Remote working is where you are required to work:

• At home on a full-time or part-time basis

• Part of the time at home and the remainder in your normal place of work.

Allowance paid to you by your employer

If you work remotely, your employer may pay you up to €3.20 per day without deducting PAYE, PRSI, or USC. This is to cover for the extra costs of working from home, such as heat and electricity.

It is possible that your additional costs might be higher than €3.20. Your employer may pay these higher costs. Any amount that exceeds €3.20 per day paid by your employer will be taxed.

What costs can you claim for?

You can claim Remote Working Relief if your employer does not make payment of €3.20 or pays you less than your allowable costs.

For 2022 and subsequent years, you can attribute 30% of the cost of electricity, heating and broadband to remote working. Apportionment is based on the number of days worked from home over the year.

Please note that any payments made to you by employer must be deducted from your claim.

How to calculate allowable remote working costs?

You may only claim for the days you worked from home as a remote worker; you can't claim for weekends or public holidays that you didn't have to work on, days you took as annual leave, or days that you brought work home outside of normal working hours.

Calculation Example for 2024

Your relief is calculated using the formula ((A x B) ÷ C - D) x 30%, where:

(A) is your allowable utility bills for electricity, heating and broadband.

(B) is your number of remote working days.

(C) is the number of days in the relevant year of assessment.

(D) is any remote working allowance reimbursed by your employer.

The relief is given at your highest rate of tax

Stephanie works 180 days in total during the year, and 120 of these days are from home.

The annual amount of costs incurred by Stephanie on allowable utility bills is EUR 1,875 on electricity and heat and EUR 570 on broadband. These amounts should be apportioned based on the number of days working from home over the year, and then a further apportionment for business use.

Electricity & Heat

EUR 1,875 x 120 days / 365 days = EUR 616 (rounded to the whole number)

EUR 616 x 30% = EUR 185 (amount due for Electricity and Heat)

Broadband 

EUR 570 x 120 days / 365 days = EUR 187 (rounded to the whole number)

EUR 187 x 30% = EUR 56 (amount due for Broadband)

Therefore, the total amount of expenses that would be claimed under “remote working (e-working) expenses” is EUR 185 + EUR 56 = EUR 241

Stephanie pays tax at the higher rate of 40%, so she will be entitled to a tax credit of EUR 96 (EUR 241 x 40%).

Making a Claim after the end of the tax year

Remote Working Relief can be claimed by completing an Income Tax return. You, as a taxpayer, can complete this form on the Revenue website as follows:

1. Log in to myAccount;
2. In the "PAYE Services" section, select “Review your tax for the previous 4 years”;
3. Select the relevant Income Tax year;
4. Request a Preliminary End of Year Statement;
5. Click "Complete your Income Tax Return";
6. In the "Tax Credits and Reliefs" section, select "Your job" and then select "Remote Working Relief";
7. Complete and submit your Income Tax Return.

You can complete your 2024 Income Tax Return from 1 January 2025.

As a claim may be selected for future examination by Revenue, all documentation pertaining to that claim should be retained for a period of six years from the end of the tax year to which the claim relates.

If you need help with reviewing your personal taxes or tax reliefs, please schedule a FREE call to discuss your situation.