Expenses and benefits: homeworking
Homeworking expenses and benefits that are exempt from tax
You do not need to report or pay tax for some homeworking expenses and benefits.
Equipment, services and supplies
If you provide equipment, services and supplies to an employee who works from home, you do not have to report or pay tax if either:
- they’re only used for business purposes
- any non-work use (‘private use’) is insignificant
This includes laptops, tablets and computers. You can decide how much private use you allow but you need to state this clearly to employees.
You do not need to pay tax or restrict private use on mobile phones and SIM cards. These are restricted to one per employee.
Equipment your employee bought during coronavirus (COVID-19)
You can reimburse your employee for equipment they bought to work from home because of COVID-19. Until 5 April 2022, you do not have to pay tax on it if the employee:
- agreed the purchase with you in advance
- mainly uses the item for business purposes
- keeps the equipment
Equipment you provided during COVID-19
You may have supplied employees with office equipment so they could work from home. You do not have to pay tax on this as long as they return the equipment to you.
Additional household expenses
If you cover the cost of additional household expenses for an employee who works from home, you do not have to report or pay tax if both of the following apply:
- they are working at home as agreed with you and they regularly work from home under those arrangements
- the amount you give them is not more than their additional household expenses or the amount you give them is not more than the current weekly limit
Weekly tax limits
| Tax years | Weekly limit |
|---|---|
| 2020 to 2021 onwards | £6.00 (or £26 a month for employees paid monthly) |
| 2012 to 2013 — 2019 to 2020 | £4.00 (or £18 a month for employees paid monthly) |
Broadband
You do not have to report or pay tax if you reimburse an employee’s broadband fee if all of the following apply:
- a broadband connection was not already available
- they need it to work from home
- it is mainly used for business purposes