Employment: tax return help

​Employment income

Employment income includes all types of income received from your employment. The term ‘employed’ also includes office holders and directors.

• you must declare the gross taxable income from each employer
• for each employer you had during the year, write their name in the box provided
• in the income box alongside, enter the gross income you received from that employer during the year

Gross (pay before any deductions) taxable income definition

​Any amount you are paid before deductions like pension contributions, payments for accommodation, tax or social security. Employment income also includes overtime pay, holiday pay, bonuses, commission, tips, notice payments, redundancy payments and termination payments.

Cash tips

If you received any tips or gratuities that aren’t already included in your income above declare them here.

Income from casual and weekend work

If you received any income from any casual or weekend work, including jobs for friends and family declare it here.

Casual and freelance work definition

If you do side or odd jobs outside of your normal day job, the income you receive is taxable. If this is a regular income then you're probably self-employed and should be completing the self-employment section of the long return.

Self-employment: tax form help

Foreign tax deducted

If any of your employment income was from overseas and you have paid foreign tax, we will need a copy of the foreign tax calculation to work out any double tax credit relief that may be due.

Tick the box in the declaration section if you’re claiming relief for foreign tax paid.

Employment income and tax

Benefits in kind

Benefits in kind are anything you (or a member of your household) receive, which is not money, from your employer. They are also sometimes known as employee or employment benefits.

These are normally provided either free or below the normal cost (e.g. free accommodation, personal use of a company vehicle or discounted shares).

Your employer should provide you with a summary of any taxable benefits in kind you receive, so you can complete this section.

About benefits in kind

Employment expenses

You can claim for expenses that you had to pay as a deduction from your employment income if they are wholly and exclusively for the purposes of your employment.

Enter a brief description of the expense and enter the amount you are claiming here.

Don’t claim expenses that are not for your employment, or expenses that are refunded by your employer.

​Professional subscriptions

​If you pay a subscriptions to a professional bodies because it's work related you can claim it as an expense. The body must be included on the following list, otherwise it's not claimable.

List of professional bodies on HMRC website

Clothing

Specialised work clothing, for example chef’s whites or protective steel cap boots worn by a builder are examples of clothing that can be claimed as an expense. General clothing worn at work, including suits can’t be claimed.

Some professions can claim a flat rate. You can find out more here:

Working from home during Covid-19

From 20 March 2020 until 31 January 2022, if you were required to work from home but did not receive any type of compensation from your employer, you may claim a flat rate of £10 per week to cover any costs incurred (heat, light, telephone, internet etc).

Part time working from home

If you did not work at home for either the full week or if you work part time, pro-rata your expense claim (£2 for each full day worked at home).

Annual leave and bank holidays

If you took annual leave, or had any other absence during this period you need to reduce your claim accordingly.

Reimbursed expenses or working from home by choice 

If there was any element of choice to work from home or you were reimbursed for working from home by your employer, no deduction can be claimed.

Making your claim

Enter the amount of your claim in the expenses section of the tax return with the description 'Working from home due to Covid-19'.

Your own contributions into employer pensions

If you have paid into a pension scheme run by your employer (superannuation) enter the amount of those contributions.

These amounts can be deducted from your employment income when your tax is calculated.

Claiming a tax deduction for your pension contributions