You may be able to claim tax relief for additional household costs if you have to work at home for all or part of the week. Who can claim tax relief You can claim tax relief if you have to work from home, for example because: your job requires you to live far away from your office your employer does not have an office Who cannot claim tax relief You cannot claim tax relief if you choose to work from home. This includes if: your employment contract lets you work from home some or all of the time your employer has an office, but you cannot go there sometimes because it’s full What you can claim for You can only claim for things to do with your work, such as: business phone calls gas and electricity for your work area You can claim for this tax year and the 4 previous tax years. You cannot claim for things that you use for both private and business use, such as rent or broadband access. How much you can claim You can either claim tax relief on: £6 a week the exact amount you’ve spent You’ll get tax relief based on the rate at which you pay tax. Example If you pay the 20% basic rate of tax and claim tax relief on £6 a week, you would get £1.20 per week in tax relief (20% of £6). How to claim When you claim, you must send evidence that you have to work from home if you’re either claiming: £6 a week for the tax year 2022 to 2023 or later the exact amount you’ve spent If you’re claiming the exact amount you’ve spent, you will also need to send evidence such as a copy of your receipts or bills. Use this service to check: if you can claim how to claim If you complete a Self Assessment tax return , you must claim through your tax return instead. Start now

Uniforms, work clothing and tools

You may be able to claim tax relief on the cost of: repairing or replacing small tools you need to do your job (for example, scissors or an electric drill) cleaning, repairing or replacing a uniform or specialist clothing (for example, overalls or safety boots) Claim relief for a uniform or specialist clothing You can claim tax relief for a uniform. A uniform is a set of clothing that identifies you as having a certain occupation, for example nurse, or police officer. You may also be able to claim for specialist clothing you need for work, even if it does not identify you as having a certain occupation, for example overalls or safety boots. You cannot claim tax relief for: the initial cost of buying clothing for work cleaning, repairing or replacing everyday clothing you wear for work (even if you must wear a certain design or colour) the cost of laundering your own uniform or specialist clothing if your employer provides a free laundering service, and you choose not to use it Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) You cannot claim tax relief for PPE. If your job requires you to use PPE your employer should either: give you PPE free of charge ask you to buy it and reimburse you the costs How much you can claim You can either claim: the actual amount you’ve spent an agreed fixed amount (a ‘flat rate expense’ or ‘flat rate deduction’) Check if your job has an agreed flat rate expense . You can claim for the current tax year and the 4 previous tax years. How to claim If you claim the actual amount you’ve spent, you must: send copies of your receipts, or other evidence, which proves you’ve paid for the items claim these as ‘Other expenses’ within the service If you claim an agreed fixed amount (a flat rate expense ) you: do not need to send evidence claim these as ‘Uniform, work clothing and tools’ within the service Use this service to: check if you can claim make a claim if you’re eligible If you complete a Self Assessment tax return , you must claim through your tax return instead. Start now

Vehicles you use for work

You may be able to claim tax relief if you use cars, vans, motorcycles or bicycles for work. This does not include travelling to and from your work, unless it’s a temporary place of work. How much you can claim depends on whether you’re using: a vehicle that you’ve bought or leased with your own money a vehicle owned or leased by your employer (a company vehicle) You can claim for the current tax year and the 4 previous tax years, if you’re eligible. Using your own vehicle for work If you use your own vehicle or vehicles for work, you may be able to claim tax relief on the approved mileage rate. This covers the cost of owning and running your vehicle. You cannot claim separately for things like: fuel electricity vehicle tax MOTs repairs To work out how much you can claim for each tax year you’ll need to: keep records of the dates and mileage of your work journeys add up the mileage for each vehicle type you’ve used for work take away any amount your employer pays you towards your costs, (sometimes called a ‘mileage allowance’) Approved mileage rates First 10,000 business miles in the tax year Each business mile over 10,000 in the tax year Cars and vans 45p 25p Motorcycles 24p 24p Bicycles 20p 20p Using a company car for business You can claim tax relief on the money you’ve spent on fuel and electricity, for business trips in your company car. Keep records to show the actual cost of the fuel. If your employer reimburses some of the money, you can claim relief on the difference. How to claim When you claim, you must send HM Revenue and Customs ( HMRC ) copies of your mileage logs. These logs must include:: the reason for every journey the postcode for the start point of every journey the postcode for the end point of every journey If you are claiming for more than one employment, you must send a copy of your mileage log for each. Use this service to check: if you can claim how to claim If you complete a Self Assessment tax return , you must claim through your tax return instead. Start now

Professional fees and subscriptions

You can claim tax relief on: professional membership fees, if you must pay the fees to be able to do your job annual subscriptions you pay to approved professional bodies or learned societies if being a member of that body or society is relevant to your job You cannot claim tax relief on life membership subscriptions, or for professional membership fees or annual subscriptions you: have not paid yourself (for example if your employer has paid for them) have paid to professional organisations that are not approved by HMRC Your organisation can tell you how much tax you’re allowed to claim back. You can claim for the current tax year and the 4 previous tax years. How to claim When you claim, you must send copies of receipts, or other evidence, that show how much you paid for each professional fee or subscription. Use this service to check: if you can claim how to claim If you complete a Self Assessment tax return , you must claim through your tax return instead. Start now

Travel and overnight expenses

If you have to travel for your work you may be able to claim tax relief on the cost or money you’ve spent on food or overnight expenses. You cannot claim for travelling to and from work, unless you’re travelling to a temporary place of work. You can claim tax relief for money you’ve spent on things like: public transport costs hotel accommodation if you have to stay overnight food and drink congestion charges and tolls parking fees business phone calls and printing costs You may also be able to claim tax relief on business mileage . You can claim for the current tax year and the 4 previous tax years. How to claim If you claim hotel and meal expenses, you’ll need to send receipts that include the date of your stay or of the meal and the name of the hotel or restaurant. Use this service to check: if you can claim how to claim If you complete a Self Assessment tax return , you must claim through your tax return instead. Start now

Buying other equipment

You may be able to claim tax relief on the full cost of substantial equipment that you have to buy to do your work. This is because it qualifies for a type of capital allowance called annual investment allowance . You cannot claim capital allowances for cars, motorcycles or bicycles you use for work, but you may be able to claim for business mileage and fuel costs . You claim in a different way for small items that’ll last less than 2 years, such as uniforms and tools . You can only claim tax relief for equipment expenses if: you need it to do your job you use the equipment for work and there’s no significant private use - this includes using the equipment according to your organisation’s policy How to claim When you claim, you must make clear what employment the claims are for, and send evidence of what you’ve spent, such as copies of receipts. Use this service to check: if you can claim how to claim Start now

Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Overview

You might be able to claim tax relief if:

you use your own money for things that you must buy for your job
you only use these things for your work

You cannot claim tax relief if your employer either gives you:

all the money back
an alternative, for example your employer gives you a laptop but you want a different type or model

If your employer has paid some of your expenses, you can only claim tax relief on the amount they have not paid.

This guide is also available in Welsh (Cymraeg).

You must have paid tax in the year you’re claiming for. The amount of tax relief you get cannot be more than the amount of tax you paid in that year.

You’ll get tax relief based on what you’ve spent and the rate at which you pay tax.

Example

If you claim £60 and pay tax at a rate of 20% in that year, the amount you are entitled to is £12 (20% of £60).

If your claim is for the current tax year, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will usually adjust your tax code so you pay less tax.

If your claim is for previous tax years, HMRC will either adjust your tax code or give you a tax refund.

How to claim

How you claim depends on what you’re claiming for. Find out if you’re eligible and how to claim tax relief:

If you complete a Self Assessment tax return, you must claim through your tax return instead.

If you estimate your job expenses

If you claim an estimated amount and at the end of the tax year the actual amount you spent is different you must tell HMRC.

You must send evidence of what you’ve spent and either:

submit a new claim online
complete a postal form

If the amount you spent is lower than you estimated, you can also tell HMRC by phoning the helpline.

View a printable version of the whole guide

Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Overview

How to claim

If you estimate your job expenses

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Claim tax relief for your job expenses

Overview

How to claim

If you estimate your job expenses

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