If there was a Connected Hub in their area, more than 6 in 10 workers would use it. The latest Taxback.com Taxpayer Sentiment Survey was done.

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A survey done by Taxback.com found that 45% of taxpayers think working in the office is more expensive than working from home, and only 3% think the costs are the same.

The Director of Taxback.com’s Employee Financial Wellbeing Service pointed out that more than 100 million euro has been invested by the State to upgrade former banks and other buildings to become remote working hubs. The goal is to have 400 hubs by the end of the century. There are 11 hubs in Westmeath and the surrounding area, and the Government has launched a voucher scheme this summer to give people a taste of what’s available.

If our survey is to be believed, the demand for these facilities could lead to an even greater supply. More than half of taxpayers who are familiar with the concept of remote work hubs love it, while just over a fifth would prefer to work from home, with the rest preferring to work from the office, according to Barry Cahill.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, recently announced an initiative to support remote workers by providing desk space in a range of repurpose buildings. The connected hubs network will be accessible through a mobile app.

Taxback.com believes that work hubs could come into their own in the wake of the Pandemic as organizations in certain industries come to the realization that staff don’t always have to be on-site.

More than half of respondents to the Taxback.com survey said that working from the office is more expensive than working from home.

It stands to reason, as the expenses incurred going into the office every day can stack up pretty quickly, and the costs of lunches, coffees, even work clothes add up. There are still expenses incurred with a home office, even though fewer people feel that it’s more financially demanding. In the winter, utility bills will be higher due to the heating being on more.

The tax experts say that if you work from home or are 100% office based, there may be tax reliefs available through which a refund could take the sting out of any work costs.

In the experience of Taxback.com, working from home and Flat Rate Expenses are not used as often as they could be. We would question if anyone would leave that behind even if it was a few hundred Euro. “Especially when the process to claim is straight forward.”