For the 2026/27 tax year, most employees can no longer claim working from home tax relief. From 6 April 2026 the government removed the deduction that let employees claim the flat £6 a week (or actual costs) for additional household expenses when required to work from home. You can still backdate a claim for earlier years if you were eligible and never claimed, and employer reimbursements remain tax-free.
If that sounds like a U-turn, it is. Here is exactly what changed, who is affected, and the routes that still exist.
What Changed From 6 April 2026?
Until 5 April 2026, an employee who was required to work from home could claim tax relief on the extra household costs (heating, electricity, business phone calls) caused by doing so. Most people took the no-receipts flat rate of £6 a week.
A new section 360B ITEPA 2003 now blocks that deduction. From 6 April 2026 onwards, you cannot claim a deduction from HMRC for non-reimbursed homeworking costs at all, neither the £6 flat rate nor actual expenditure. This is set out in HMRC's policy paper on the removal of tax relief on non-reimbursed homeworking expenses.
The change only affects the employee deduction. It does not touch what your employer is allowed to pay you.
Who Can Still Claim Working From Home Tax Relief?
A few groups still have something to claim:
| Situation | Can you claim in 2026/27? | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Employee, not reimbursed, working from home now | No | Relief abolished from 6 April 2026 |
| Employee who was eligible in 2022/23-2025/26 but never claimed | Yes | Backdated claim (up to 4 years) |
| Employee whose employer pays a homeworking allowance | N/A, it's tax-free to you | Employer pays under s316A |
| Self-employed sole trader | Yes, unaffected | Use of home as office (simplified or actual) |
So for current employees the answer is simple: going forward, no one can claim. The value now sits in backdating and in moving the cost to your employer.
Backdating: The Window That Is Still Open
You can still claim for the four previous tax years if you met the conditions at the time and have not already claimed. As of 2026/27 that means tax years 2022/23, 2023/24, 2024/25 and 2025/26 are potentially in scope, provided you were genuinely required to work from home rather than choosing to.
At £6 a week, a full year is £312 of allowance. The tax saved depends on your marginal rate:
- Basic-rate taxpayer (20%): about £62 a year
- Higher-rate taxpayer (40%, above £50,270): about £124 a year
- Additional-rate taxpayer (45%, above £125,140): about £140 a year
Backdate four eligible years as a basic-rate taxpayer and that's roughly £250 back. Claims are made through your Personal Tax Account, a P87, or your Self Assessment return.
The Eligibility Test for Backdated Years
To qualify for any of those earlier years, you must have been required to work from home, for example, because your job genuinely demanded it or your employer had no office you could attend. You could not claim simply because you chose to work from home, or because the office was occasionally full. HMRC tightened this test after the pandemic, so casual hybrid arrangements often won't qualify.
What Replaces It: Employer Reimbursement
The cleaner route in 2026/27 is for your employer to reimburse your homeworking costs. The exemption under section 316A ITEPA 2003 is unaffected by the changes. Where you have a homeworking arrangement, your employer can pay you up to £6 a week (£26 a month) towards additional household costs with no Income Tax and no National Insurance for either side, and no receipts needed for that flat amount.
Higher amounts can be paid tax-free too, but those need evidence of the actual additional cost. For most employers, the £6 a week flat payment is the simplest option and is now the main way the benefit reaches employees. If you run a payroll, it's worth building into homeworking contracts, our tax advisory services team can help you set it up correctly.
What About Equipment, Broadband and Phones?
These are separate from the household-costs deduction and are not affected by the 2026 change:
- Office equipment (desk, chair, monitor) your employer provides for work use is generally tax-free.
- Business phone calls identified on an itemised bill can still be reimbursed tax-free; line rental and private calls cannot.
- Home broadband is tax-free only where the employer pays the provider directly and there was no existing connection, a narrow set of cases.
If you're self-employed rather than employed, none of this applies, you continue to claim use of home as office through your accounts, either on the simplified flat-rate basis or on apportioned actual costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I still claim the £6 a week working from home allowance in 2026/27?
Not as an employee deduction from HMRC. That route was abolished on 6 April 2026. However, your employer can still pay you £6 a week tax-free under section 316A, and you can backdate a claim for earlier eligible years.
How far back can I backdate a working from home claim?
Up to four tax years, provided you were genuinely required to work from home and have not already claimed. In 2026/27 that covers the 2022/23 to 2025/26 tax years. Submit through your Personal Tax Account, a P87, or Self Assessment.
Does the change affect self-employed people?
No. The removal only applies to the employee deduction under ITEPA 2003. If you're a sole trader, your use of home as office claim through your business accounts is unchanged.
Will my employer's homeworking payments be taxed now?
No. Reasonable reimbursements under a genuine homeworking arrangement remain exempt from Income Tax and National Insurance. The £6 a week flat rate can be paid with no receipts and no tax for either side.
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Need Help Working Out What You Can Still Claim?
If you were required to work from home in any of the last four years and never claimed, there may be a backdated refund waiting, and if you're an employer, a tax-free homeworking allowance is an easy win for your team. Check our FAQ for more on personal tax claims, or get in touch and we'll tell you in minutes whether it's worth filing.
