How to use it
- 1Add one row per month, dated the first of the month.
- 2Enter the hours you worked at home that month. The sheet shows the flat-rate band.
- 3Enter the flat rate for that band: £10 for 25 to 50 hours, £18 for 51 to 100 hours, £26 for 101 hours or more. Under 25 hours, there's no flat rate.
- 4For the actual-cost method, enter the month's heating and electricity, Council Tax and mortgage interest or rent, and the business share of those costs as a percentage.
- 5Enter the business share of phone and internet separately: the flat rate doesn't cover them, so you claim them under either method.
- 6The Summary sheet totals both methods for the year. Put the one you use into your expenses.
What each field means
- Month
- The first day of the month the row covers.
- Hours worked at home
- Hours spent on business at home that month.
- Flat-rate band
- Worked out from the hours.
- Flat rate for the month
- The HMRC flat-rate amount for the band.
- Business share of home costs (%)
- A reasonable split, for example by the number of rooms used for business and the time you use them.
- Actual-cost claim
- The month's home running costs multiplied by the business share.
- Phone and internet (business share)
- The business part of the bills, claimed on top of either method.
The flat rate
Simplified expenses let sole traders and partnerships without company partners use a monthly flat rate for working from home instead of splitting each bill. You must work at home for at least 25 hours a month. The rate is £10 for 25 to 50 hours, £18 for 51 to 100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more.
The flat rate replaces working out the business share of household costs like utility bills. It doesn't include phone or internet, so you claim the business part of those separately. Limited companies can't use simplified expenses.
Working out actual costs
The alternative is to claim the business share of heating, electricity, Council Tax, mortgage interest or rent, using a reasonable method of dividing the costs. GOV.UK's examples split by the number of rooms used for business and by the time spent working there: one office in a four-room home, used one day a week, is a quarter of the bill divided by seven.
Keep the bills and a note of how you worked out the share. The hours column is your record if you use the flat rate.
Licence and disclaimer
Free to use, copy and adapt for your own business or personal records. Please don't resell it or republish it as your own template.
A template is a starting point, not advice for your circumstances. Check the result against the GOV.UK guidance linked below, or ask an accountant.
Related
What else will you need?
- TemplateSole trader income and expenses trackerA sole trader income and expenses tracker records every sale and business cost through the tax year, so the self-employment pages of your tax return come straight from the totals.PDFExcel
- TemplateMileage logA mileage log records each business journey: the date, where you went, why, and the miles.PDFExcel
- SA103SA103 self-employment pagesSA103 is the self-employment section of the Self Assessment return.
Rather we did it?
Countify can handle this for you, for a fixed fee agreed upfront.
Questions
Frequently asked questions.
Which method should I use?
Whichever gives the bigger claim you can support. If you work long hours from a dedicated room, actual costs are often higher; if you work at the kitchen table, the flat rate is simpler. The Summary sheet shows both.
Can I claim if I'm employed and work from home?
Not from 6 April 2026: employees can't claim tax relief for working from home from the 2026 to 2027 tax year. You can still claim for the 4 previous tax years, but only if you had to work from home, not if you chose to.
Can I claim my broadband under the flat rate?
Yes, separately. The flat rate doesn't cover phone or internet, so you claim the business share of those bills on top of it.
Checked against GOV.UK on · Reviewed by Kamran Ishaq FCCA, Founder & CEO, on .
Sources: Simplified expenses: working from home (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Simplified expenses if you're self-employed (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Expenses if you're self-employed: working from home (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs); Claim tax relief for your job expenses: working from home (opens in a new tab) (HM Revenue & Customs).