Whether homeworking was required, rather than simply convenient, matters when looking back at an older claim. And since 6 April 2026, employees can no longer claim working from home tax relief for new periods. The question now is whether a previous tax year still qualifies, and what any relief would actually be worth.
The employee tax relief ended in April 2026, but employer reimbursements did not
Employees can no longer claim tax relief from HMRC for their own additional homeworking costs in the 2026/27 tax year. The change applies to expenses that an employer has not reimbursed. It does not cancel every claim relating to earlier years: HMRC says eligible employees can still claim for the four tax years before 6 April 2026.
There is also a distinction between claiming tax relief personally and receiving money from an employer. The government’s explanation of the change says employers may still reimburse eligible homeworking costs without deducting Income Tax and National Insurance. That is a separate arrangement, not an automatic payment to everyone who works at home. An employee should check what their employer covers before treating a household expense as something they paid themselves.
For PAYE workers, the practical result is a split between past and present. An eligible expense from a previous tax year may still be worth examining within the claim deadline. The same kind of unreimbursed expense arising in 2026/27 does not create a new personal working from home relief claim.
The key test for older claims is whether homeworking was required
For the tax years still open, working at home was not enough on its own. HMRC’s working from home rules distinguish between an employee who has to work from home and one who chooses to do so. A role that requires someone to live far from an office, or an employer with no office, may meet the test. By contrast, a contract that permits homeworking does not establish entitlement merely because the employee uses that option. Taxpro, an HMRC-registered tax agent, helps workers assess and submit claims for working from home tax relief relating to earlier years. Whether a claim succeeds depends on the individual circumstances and supporting evidence.
This matters particularly in hybrid workplaces. A preferred home day, a difficult commute or an office that is occasionally full does not turn an optional arrangement into a requirement. Someone whose circumstances changed between jobs or during a tax year should consider the conditions that applied to the particular period they want to claim for, rather than assuming one answer covers every year.
For claims from 2022/23 onwards, HMRC requires evidence that the employee had to work from home, even when claiming the former flat weekly amount. An employment contract may help if it sets out the requirement; where it does not, other evidence must show why homeworking was necessary.
What the old £6 weekly rate was actually worth
The former £6 a week figure is easy to misread. It was the amount on which an eligible employee could claim tax relief, not £6 a week paid into their bank account. At a 20% Income Tax rate, relief on £6 came to £1.20 a week. Across 52 qualifying weeks, the £312 expense figure would produce £62.40 in tax relief for a basic rate taxpayer. An individual’s result depends on their tax position and the period for which they qualify.
For an eligible earlier year, the alternative was to claim relief on the exact additional household costs incurred because of work. HMRC gives work-related business phone calls and gas or electricity used in a work area as examples. This route requires evidence of the amount spent, such as bills or receipts, as well as evidence that homeworking was required. It is not a way to deduct an entire household bill simply because work happened at home.
Costs used for both private and business purposes, such as rent or an existing broadband connection, cannot be claimed under these rules. Nor can an employee claim personally for an expense that their employer has already paid back. Comparing the weekly figure with evidenced additional costs can help someone decide which basis fits an eligible past claim, but neither approach makes optional homeworking eligible.
Which tax years can still be claimed, and how do you apply?
As at 18 October 2026, the four completed tax years potentially within the backdating window are 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26. The more permissive arrangements associated with the pandemic years should not be carried forward when judging those later years. Claims for 2020/21 and 2021/22 are now outside the four-year window, even if an employee was eligible under the rules that applied at the time.
HMRC’s postal claims guidance says a claim must be made within four years of the end of the tax year concerned. On that basis, a claim for 2022/23 needs to reach HMRC by 5 April 2027. Waiting until you can deal with several years together risks losing the earliest year as its deadline passes. Each year also needs to be assessed against the homeworking requirement and costs that applied then.
Employees who complete a Self Assessment tax return must claim through that return. Others can use HMRC’s online job expenses service, subject to its eligibility checks, or submit a postal P87 with the required evidence. For a postal claim, HMRC says total expenses claimed for each tax year must be £2,500 or less; higher expense claims require Self Assessment. A tax relief claim is not necessarily a cash refund. HMRC may give relief through a tax code, while any repayment depends on tax already paid and the person’s circumstances.
What to check before submitting a claim
A useful starting point is a year-by-year account of where work could be done and why homeworking was necessary. An employee might have been required to work from home in one role but merely allowed to do so after changing jobs. Contracts, employer communications and other records can establish the difference more clearly than a calendar showing home days alone. Anyone using actual additional costs should gather the relevant bills or receipts and identify the work-related portion.
Next, compare those costs with any payments from the employer and with relief already included in a tax return or tax code. Claiming the same expense twice is not appropriate. It is also worth checking a current PAYE tax code if it still appears to include an allowance for homeworking expenses that no longer qualifies: an outdated code can affect the tax deducted from pay.
Eligible employees can submit a claim directly to HMRC without paying an agent. Those who prefer help can use a tax agent such as Taxpro, which handles employee expense claims. For Taxpro’s PAYE refund claims, the fee is 37.5% plus VAT, taken from the refund when HMRC pays it, with a minimum of £50 plus VAT. If there is no refund, there is no fee for a PAYE claim. The important decision comes before choosing how to apply: identify an open tax year, establish that homeworking was required, and work out which additional costs were not reimbursed. That keeps the focus on a claim the evidence can support, rather than on an assumed refund from a hybrid working pattern.