Working from Home - equipment

StockportGerbil

I've been Working From Home since 16th March and heaven knows when I'll be going back. In order to facilitate my doing so comfortably I've brought a couple of monitors and monitor stands and some office equipment. Can I claim for them as well as claiming the working from home tax rebate?
Thanks
Kevin

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Unlikely.  If they had been necessary to do your job your employer would have provided them

joolsbfd

i think there's an update on this on the main page ... may be possible? 

anniecave

joolsbfd said:

i think there's an update on this on the main page ... may be possible? 

I've looked at https://blog.moneysavingexpert.com/2020/04/martin-lewis--working-from-home-due-to-coronavirus--claim-p6-wk-  which says it was updated recently and there it only says that if an employer has purchased equipment then this isn't taxable on the employee.
So I can't see anywhere on MSE that implies that it can be done.

Employees can't purchase working from home equipment and then claim against it for tax. 
Here's one article that explains why:
https://www.pem.co.uk/article/covid-19-homeworking-weekly-flat-rate-tax-allowance/

Grumpy_chap

StockportGerbil said:

I've been Working From Home since 16th March and heaven knows when I'll be going back. In order to facilitate my doing so comfortably I've brought a couple of monitors and monitor stands and some office equipment. Can I claim for them as well as claiming the working from home tax rebate?
Thanks
Kevin

If you are employed on PAYE basis then it is very difficult to meet the criteria that allow the costs of equipment to be met.  The threshold is "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" for work.  To all practical purposes, the claim for an employee is limited to the tax relief on the working from home allowance.

If you needed to have this equipment to facilitate your working from home, the obvious question is why your employer did not provide it?
If you asked and got "fobbed off", did you undertake a DSE assessment or any other risk assessment?  The employer remains responsible for your health and safety even though you were not attending the normal workplace.  Presenting that now, if you have been working from home for several months and incurred the costs some while back may not be well received by your employer.

Jeremy535897

Grumpy_chap said:

StockportGerbil said:

I've been Working From Home since 16th March and heaven knows when I'll be going back. In order to facilitate my doing so comfortably I've brought a couple of monitors and monitor stands and some office equipment. Can I claim for them as well as claiming the working from home tax rebate?
Thanks
Kevin

If you are employed on PAYE basis then it is very difficult to meet the criteria that allow the costs of equipment to be met.  The threshold is "wholly, exclusively and necessarily" for work.  To all practical purposes, the claim for an employee is limited to the tax relief on the working from home allowance.

If you needed to have this equipment to facilitate your working from home, the obvious question is why your employer did not provide it?
If you asked and got "fobbed off", did you undertake a DSE assessment or any other risk assessment?  The employer remains responsible for your health and safety even though you were not attending the normal workplace.  Presenting that now, if you have been working from home for several months and incurred the costs some while back may not be well received by your employer.

It's worth noting that the normal relief for plant and machinery under the expenses provision in section 336 ITEPA 2003 is rarely relevant, as most expenditure beyond small items is incurred to put the employee in the position of performing their duties, and fails the threshold you describe. See https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim36500

The correct provision for a claim is in section 36 CAA 1990, as described here. The test is still the objective "necessarily" test, but not "wholly and exclusively":
https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/employment-income-manual/eim36540

Grumpy_chap

Thanks Jeremy, most employees will still fail, even if only applying "necessarily" test as, if that was satisfied, the employee would ordinarily approach the employer first rather than just paying out and then seeking to recover the tax relief.  If the employer does not accept the employee's reason for the item being necessary then it is beholden on the employer to make alternative arrangements to ensure safe and productive working.

Jeremy535897

Grumpy_chap said:

Thanks Jeremy, most employees will still fail, even if only applying "necessarily" test as, if that was satisfied, the employee would ordinarily approach the employer first rather than just paying out and then seeking to recover the tax relief.  If the employer does not accept the employee's reason for the item being necessary then it is beholden on the employer to make alternative arrangements to ensure safe and productive working.

Yes, it's always difficult to refute the argument "if it's necessary to do your job, your employer would have bought it".

StockportGerbil

All :- 
Thanks for the feedback, I thought it was worth asking the question.
My employer allows me to borrow some kit from the office. But it's not suitable for the space I have available at home (my desk in the office is considerably larger than the work area I have here) and I am trying to get through the pandemic without RSI and / or having a semi permanant set up balanced on the dining room table where there would be all sorts of grief from the rest of the family.
Thanks again
Kevin