsther said:

lincroft1710 said:

w00519773 said:

JamoLew said:

How much are you saving on commuting ?

I cycle to work.

So you are saving on tyre and brake block wear. Plus not being subject to the dangers of maniacs on 4 wheels cutting you up. Also, unlike the majority of those on furlough you are (or should be) receiving 100% of your salary.

There's nothing relevant here as the costs of commuting to and from a place of employment do not qualify for tax relief. 

I never said anything about the costs of commuting and tax relief, it was the saving the OP would be making by not commuting!

I never said you said anything about the costs of commuting and tax relief! I said that there was nothing in your post about the savings on (not) commuting which was relevant to the original post because the original post was about the matter of tax relief on home expenses - an entirely different subject! 

bucksbloke

To answer the OP's question, an employer can choose to pay £6 a week tax free (£26 a month) to cover your additional costs such as electric/gas if you have to work from home. For previous tax years the rate is £4 a week (£18 a month). Anything over these amounts is taxable. If your employer does not pay this, you can claim tax relief (£1.20/wk for basic 20% rate taxpayers, and £2.40/wk for higher 40% rate taxpayers) by filling in Form P87. 

I an a HR Manager. We are not refunding any home running expenses to employees during this crisis. We have not furloughed anybody, whilst many other companies in our sector have.