Can I claim working from home?
Yes, for the business part of running your home. Either HMRC's flat rate by the hours you work there, or a fair share of the actual bills. Here are the 2026-27 amounts, what each method covers, and the one point about selling your home later.
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Two ways to claim your home
HMRC's flat rate by hours
A fixed monthly amount set by the hours of business use at home each month: £10 for 25 to 50 hours, £18 for 51 to 100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more. You can only use it in a month you work 25 hours or more from home, and each month is counted on its own.
A share of the actual costs
Work out a reasonable business share of heating, electricity, council tax, mortgage interest or rent, insurance, and internet and telephone, and claim only the part that is used for business. Usually a bigger claim if you work from home most of the week, and more work to show.
What the flat rate leaves out
The flat rate does not include telephone or internet, so the business share of those is claimed separately on the actual cost. HMRC's manual also says the flat rate does not stop a separate claim for the business share of fixed costs such as council tax, insurance and mortgage interest.
What is never allowed
Repayments of mortgage capital, as opposed to the interest. Redecorating a room the business does not use. And the private share of every bill, under either method.
The rules behind every claim: allowable expenses for sole traders.
Working out a fair share
Gov.uk asks for a reasonable method of dividing your costs, and HMRC's manual shows how it expects that to be done. Costs that relate to the whole house and fall due whether or not you work there, such as council tax, mortgage interest, insurance, water rates, general repairs and rent, are normally apportioned by area and by time: the share of the house the room takes up, then the share of its hours that are business use.
Running costs such as heating, light and power, cleaning and metered water are apportioned by how much of them the business use actually accounts for. Telephone and broadband are not household costs at all: they are claimed on their own business share, whichever method you use for the house.
In a worked example on gov.uk, someone who worked 40 hours a month at home for ten months and 60 hours in two months claims ten months at £10 and two at £18, which is £136 for the year. If a share of the actual bills would come to more than that, the actual-costs method is the one to use.
If you sell your home later
A room used only for business
The relief that usually keeps your own home free of capital gains tax has conditions, and one is that you have not used part of your home exclusively for business. If you have, some tax may be due on that part when you sell.
A desk in a room you also live in
Gov.uk is clear that using a room as a temporary or occasional office does not count as exclusive business use. A room that is also a spare bedroom, or a dining table you work at, does not affect the relief.
See what the claim saves you: the sole trader tax calculator.
Recording it in FileThat
Record the flat-rate amount for the month as Rent and it files in the premises box of your quarterly update. If you are VAT registered, use Business rates and council tax instead, which files the same box and nothing on the VAT return, because a flat rate is not a purchase. Or record the full household bill as Utilities, Rent or Business rates and council tax with a business-use percentage, and only the business share is filed: the full figure stays on the record, which is what you want if the split is ever questioned.
Straight answers
How much is HMRC's flat rate for working from home?
It depends on the hours of business use at home each month: £10 a month for 25 to 50 hours, £18 for 51 to 100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more. You can only use it in a month you work 25 hours or more from home, and each month is counted on its own, so a busy month at £18 can sit beside a quiet one at £10.
Can I claim working from home if I only do my paperwork there?
The flat rate needs 25 hours or more of business use at home in the month. Below that, you can still claim a reasonable business share of the actual costs, worked out from the part of the home you use and the time you use it, because gov.uk only requires that the claim is for the part used for business.
Can I claim my mortgage or rent?
A business share of mortgage interest or rent, yes: gov.uk lists both among the costs you can divide. Repayments of the mortgage capital are not allowable, because they buy the house rather than run it. The share is normally worked out by the area the business uses and the time it uses it.
Does the flat rate cover my phone and broadband?
No. Gov.uk says the flat rate does not include telephone or internet expenses, so you claim the business share of those separately on the actual cost. HMRC's manual adds that where private use of a line is not significant, the full cost can be claimed.
Will claiming for my home mean capital gains tax when I sell it?
Only if part of the home has been used exclusively for business. That is one of the conditions on the relief for your own home, and if it applies some tax may be due on that part. Using a room as a temporary or occasional office does not count as exclusive business use, so an office that is also a spare room is not affected.
Can I claim council tax?
A business share of it, yes. Gov.uk lists Council Tax among the household costs you can divide, and HMRC's manual treats it as a fixed cost, apportioned by the area the business uses and the time it uses it. The manual also says a share of it can be claimed alongside the flat rate, which covers running costs rather than fixed ones.
Do I have to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?
If your qualifying income is over the threshold, yes. It has been £50,000 since 6 April 2026, and falls to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Qualifying income is your turnover before expenses, from self-employment and property together, as shown on your tax return.
Keep every claim, file it with HMRC
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