Revenue details allowances for staff working from home during  pandemic

Claims for broadband expenses are 30% of the cost of the bill 'apportioned on the basis of the number of days worked from home over the year'.

Details of the tax credits for the thousands of people forced to work from home remotely during the pandemic have been published by the Revenue following the budget measure last week that allows for tax claims against broadband expenses. 

The broadband allowance was one of the few personal taxation items announced last week in a budget that featured the allocation of many billions of euro in contingency funds for exposed businesses to survive in the event of more lockdowns and a breakdown in the Brexit talks between the UK and the EU.

The Revenue said it updated its so-called e-working and tax document for the new measure that allows a deduction for 30% of broadband expenses, as well as providing a guide to existing e-working remote expenses.                           

It also provided updated guidance to take account of the treatment of shared expenses incurred by an "e-worker", or an individual working from home during the pandemic. 

Revenue also clarified the definition of a "normal place of work, during the period of Covid-19, is the office", it said. 

Claims for broadband expenses are 30% of the cost of the bill "apportioned on the basis of the number of days worked from home over the year", it said, and apply for the 2020 tax year "for the duration of the pandemic".

The guide reiterated that an employee can, in certain circumstances, claim 10% of the cost of electricity and heat utility bills from working from home, but based on "the number of days worked from home over the year", as well as 30% of the broadband bill. 

The Revenue provided examples of individual taxpayers. 

A taxpayer working 180 days in total during the year, of which 90 days are from home, can claim expenses of €1,750 on electricity and heat and €430 on broadband.

In this case, the taxpayer can claim under remote working expenses a total of €75.

"Generally, e-working is regarded as a method of working, using information and communication technology, in which the work-related activity that is carried out is not bound to any particular location," Revenue said. 

"E-working includes working at home either on a full-time or part-time basis; or working some of the time at home and the remainder in the office. E-working involves logging onto the employer’s computer system remotely; sending and receiving email, data, or files remotely; developing ideas, products, and services remotely," it said, but excludes "employees who, in the normal course of employment, choose to bring some work home in the evening or at weekends".

Meanwhile, in the UK, chancellor Rishi Sunak was forced to offer billions more of financial help to businesses grappling with a resurgent Covid-19 pandemic, which looks increasingly likely to derail the economic recovery.

Mr Sunak told MPs that the UK government would shoulder more of the burden for paying wages of staff who return part-time to struggling businesses, and would offer more money to hospitality companies and the self-employed.