Working From Home as a Freelance Musician: What Expenses Can You Claim?

Jan 27
3 min read

If you’re a freelance musician who works from home, whether that’s practicing, teaching, recording, or doing admin, you’re likely entitled to tax relief on your home running costs.

Yet “use of home” expenses are one of the most misunderstood areas of Self Assessment. Many musicians either:

Under-claim because they’re unsure what’s allowed, or
Avoid claiming altogether because it feels complicated.

In this guide, we explains the two main ways to claim working from home expenses - and how to do it correctly and safely.

What Counts as Working From Home for Musicians?

Working from home isn’t just teaching or practicing. HMRC accepts that working from home includes:

Private teaching and lessons
Individual practice and rehearsal
Listening back to recordings
Admin, invoicing, emails, and accounts
Business planning and preparation

If these activities are part of your self-employed work and they happen at home, you are incurring additional household costs as a result.

The Two Ways to Claim Use of Home Expenses

There are two recognised approaches to claiming tax relief for working from home.

1. HMRC Flat Rate Method (Simple but Often Low)

HMRC offers a simplified flat-rate allowance based on the number of hours you work from home per month.

This method:

Requires no calculations
Needs no supporting documentation
Is quick and easy to apply

However, the downside is that these rates are very modest. If you work from home for several hours a day, heating rooms, using electricity, and consuming water, the flat rate often understates the true cost of running your business from home.

2. Apportionment Method (More Accurate)

For many musicians, a tailored calculation is more appropriate. This involves splitting costs into two categories and applying reasonable proportions.

A. Running Costs (Time-Based Apportionment)

Running costs include:

Gas
Electricity
Water (if metered)

A common and reasonable method is to:

Estimate your average working-from-home hours per week
Divide that by 168 hours (7 days × 24 hours)
Adjust for time away from home (touring, holidays, weeks not at home)

This gives a fraction representing how much of your home’s running costs relate to your business.

B. Fixed Costs (Space-Based Apportionment)

Fixed or standing charges include:

Council tax
Rent
Mortgage interest only (not capital repayments)

⚠️ Important: Never include the capital portion of your mortgage repayments; only the interest element is allowable.

For these costs, HMRC accepts a space-based approach:

Identify the room(s) used for work
Exclude bathrooms
Calculate the proportion of working space to total rooms

For example:

1 work room in a 5-room home = 20% of eligible fixed costs

Combining the Two Calculations

In practice, many musicians use a combination of a time-based fraction for running costs, and a space-based fraction for fixed costs

Together, these form a reasonable and defensible “use of home” claim that HMRC will generally accept.

A Crucial Warning: Exclusive Business Use

It’s usually not advisable to have a room used exclusively for business purposes. Why?

HMRC may view it as part of your business premises
This can create Capital Gains Tax issues when you sell your home

Instead, HMRC accepts apportionment where:

The space is used mainly for business
But not exclusively

This mirrors how HMRC treats cars, phones, and other mixed-use assets.

The “Wholly and Exclusively” Rule - With Flexibility

While expenses must be “wholly and exclusively” for business, HMRC recognises that working from home, mobile phones and vehicles are naturally mixed-use. As long as the business portion is clearly identifiable and reasonable, tax relief is allowed.

Getting Your Use of Home Claim Right

Use of home expenses are one of the easiest ways for freelance musicians to legitimately reduce their tax bill - but only if they’re calculated properly.

A careful, proportionate approach: