Money back on office equpment

Tash01

Hi  , a bit of advice.     I was working from (like most of the country) between March - August I lost my job due to the Covid impact.  However I'm trying to claim back the money from the three pieces of office equipment i bought to set up some kind of desk set up to be able to do my job efficiently and safety,   however my job agency and the company i worked for are Im not entitled to it.   Where can I take it further to claim back my money?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

If it was necessary for the equipment to be purchased so you could do your job why didn't they pay for it in the first place?

Sounds more like a nice to have than a necessity.

Pennywise

If you can satisfy HMRC that they are "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" for your employment, you can claim tax relief against your employment income directly.  If, say, you paid £500 and are a basic rate taxpayer, HMRC will reduce your tax by £100 (20%) and give you a refund of that amount.  So it's whether you can persuade HMRC that you don't use it for anything other than your job and that you couldn't have done your job without it.

MalMonroe

If the job agency or the company you worked for did not ask you specifically to equip your home in that way then it stands to reason that you will not be able to claim for the cost of it. 

You could try taking them to court to recoup your losses if you have evidence that you were requested to provide this furniture but without any proof, it would be very difficult. Also you have to pay to bring a case to court.

For further clarification you could always check with Citizens Advice.  Here is a link for England but there are different links for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/

unholyangel

Pennywise said:

If you can satisfy HMRC that they are "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" for your employment, you can claim tax relief against your employment income directly.  If, say, you paid £500 and are a basic rate taxpayer, HMRC will reduce your tax by £100 (20%) and give you a refund of that amount.  So it's whether you can persuade HMRC that you don't use it for anything other than your job and that you couldn't have done your job without it.

You can't normally claim equipment as income tax relief under s336. The expenditure is to put you in the position of being able to do your job rather than in performance of the duties themselves. Plus any equipment required to do your job should be provided by the employer.

They can be allowable in limited circumstances, but as a capital allowance. Not income tax.