HMRC have issued a new flat rate for business use of home, based on the hours your work from home each month, which replaces the £3 per week.
This means you don’t have to work out the proportion of personal and business use for your home, eg how much of your utility bills are due to business.
You can only use simplified expenses if you work for 25 hours or more a month from home.
| Hours of business use per month | 2013 to 2014 flat rate per month |
| 25 to 50 | £10* |
| 51 to 100 | £18* |
| 101 and more | £26* |
*This is instead of actual expenses, eg business proportion of utilities, telephone, internet.
You use your home for business if you are for example:
- providing the goods and/or service you supply from your home (this doesn’t include time when working at someone else’s premises)
- maintaining your business records at home
- marketing and time spent getting new business at home
Example
You worked 40 hours from home for 10 months, but worked 60 hours during 2 particular months:
10 months x £10 = £100
2 months x £18 = £36
Total you can claim = £136
You claim this instead of the business proportion of your home expenses.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/business-use-of-your-home