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Calculator · Tax relief

Use of home allowance calculator: flat rate or actual costs

By James Fitzpatrick, AAT licensed · Accounting Solution · Last reviewed 10 October 2026 · 2026/27 tax year

Working from home? You can set part of your household costs against your business profits. Sole traders choose between HMRC's flat rate of £10, £18 or £26 a month (set by hours worked) and a fair share of the actual bills. Directors can be paid £6 a week by their company with no tax to pay. Six quick questions will show you which route puts more in your pocket.

Step 1 of 6

How do you work?

This changes which HMRC rules apply to your claim.

Please choose one of the options above.

How many hours do you work from home?

Enter whichever is easiest and the others fill in for you. Only count time spent on the business itself at home: doing the work you charge for, bookkeeping and admin, and looking for customers. Checking personal email or watching TV with the laptop open does not count.

Please enter your hours in at least one of the boxes above.

Tell us about your home

Is that space set aside for work while you are working?

💡 Enter 0.5 for a room that is half office, half something else. The big fixed bills (rent or mortgage interest, council tax, insurance, repairs) only come into a claim if you have a room or area kept for work and nothing else while you are working in it. Work at the dining table and those bills drop out, though heating and lighting can still be claimed in part. One warning for homeowners: making a room strictly business-only can cost you part of your Capital Gains Tax main-residence relief when you sell, so ask us before you do.

Please say whether you rent or own, enter your rooms, say how many are used for work, and tell us whether that space is kept for work.

Your household costs

Put in what you know and leave the rest blank; a rough figure is fine. There is no water box on purpose: HMRC will not accept a share of the water bill for ordinary home working unless the water used for work is metered separately.

Your results

Flat rate
£0per week
£0per month
£0per year
Actual costs
£0per week
£0per month
£0per year

A guide only, not tailored advice. We are happy to check the figures against your actual bills before you file. The sole trader figures use HMRC's flat rates and an area-and-time split of your bills (HMRC Business Income Manual BIM47820, BIM47825 and BIM75010). The director figures use HMRC's employer homeworking payment guidance (EIM01472 to EIM01476).

Keep a copy of your results

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Frequently asked questions

Can I claim for working from home as a self-employed sole trader?

Yes. You choose between a flat rate set by HMRC, which depends on how many hours a month you work at home and needs no apportioning of bills, or a fair share of your real household costs. Under either route you can also claim the business part of your phone and broadband.

What are the HMRC flat rates for use of home?

For sole traders and partners it is £10 a month for 25 to 50 hours worked at home, £18 a month for 51 to 100 hours and £26 a month for 101 hours or more. Under 25 hours a month there is no flat rate, so you would use actual costs. Keep a simple log of your hours.

Can a limited company director claim for working from home?

Not personally. From 6 April 2026 employees and directors cannot claim a tax deduction for household costs. Instead the company can pay you £6 a week (£26 a month) with no records, if you work from home regularly under an arrangement with the company. It can pay more if it has evidence of the extra costs, such as heating and lighting of your work area and business broadband and phone. It cannot pay your rent, mortgage interest, council tax or water rates tax-free.

Which household costs can I include if I claim actual costs?

Rent or mortgage interest, council tax, insurance and repairs can only be claimed where part of your home is set aside solely for work, and then only the share worked out by area and by time. Heating, lighting and the business part of your phone and broadband can be claimed even if you work at a shared table. Water is not allowed for ordinary home working unless the water used for work is separately metered, and mortgage capital repayments never count.

Can I claim part of my rent, mortgage interest or council tax and also use the flat rate?

HMRC allows council tax, insurance and mortgage interest to be claimed alongside the flat rate, again only for a space set aside for work and only the business share. HMRC's guidance does not say the same for rent or repairs, so the calculator does not add those to the flat rate route. If you use the cash basis, interest and finance costs are capped at £500 a year.

Will claiming use of home affect capital gains tax when I sell my home?

It can. If a room is used only for business, part of the gain when you sell may lose main residence relief. Using a room for business alongside normal family use usually avoids the problem. Talk to us before you claim if you expect to sell soon.

Is this calculator advice, and is my data stored?

It is a free estimate for general guidance, not personal tax advice. The figures update on screen as you go and nothing is stored unless you choose to email yourself the results, in which case we receive your email address and the summary.

This calculator gives an estimate for general guidance and is not personal tax advice. Rates are the HMRC simplified expenses rates for 2026/27. See our other free calculators or talk to us about your own claim.