When you work from home, there are opportunities to claim back some expenses when you file your tax return. Basically, you can claim business telephone calls, business gas and electricity, and broadband access if you use them to carry out your job. These items are usually provided by your employer, but if you use them to complete your job in your own home, you can claim for those expenses.
If you work from home, you can also claim for your expenses on the tax return. You can deduct your qualified expenses and generally, these expenses must be related to your business. To be eligible for a deduction, you must keep track of your receipts and prove your expenses. If you share bills with others, the costs are split according to the percentage of the cost that each person pays. For helping finding out what you can and can’t claim for as a self-employed person, contact a Cheltenham accountants like Randall and Payne
When you work from home, you may be eligible for some tax relief. However, there are restrictions. For example, the rule states that you must use your home as your office or workplace. If it is too complicated to calculate what percentage of broadband or electricity is used towards business purposes and not family use, then a standard deduction can be applied for without the need to provide evidence.
Whether or not you use your home as your office, you can claim some of your business expenses. This includes your printer paper and ink, phone bills, internet service, and postage, for example. Depending on the nature of your work, you may also be able to deduct mileage. If you use a car to conduct business, you may be able to claim the cost of business fuel, tolls, and parking fees.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, some employees who have been made to work from home for all or part of their working week can also claim some tax benefits for use of things like gas, electricity, water and internet.
For those who are self-employed and buying a home with a mortgage, it is possible to claim for a portion of the interest only but not the capital repayment. People who rent their home can claim a proportion of their rent for their business. The same applies to council tax, although a lot depends on how much time the property is spent acting as a business and it might be suggested that business rates are paid instead.
Property repairs might also be claimed for, if the repairs relate to the room or rooms of the property that are used for business purposes. Should repairs be needed for the whole house, a claim can still be made. For example, if your home has 10 rooms, then you would divide the cost by 10 to give the cost for one room and multiply this by 90%. So you can claim 90% of one tenth of the total repair cost.
