work expenses for house hold bill

Hi

Im not sure if this thread should fall under this category but i guess it is to do with budgeting.

I work from home which i have done for just over one year. I looked at my gas and electric bill and its quite high and i couldn't figure out why until it dawned on me im using more because i work from home.

Ive never been giving any guidance from my employer and they seem to be avoiding this question so i wonder if any one else knows or is in the same situation.

Can I claim back or a percentage back on my gas/electric/broadband and i even read somewhere rent and council tax as i live in a council property.

Thanks for your help
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Comments

  • JuicyJesus
    JuicyJesus Posts: 3,829
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    agrinnall wrote: »

    Key point from that:
    If you work at home voluntarily

    If you’ve agreed with your employer to work at home voluntarily, or you choose to work at home, you cannot claim tax relief on the bills you have to pay.


    Also if the employer doesn't want to reimburse the amount (extra) paid they don't have to.
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  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344
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    JuicyJesus wrote: »
    Key point from that:




    Also if the employer doesn't want to reimburse the amount (extra) paid they don't have to.


    Agreed, which is why I can't claim (and why I have to pay my own expenses when I travel to the office - as infrequently as possible given it can cost up to £200 for a day trip).
  • sheramber
    sheramber Posts: 18,859
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    d_rok69 wrote: »
    Hi

    Im not sure if this thread should fall under this category but i guess it is to do with budgeting.

    I work from home which i have done for just over one year. I looked at my gas and electric bill and its quite high and i couldn't figure out why until it dawned on me im using more because i work from home.

    Ive never been giving any guidance from my employer and they seem to be avoiding this question so i wonder if any one else knows or is in the same situation.

    Can I claim back or a percentage back on my gas/electric/broadband and i even read somewhere rent and council tax as i live in a council property.

    Thanks for your help

    You can claim them back from your employer but whether he will pay them is another question.
  • pochisoldi
    pochisoldi Posts: 260
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    d_rok69 wrote: »
    I work from home which i have done for just over one year. I looked at my gas and electric bill and its quite high and i couldn't figure out why until it dawned on me im using more because i work from home.

    Going off at a tangent - work out how much it would cost for you to travel to work, and then put a price on the time you would spend travelling.

    Then compare that against the extra cost you incur working at home.

    By way of an example, my last job was a 25 mile round trip, costing around £3.25 in petrol (13p/mile) and one hour of my time.(valued @ £5/hr).

    You can buy a lot of energy for £8.25.

    PochiSoldi
  • kerri_gt
    kerri_gt Posts: 11,202
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    agrinnall wrote: »
    Agreed, which is why I can't claim (and why I have to pay my own expenses when I travel to the office - as infrequently as possible given it can cost up to £200 for a day trip).

    If you have to pay £200 for a day trip to the office then surely you are not working from home voluntarily as it is impractical to commute to the office everyday?
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  • Herbalus
    Herbalus Posts: 2,634
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    kerri_gt wrote: »
    If you have to pay £200 for a day trip to the office then surely you are not working from home voluntarily as it is impractical to commute to the office everyday?

    Voluntary in this case presumably means they choose to live a long way from their work. But I dont get the part about voluntarily working from home meaning paying for commutes to the office. We all pay to get to the office, just not £200 every day.
  • kerri_gt
    kerri_gt Posts: 11,202
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    Herbalus wrote: »
    Voluntary in this case presumably means they choose to live a long way from their work.

    Or perhaps the office relocated and they chose to keep OP employed rather than redundancy?

    Herbalus wrote: »
    But I dont get the part about voluntarily working from home meaning paying for commutes to the office. We all pay to get to the office, just not £200 every day.

    As you say £200 suggests living a long way from work. I wasn't really referring to the ££ per se (yes we do all pay to commute) but more trying to ascertain the distance / agreement for living so far away. For example, £200 @ 45p mile (reasonable mileage rate for petrol expenses) would suggest ~400 miles away from the office driving. Thus, is OP really working from home on a voluntary basis?
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  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344
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    kerri_gt wrote: »
    If you have to pay £200 for a day trip to the office then surely you are not working from home voluntarily as it is impractical to commute to the office everyday?


    I think I know whether my working from home is voluntary or not! I decided to move 500-ish miles away from the office, £200 is the cost of flying there and back if it's at short notice. If I had to commute every day I would live nearby (or more likely resign and find a job closer to where I actually live).
  • agrinnall
    agrinnall Posts: 23,344
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    Herbalus wrote: »
    But I dont get the part about voluntarily working from home meaning paying for commutes to the office. We all pay to get to the office, just not £200 every day.


    If I was required to live at a location remote from my office then my home would be my place of work and travel to the office would be an expense that my employer would pay.
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