Use-of-home calculator
For sole traders who work from home
Work out what working from home is worth two ways and see them side by side. The flat rate way uses GOV.UK's simplified expenses, £10, £18 or £26 a month depending on your hours, plus the business share of Council Tax, home insurance and mortgage interest, which HMRC's manual allows on top. The actual costs way shares all your household bills by the rooms you use and the days you work at home, as in GOV.UK's own example. Phone and internet go on top of either. The calculator shows both; the choice is yours.
Inside the workbook
- HoursHours worked from home each month, and the flat rate
- HouseholdRooms, days and the year's household bills
- CompareThe flat rate and actual costs side by side
- SourcesEvery rate and rule used, for both tax years, with its GOV.UK link
- Start, How to useA cover with the contents, and plain instructions
Where the figures come from
- Tax year starts
- Flat rate: fewest hours a month
- Flat rate, 25 to 50 hours a month
- Hours for the middle rate (51 to 100)
- Flat rate, 51 to 100 hours a month
- Hours for the top rate (101 or more)
- Flat rate, 101 hours or more a month
- Rates set in law, same both years
- Flat rate leaves out phone and internet
- Actual costs: rooms, then days out of 7
- Fixed costs shared by area and time
- BIM75010: the flat rate "does not prohibit a separate deduction for fixed costs such as council tax (or domestic rates in Northern Ireland), insurance and mortgage interest, where an identifiable proportion can be attributed to business use"
- Rent: listed as a fixed cost (BIM47820), but not named among the costs BIM75010 allows on top of the flat rate
A spreadsheet for organising your own figures. It isn't tax advice, isn't HMRC software and can't send anything to HMRC. Check every figure. Rates and thresholds are for the 2025–26 and 2026–27 tax years (you choose which on the Start sheet) and link to GOV.UK, checked on 18 Oct 2026. If you're not sure what applies to you, ask HMRC or an accountant. Sources and dates are on the Sources tab. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Not affiliated with or endorsed by HMRC.