Remote Working Relief

Revenue eBrief No. 069/22

Remote Working Relief

Tax and Duty Manual Part 05-02-13 which provides guidance in regard to the conditions and operation of Remote Working Relief (RWR) has been updated, mainly to include the new measure for remote working expenses, contained in section 114A TCA 1997, introduced by Finance Act 2021.

Extract:

1 Introduction
This manual contains guidance on the income tax relief available to remote workers (sometimes referred to as e-workers) for relevant expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of his or her employment, while working from home.

Section 7 of this manual provides guidance on the operation of Remote Working Relief (RWR) up to and including the tax year 2021.

Section 3 of the Finance Act 2021 inserted a new provision at section 114A of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 (TCA) in respect of Remote Working Relief. This enhanced the relief available and provided a statutory footing for the measure, previously operated by Revenue on broadly an administrative basis. Relief available under section 114A TCA applies from 1 January 2022. Comprehensive guidance on
this new section is contained in section 8 of this manual.

The manual also provides a definition of remote working and it sets out the qualifying conditions for the relief.

Clarification is also provided regarding the ‘normal place of work’ for employees working remotely. In addition, other ancillary issues around remote working are addressed, such as the tax treatment of payments by the employer for reimbursement of remote worker expenses, the provision of equipment by the employer and the related benefit-in-kind (BIK) exemptions.

Furthermore, the manual clarifies the CGT and LPT treatment for a residential property, where the owner is using a room in the property to perform the duties of his or her employment.