Can self-employed people claim working-from-home expenses?
Yes. If you use part of your home for your self-employed business, you may be able to deduct an appropriate amount of qualifying household costs when calculating your taxable profit.
This could apply whether you work from home full-time or use your home for part of the business, such as administration, bookkeeping, customer communication or other genuine business activities.
You can either calculate a reasonable business share of actual qualifying household costs or, if eligible, use HMRC's simplified monthly home-working rates.
What are the two ways to calculate home-working expenses?
Actual costs
Calculate an appropriate business proportion of qualifying household costs based on factors such as rooms used, time and actual business consumption.
Simplified expenses
Use HMRC's monthly flat rate based on the number of hours you carry out qualifying business activity at home.
Simplified expenses are optional. Using the flat-rate method means you do not need to calculate the business portion of the household running costs covered by that rate.
What are HMRC's simplified working-from-home rates?
If you carry out qualifying business activities at home for at least 25 hours in a month, the following monthly rates can be used:
| Hours worked at home | Flat rate per month |
|---|---|
| Under 25 hours | No simplified home-working deduction for that month |
| 25 to 50 hours | £10 |
| 51 to 100 hours | £18 |
| 101 hours or more | £26 |
You assess the qualifying home-working hours for each month and apply the appropriate flat rate for that month.
Which working-from-home hours count?
The simplified-expense rules are based on time spent carrying out core business activities in the home.
These can include activities such as:
- Providing goods or services.
- Maintaining business records.
- Bookkeeping and administration.
- Marketing the business.
- Obtaining new business.
You should keep a reasonable record of the qualifying hours if you use the simplified method.
Simplified working-from-home example
Different hours during the year
Suppose you work from home for 40 hours per month for 10 months and 60 hours per month for the remaining two months.
2 months × £18 = £36
Total simplified expense = £136
This is the example currently used by HMRC to illustrate how the monthly rates work.
What actual home-working costs can you claim?
Instead of using simplified expenses, you can calculate an appropriate business proportion of qualifying actual household costs.
Depending on your circumstances, potentially relevant costs can include:
Heating
An appropriate share of heating used for the business.
Electricity
Business use of lighting, computers and other electrical equipment.
Council Tax
A reasonable business proportion can potentially form part of an actual-cost calculation.
Rent
Tenants may potentially allocate a reasonable portion of rent where part of the home is used for the business.
Mortgage interest
An appropriate business share of mortgage interest may be relevant. This is not the same as claiming mortgage capital repayments.
Insurance
An identifiable business proportion of relevant household insurance costs can potentially be considered.
How do you calculate the business proportion?
There is no single percentage that applies to every self-employed person.
HMRC expects the allocation to reasonably reflect the facts. Factors can include:
- The number of rooms in the home.
- Which rooms are used for business.
- How many hours those rooms are used for business.
- Whether the same rooms are also used privately.
- Actual consumption of variable costs such as electricity.
A room used for business does not necessarily mean claiming its costs 100%
If the same room is an office during part of the day but is used privately at other times, a reasonable time-based restriction may be required as well as considering the proportion of the home represented by that room.
Can you claim rent or mortgage costs?
Rent
If you rent your home and use part of it for your trade, an appropriate business proportion of rent can potentially be included when using actual costs.
Mortgage interest
HMRC's guidance includes mortgage interest among costs that can potentially be apportioned where a home is used partly for business.
You should not treat the capital repayment of the mortgage as an ordinary home-working business expense.
Can self-employed people claim Council Tax and home insurance?
Where actual costs are used, an identifiable and reasonable business proportion of Council Tax and relevant insurance can potentially form part of the calculation.
The claim still needs to reflect the actual level of business use rather than simply dividing every household bill by the number of rooms.
Can you claim heating and electricity?
Yes, an appropriate business portion of qualifying heating and electricity costs may be claimed where actual expenses are used.
The most reasonable method can differ according to the expense. For example, floor space may help with some costs, while actual usage or the hours a room is used may better reflect electricity or heating.
Are phone and broadband included in the home-working flat rate?
HMRC's simplified working-from-home rate does not include telephone or internet expenses. You can calculate the actual business proportion of those bills separately.
This means someone using the £10, £18 or £26 home-working rate can potentially make a separate claim for qualifying business phone and broadband use.
See our Self-Employed Mobile Phone & Internet Guide for more detail.
Should you use a room exclusively for business?
You should be careful about describing part of your home as being used exclusively for business without considering the wider tax consequences.
From an expense perspective, HMRC's own examples show that rooms can be used for business for part of the time and privately at other times, with expenses allocated appropriately.
Mixed use can be easier to evidence than claiming permanent exclusive use
If a home office is genuinely available for family or other private use outside working hours, keep records that reflect those facts rather than automatically claiming all costs attributable to the room.
What records should you keep?
Keep enough information to support whichever method you use.
Choose your method
Record whether you are using simplified home-working expenses or an actual-cost calculation.
Track working hours
If using simplified expenses, keep a reasonable record of qualifying business hours worked at home each month.
Keep household bills
If using actual costs, retain relevant utility bills, rent, Council Tax, insurance and other supporting records.
Keep your calculation
Record how you arrived at the business proportion, including room, time or usage assumptions where relevant.
For the wider expense rules, see our Self-Employed Allowable Expenses Guide .
Reviewed & Updated
18 August 2026
2026/27
GO TAX REFUNDS
HM Revenue & Customs / GOV.UK
Home-working expense claims depend on actual business use, household costs and the calculation method chosen. This guide provides general information and does not determine the allowable amount for an individual home.
Self-Employed Working From Home FAQs
Can I claim working-from-home expenses if I'm self-employed?
Yes. You may be able to calculate a reasonable business proportion of qualifying household costs or use HMRC's simplified home-working rates if you meet the conditions.
What is the self-employed working-from-home allowance?
HMRC's simplified rates are £10 per month for 25 to 50 qualifying hours, £18 for 51 to 100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more.
Can I claim if I work from home for less than 25 hours a month?
The simplified monthly rate is not available below the 25-hour threshold. This does not necessarily prevent an appropriate actual-cost claim where qualifying business use exists.
Can I claim part of my rent?
Potentially. When calculating actual costs, a reasonable business proportion of rent can be relevant where part of the home is genuinely used for the trade.
Can I claim part of my mortgage?
HMRC's guidance includes an appropriate proportion of mortgage interest among potentially relevant home-working costs. This does not mean that mortgage capital repayments are ordinary business expenses.
Can I claim Council Tax?
A reasonable business proportion of Council Tax can potentially be included when using an actual-cost method, depending on the facts.
Is broadband included in the £10, £18 or £26 rate?
No. HMRC specifically states that telephone and internet expenses are not included in the simplified home-working flat rate. Their actual business proportion can be calculated separately.
Is it better to use actual costs or simplified expenses?
It depends on your actual household costs, business use and record keeping. Simplified expenses are easier to calculate, while an actual-cost calculation may produce a different deductible amount.
HMRC & GOV.UK Sources
This guide is reviewed against current HMRC guidance on self-employed use of the home and simplified expenses.
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