Working from home for previous years.

anticlaus105

My wife is about to submit 19-20 tax return due to high income child benefit. She has had working from home for 13 years, but occasionally has to visit site. She has never claimed working from home previously. Since she has to file she may as well claim it.

Can she claim £4 per week for 19-20 (52 weeks?) without evidence? If so where does this go on the form?
Can she claim for previous years and if so how far back? Again where would this go on the submission?
Is it £6 per week for 20-21? I think there is an online portal to claim but assume we are just better waiting to submit 20-21 tax return and claim then?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

She needs to tailor the return correctly, on the paper return it would be at the end of the employment page.

She can amend her 2018:19 return upto 31 January 2021.

For the previous two tax year she would have to claim overpayment relief.  Gov.uk has details about what is required to claim this.

That's all assuming she completed Self Assessment returns for all 3 years involved.

calcotti

anticlaus105 said: Is it £6 per week for 20-21? I think there is an online portal to claim but assume we are just better waiting to submit 20-21 tax return and claim then?

Someone who is required to complete a SA tax return has to claim on their return and cannot use the quick claim portal.
https://www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for-employees/working-at-home?priority-taxon=5ebf285a-9165-476c-be90-66b9729f50da

Do you complete Self Assessment returns?
What is a Self Assessment tax return?

Yes

You can only claim these expenses using Self Assessment
You must claim these expenses as part of your Self Assessment tax return.

anticlaus105

Thanks. How about previous years prior to 19-20. Can these be claimed on the 19-20 return say going back 6 years?

Dazed_and_C0nfused

No.

She can amend her 2018:19 return upto 31 January 2021.

For the previous two tax year she would have to claim overpayment relief. Gov.uk has details about what is required to claim this.

That's all assuming she completed Self Assessment returns for all 3 years involved.
Too late for anything earlier than that.  Limit is 4 previous years now.

MDMD

Also, except for 20/21, you need to make sure that the four qualifying conditions here are met.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32760

Before a deduction can be permitted for a household expense it must be demonstrated that the expense has been incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment, see EIM31630 and EIM31660. Those are the statutory conditions imposed by section 336 ITEPA 2003. HMRC accepts that those conditions are met where the following circumstances apply:

• the duties that the employee performs at home are substantive duties of the employment. “Substantive duties” are duties that an employee has to carry out and that represent all or part of the central duties of the employment (see EIM32780)
• those duties cannot be performed without the use of appropriate facilities
• no such appropriate facilities are available to the employee on the employer’s premises (or the nature of the job requires the employee to live so far from the employer’s premises that it is unreasonable to expect him or her to travel to those premises on a daily basis)
• at no time either before or after the employment contract is drawn up is the employee able to choose between working at the employer’s premises or elsewhere

unholyangel

MDMD said:

Also, except for 20/21, you need to make sure that the four qualifying conditions here are met.

https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim32760

Before a deduction can be permitted for a household expense it must be demonstrated that the expense has been incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties of the employment, see EIM31630 and EIM31660. Those are the statutory conditions imposed by section 336 ITEPA 2003. HMRC accepts that those conditions are met where the following circumstances apply:

• the duties that the employee performs at home are substantive duties of the employment. “Substantive duties” are duties that an employee has to carry out and that represent all or part of the central duties of the employment (see EIM32780)
• those duties cannot be performed without the use of appropriate facilities
• no such appropriate facilities are available to the employee on the employer’s premises (or the nature of the job requires the employee to live so far from the employer’s premises that it is unreasonable to expect him or her to travel to those premises on a daily basis)
• at no time either before or after the employment contract is drawn up is the employee able to choose between working at the employer’s premises or elsewhere

The same tests apply for 20/21. HMRC have just said they will accept facilities aren't available if you're instructed to work from home due to covid. 

If you've chosen to work from home (even if due to covid), you wouldn't be eligible for relief.