What work expenses can you claim?

Two ways to claim for working from home

If you're self-employed, you can claim either a share of your actual household bills or HMRC's flat rate. Not both.

• Actual costs. Fixed costs such as council tax, mortgage interest, rent and insurance are shared by the space you work in and your hours (or by space alone, for a room used only for work). Running costs such as heating, electricity and cleaning are shared the same way. This follows HMRC's method, on the cautious side: HMRC's own examples let running costs be shared over the hours the room is actually in use, which we check with you if it would make a difference.
• HMRC's flat rate. £10, £18 or £26 a month, depending on whether you work at home 25, 51 or 101 hours or more that month. It replaces all household costs, so none of them can be added to it.

Phone and internet are claimed separately under either method, by how much you use them for work. The calculator works out both methods and shows the higher.

How do I claim?

• Sole traders: include it in your allowable expenses on the self-employment pages of your Self Assessment return.
• Partners: the partnership claims it on its partnership return, not on your own.
• Company directors: your company pays or repays you. It's tax-free for you and a cost for the company.
• Employees: claim on your Self Assessment return if you file one, or with HMRC's online form P87 if you don't. From 6 April 2026, employees can't claim for household costs of working from home.

Whichever applies, keep your bills and a note of how the figure was worked out. The full breakdown from this calculator shows the workings.

Please note

If you keep a room only for work, that part of your home may not be fully exempt from Capital Gains Tax when you sell. This only matters if you sell, and many people have nothing to pay. We'll talk it through with you.