Scrapping of home working expenses tax relief

Isthisforreal99

One budget announcement that seems to have sneaked under the radar (haven't seen it mentioned on here, apologies if I missed it)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-removal-of-the-tax-relief-for-additional-homeworking-expenses

Interestingly employers can still reimburse costs but individuals can't claim tax relief when they don't, effective from April 2026.

MattMattMattUK

Isthisforreal99 said:

One budget announcement that seems to have sneaked under the radar (haven't seen it mentioned on here, apologies if I missed it)
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/income-tax-removal-of-the-tax-relief-for-additional-homeworking-expenses

Interestingly employers can still reimburse costs but individuals can't claim tax relief when they don't, effective from April 2026.

Seems fairly sensible as a saving.

Albermarle

I think it was brought in due to Covid, so not relevant anymore.
WFH financial compensation should be part of an employment agreement ( or not ) .

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Albermarle said:

I think it was brought in due to Covid, so not relevant anymore.
WFH financial compensation should be part of an employment agreement ( or not ) .

It existed pre COVID.  But wasn't as widely known about until COVID put it into the limelight.

IOWJJBTM2025

Good spot. You can still claim expenses from your company £26 per month for working from home.
I did not realise that there was an option to claim tax relief instead.

molerat

My son often works from home.  Saves him £8 a day in fuel and 2 hours of his life.  Taking extra from the taxman does seem like taking the p.

IOWJJBTM2025

A lot of big companies made big savings by closing down satellite offices /  implementing hot desk strategies. Lots of meetings are now on teams and there is a shortage of meeting rooms if people now want face to face.
A lot of offices no longer have enough desks if everyone attends the office in person. People have to get into work extra early to get a desk or a parking space.
The Government promoted working from home during COVID and it has now become standard practice to be able to work remotely especially with the Teams / Zoom meeting capability.
I remember commuting into London for a face to face meeting and upon arrival was shown into a meeting room. There was nobody else in the meeting room so I switched on my Laptop and had I had to use data off my phone because I could not access the WiFi. The meeting had been updated to Teams during my 2 hour commute. I then sat on my own in a meeting room on teams using data off my phone.
If you are working from home there are costs for heating and electricity. Also if a person attends an office there are costs for the company.
I think the issue for the government is that a lot of people had seen it was possible to claim without any checks. The next will be the Uniform relief for laundering work clothes.

monkey-fingers

molerat said:

My son often works from home.  Saves him £8 a day in fuel and 2 hours of his life.  Taking extra from the taxman does seem like taking the p.

That's great, but some of us are 100% remote workers and are paid less because of it.

elsien

The cost for heating and electric from working from home are tiny - Much less than the cost of commuting and parking.  For the majority of people, the bog standard Internet that they already have is sufficient so no extra cost there.  

And generally speaking you also save money on food unless you particularly organised with taking your lunch out with you every day. Plus the convenience have been at home for workmen et cetera rather than having to take half a day off. 

Working from home has its pros and cons, as does working from an office but it does not come with a lot of extra costs. 

Yorkie1

IOWJJBTM2025 said:

A lot of big companies made big savings by closing down satellite offices /  implementing hot desk strategies. Lots of meetings are now on teams and there is a shortage of meeting rooms if people now want face to face.
A lot of offices no longer have enough desks if everyone attends the office in person. People have to get into work extra early to get a desk or a parking space.
The Government promoted working from home during COVID and it has now become standard practice to be able to work remotely especially with the Teams / Zoom meeting capability.
I remember commuting into London for a face to face meeting and upon arrival was shown into a meeting room. There was nobody else in the meeting room so I switched on my Laptop and had I had to use data off my phone because I could not access the WiFi. The meeting had been updated to Teams during my 2 hour commute. I then sat on my own in a meeting room on teams using data off my phone.
If you are working from home there are costs for heating and electricity. Also if a person attends an office there are costs for the company.
I think the issue for the government is that a lot of people had seen it was possible to claim without any checks. The next will be the Uniform relief for laundering work clothes.

I agree with your post. Ironically, the Govt is now conflicted between its Estates policy of reducing office space / desk count, as you say, versus requiring employees to attend the office 60% of the time. 

Albermarle

Despite any costs , many workers prefer home office and resist going into an office more than once a week.