Working from home tax relief in the UK: what changed from April 2026

For several years employees in the UK could reduce their tax if they were required to work from home: HMRC let you deduct £6 a week of costs without receipts. From April 2026 the rule changed, and it matters so you do not claim for nothing.

Can you claim working-from-home relief in 2026/27?

No. GOV.UK states plainly: “From the tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027, you will not be able to claim tax relief for working from home.” So for the current year you cannot get tax back through this relief.

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What could you claim before?

For earlier years there was a flat rate of £6 a week. The refund equals your income tax rate applied to that amount: for a basic-rate (20%) taxpayer that is £1.20 a week, and for a 40% taxpayer £2.40 a week. You could also claim the exact amount of actual costs, but then you need receipts and bills.

Can you claim for past years?

Yes. GOV.UK says you can claim the relief for the four previous tax years. If between 2022 and 2026 you were required to work from home and never claimed, you can still apply — backdated for the years when the condition was met.

Who was eligible at all?

You only qualified if the nature of your work required you to work from home: for example your employer has no office, or your job means living far from the office. You could not claim if you chose to work from home, if your contract merely allows it, or if the office was simply full.

How do you claim for past years?

For the flat rate you use the GOV.UK online service and confirm you were required to work from home. For the exact amount you attach receipts and bills. If you file a Self Assessment return, you claim the past-year relief in the return itself rather than through the separate service.

Bottom line: there is no relief for 2026/27, but check the previous four years — if you were required to work from home and never claimed, the money may still be recoverable. Always confirm the current position in the HMRC online service.

What about the self-employed and a home office?

The removal applies to employees who claimed the relief through PAYE. The self-employed follow different rules: they deduct a share of home costs as business expenses in their Self Assessment return — either at a simplified flat rate based on hours worked at home, or as the actual proportion of bills. These rules are separate from the abolished employee relief and still apply.

Can an employer reimburse your costs?

Yes. An employer can pay an employee a tax-free homeworking allowance up to the tax-free limit set by HMRC. This is not the same as the personal tax relief: here the initiative lies with the employer. If you were required to work from home, ask your employer whether such a payment is available and check the current limits on GOV.UK.