No, not for the current year. From the 2026 to 2027 tax year, section 360B of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 stops employees deducting additional household costs of working from home, whether at £6 a week or the actual amount. Employees who were required to work from home can still claim for the 4 previous tax years, and employers can still pay homeworking costs tax free.

What exactly changed on 6 April 2026?

Section 21 of the Finance Act 2026 inserted section 360B into ITEPA 2003 for the tax year 2026 to 2027 and later years. It says that no deduction from earnings is allowed under Chapter 2 of Part 5 for additional household expenses which the employee incurs in performing the duties of the employment at home. “Household expenses” has the same meaning as in section 316A: expenses connected with the day to day running of the employee’s home.

HMRC’s Employment Income Manual at EIM32759 explains that section 360B prevents a deduction under section 336, the general rule for employment expenses. The April 2026 Employer Bulletin describes the change as removing the process by which employees could claim relief for extra household costs, such as utility bills and business phone calls, when required to work from home.

HMRC’s guide to claiming tax relief for job expenses now says plainly that from the tax year 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 you will not be able to claim tax relief for working from home.

Who could claim under the old rules?

Before 6 April 2026 the deduction depended on the strict tests in section 336: the expense had to be incurred wholly, exclusively and necessarily in the performance of the duties. EIM32760 sets out the conditions HMRC accepted as meeting those tests:

  • the duties performed at home were substantive duties of the employment
  • those duties could not be performed without appropriate facilities
  • no such facilities were available on the employer’s premises, or the job required the employee to live too far away to travel there daily
  • at no time before or after the contract was drawn up could the employee choose between working at the employer’s premises or elsewhere

HMRC’s guidance gives examples of people who could claim, such as an employee whose employer has no office. People who chose to work from home could not claim, including where the contract allowed home working some or all of the time, or the office was sometimes full. The relief was either £6 a week or the exact extra cost of items such as business calls and gas and electricity for the work area. Costs with mixed use, such as rent or broadband access, never qualified.

Can I still claim for earlier years?

Yes, if you met the conditions in those years. HMRC’s guidance says you can still claim for the 4 previous tax years. Postal claims on form P87 must be made within 4 years from the end of the tax year concerned. In October 2026 that means 2022 to 2023, 2023 to 2024, 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026 remain open, and the 2022 to 2023 year closes on 5 April 2027.

Points to note when claiming:

  • You must send evidence that you had to work from home, such as your employment contract, whether you claim £6 a week for 2022 to 2023 or later or the exact amount.
  • If you claim the exact amount you must also send receipts or bills.
  • Working from home expenses cannot be claimed by phone, even if you have claimed before.
  • If you complete a Self Assessment return, you must claim through the return instead.
  • Relief is at your rate of tax, so £6 a week is worth £1.20 a week to a basic rate taxpayer.

The general claims process, including the £2,500 limit for form P87, is covered in our guide to claiming tax relief on employment expenses.

What can employees still receive tax free?

The change only affects costs the employer does not reimburse. EIM32759 confirms that the exemption in section 316A for homeworking payments by employers continues. Under it, an employer can pay up to £6 a week, or £26 a month, to an employee who regularly works at home under an agreed arrangement, without evidence, and more with evidence. Hybrid working can qualify, and unlike the old employee relief there is no need to show the employee has no choice. See paying employees £6 a week for working from home.

Equipment is also unaffected. HMRC’s April 2026 Employer Bulletin explains that from 6 April 2026 an employer can reimburse an employee for eligible homeworking equipment the employee buys, with no income tax or National Insurance, in the same way as if the employer had provided it directly. This sits in the new section 316ZA ITEPA 2003. Our guide to equipment provided for home working explains the conditions.

Does the change affect travel from home?

No. EIM32759 states that the removal of the deduction for household expenses does not affect travel expenses under section 337. Employees who work at home are entitled to relief for travel to a temporary workplace in the same way as anyone else, as explained in our guide to the 24 month rule for temporary workplaces.

Travel from home to another permanent workplace is harder. EIM32370 explains that even where home is a place of work, the cost of travelling to another permanent workplace only qualifies if the location of the employee’s home is itself dictated by the requirements of the job, and only at times when the home is a place of work.

Does this apply to company directors and the self employed?

Directors are office holders, and section 5 ITEPA 2003 applies the employment income rules equally to offices. A director cannot claim the household costs deduction from 2026 to 2027 either, but the company can make the same tax free payments as any employer. Our guide to working from home as a director covers this.

Section 360B only removes deductions from employment earnings. Self employed people continue to work out use of home costs under the trading income rules, including simplified expenses.

How does this work in practice?

Illustration only. Priya is a basic rate taxpayer whose employer closed its office in 2022, so she has had to work from home since then. She has never claimed. In October 2026 she claims £6 a week for 2022 to 2023 through to 2025 to 2026, sending a letter from her employer confirming there is no office. At 52 weeks a year, each year’s claim is £312, worth £62.40 in tax. She can claim nothing for 2026 to 2027, so she asks her employer to start paying her £6 a week under section 316A, which is tax free in her hands and costs the employer no National Insurance.

Her colleague Tom chose a hybrid contract in 2023 when the office was still open. He cannot claim for any year, because he was never required to work from home. Under the employer payment rules, however, his hybrid arrangement would qualify.

What mistakes come up most often?

  • Claiming £6 a week for 2026 to 2027. HMRC usually gives relief for a current year claim through the tax code, so check that any coding notice for 2026 to 2027 does not still include an old homeworking amount.
  • Claiming for earlier years when working from home was a choice.
  • Missing the 5 April 2027 deadline for 2022 to 2023.
  • Sending a claim without evidence that home working was required. HMRC asks for a contract or similar proof for every year from 2022 to 2023.
  • Assuming the employer can no longer pay homeworking costs tax free. It can.

More background on homeworking for individuals is on our working from home expenses page.

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Reviewed by Christine Anderson, Broker, Solar Protect. Last reviewed 19 October 2026. Part of Accountapedia, the Solar Protect guide to UK tax and accounting. This page is general information, not personalised advice.