Registering an office or home

An annual budget is available from which to claim back the costs of renting, equipping and running constituency offices, surgeries, and other activities that support your MP parliamentary functions, where those costs are not directly covered by other budgets under the Scheme. [6.1]

You don’t have to rent formal office premises to use the budget. [6.2]

Rent cannot be claimed for a home office (and note that such an address will be treated as the MP’s home rather than an office, for travel claims). [6.8]

Note, you can only claim the following if the constituency or home office has already been registered with us: [6.15 / 6.16]

• office rental costs (but never for home offices)

• energy and water bills

• business rates (but never for home offices)

• contents and buildings insurance (the latter never for home offices)

• rental and usage for telephone and internet

For more information, visit Completing a Property Registration Form.

Your annual office costs budget is:

• London Area MP – £30,400 [6.10]

• non-London Area MP – £27,470 [6.11]

In March 2020, IPSA provided an immediate increase of £10,000 to each MP’s office costs budget, to support their staff in moving to home working during the coronavirus pandemic.

This amount is available until the end of the 2020-21 financial year. Any unspent amount of this uplift from an MP’s 2019-20 office costs budget will be "rolled over" and made available in the current year.

The amounts available for individual MPs will be confirmed following the closure of the 2019-20 financial year.

Additionally, in your first year as an MP:

• start-up supplement – £6,000 in the financial year of election [6.13]

For new MPs elected at the December 2019 election, IPSA will roll forward any amounts leftover from your start-up supplement into the new financial year. [6.14]

The start-up supplement is to help new MPs meet the costs of setting up one or more constituency offices. While it will probably be used toward big acquisitions, like new computers, desks or redecoration, it does not have to be used for such purchases and is simply a sum added to the office costs budget. [6.12]

You are entitled to exercise reasonable discretion in deciding what items fall within the office costs budget, provided your claims observe the fundamental principles and general conditions of the Scheme. [6.4]

Note, this is not an exhaustive list.

For the costs of renting and running a constituency office including things like stationery, website, and printing.

For a home office (but excluding rent), if that is where you or your staff routinely work – but we will only pay claims for costs over and above the normal cost of living in the home. [6.6]

You must comply with the relevant HMRC guidance to demonstrate it is a de facto office, and not a place of occasional home work. We will then reimburse you according to HMRC guidelines. [6.8]

For a constituency office only if it is located in the constituency (this includes a location within 20 miles of the constituency boundary) – unless it is a home office. A home office can be claimed for even if it is more than 20 miles from the constituency boundary. [6.7]

Costs for more than one office, provided you stay within the budget. If you cannot, but can demonstrate exceptional circumstances, you may be eligible for additional contingency funding to allow for the operation of more than one office.

As a guide, we consider MPs most likely to need more than one office where you represent a constituency with a large geographical area with limited public transport. [6.3]

This is covered by Requesting additional budget.

For more information on using IPSA Online, visit Applying for contingency funding.

Office removal costs, when moving to new office premises, as a contingency payment (rather than from the office costs budget). No pre-approval is required. Other costs associated with moving, including any legal fees, must be claimed from the office costs budget. [6.9]

For routine security measures from the office costs budget. These are ones that fall outside the recommended and further security covered by the security assistance budget.

For more information, visit Security measures & assistance. [6.8]

Phone calls, but only the portion that relate to parliamentary purposes. [6.29]

Pooled staffing services from either the office costs or staffing costs budget. Visit Staffing costs and Staffing costs you can claim for more information. Given that MPs’ staffing costs budgets are considerably larger than the office costs budget, MPs are advised to fund pooled services from their staffing costs budgets. [6.30]

You cannot claim [6.5]

• alcoholic drinks

• stationery provided by the House of Commons

• newsletters

• for any material that contains a party political logo or emblem (except for websites)

• personal accountancy or tax advice

If two or more MPs choose to share rental accommodation, they must notify us when they register the property. The rental agreement must include the name of each MP sharing the accommodation. [4.26]

Each MP will be entitled to the full accommodation costs budget – and all costs claimed should be shared equally between those MPs. [4.27]

Where you grant a licence, sublet or otherwise allow others to use any part of your rented constituency office, a fee must be charged. This should cover an appropriate share of the rent and other costs, and must be paid to us in full. [6.24]

You must notify us at the start of any such arrangement, including:

• a copy of the subletting/licence/use agreement

• details of the other party and the proportion of the property sublet/occupied

• the fee being charged

• the frequency and manner of repayment to IPSA [6.25]

Where the other party is a political party, constituency association, or connected party:

• you must provide a valuation of the market rate for the licence or sublet, prepared by a valuer regulated by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors

• the valuation should clearly state the evidence the market rate valuation is based on

• the rent must not be less than the market rate

You should get the landlord’s permission before you allow another party the use of your office, and observe the relevant terms of your rental agreement. Any subletting/licence agreement you grant to a third party should set out each party’s liability for costs, and clear provision for ending the arrangement.

We will not cover any costs arising due to the use by the sublessee/licensee, including any damage they cause.

Remember we will not cover costs exceeding the office costs budget limit, even if the end of a subletting/licence agreement leads to an increase in costs. [6.26]

The homeworking allowance is payable to MPs’ staff members who are working from home as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, to cover homeworking costs such as telephone, internet, electricity and gas usage. These amounts will be paid directly to relevant staff members through the payroll, with the costs allocated to the office costs budget. [6.31]

The homeworking allowance amount is £26 per month. Payment of this amount will be pro-rated for staff members who start or end their employment during a month. [6.32]

In respect of a staff member in receipt of the homeworking allowance, IPSA will not accept claims (or will seek repayment of claims already paid) [under paragraphs 6.6 and 6.16] for costs that are incurred as a result of homeworking and are additional to those which are part of the normal cost of living in the home, including:

a. energy and water bills

b. contents insurance, or

c. rental and usage costs for telephone and internet access [6.33]

The homeworking allowance is an alternative to making individual claims under paragraph 6.6 and 6.16 of the Scheme. Staff members must be working from home to be eligible for the allowance but do not have to register their home as an office.

The monthly amount of £26 has been set by HMRC as the maximum that can be paid to employees without evidence of the costs incurred.

The homeworking allowance will be administered through the payroll, along with the staff member’s salary.

Our expectation, in line with HMRC guidance is that, generally, the allowance should not be taxable, but a staff member's individual circumstances may mean that they should seek further advice from HMRC.

If individual staff members are not working from home, or do not wish to be in receipt of the homeworking allowance, the employing MP must notify IPSA by the normal monthly deadline for payroll changes (the 15th of each month). This also applies where staff members who were previously in receipt of the homeworking allowance have returned to their normal place of work (the constituency or Westminster office). [6.34]

IPSA may in its discretion determine whether and when to cease payment of the homeworking allowance and will provide reasonable notice, to be published on IPSA's website and communicated to MPs and their staff members. In making such determinations, IPSA will take into consideration Government guidance relating to the coronavirus pandemic, as well as other relevant considerations. [6.35]

The Property Registration Form allows you to register a property with IPSA.

You should use this form to register your constituency office.

The Property Amendment Form allows you to Inform IPSA of any changes to one of your registered properties. Changes may include:

• amending bank details of a landlord

• amending rent due dates

• amending a landlord’s details

• amending a rent amount

• cancelling rent payments

• submitting a lease renewal

• suspending a rental payment

• restarting a rental payment

• leaving an office

MPs may claim for hospitality costs from their office costs budget.

This can include things like tea and coffee to offer visitors to the constituency office or refreshments at a meeting or event.

It is not intended to cover routine meal costs for the MP, staff members or others.

Subsistence costs can be claimed by MPs and staff members where they are travelling and staying overnight in line with the Scheme rules on using the travel budget.

Read more about Travel & subsistence.

As always, MPs are expected to consider value for money in their spending. IPSA funding cannot be claimed to cover tips or for the purchase of alcoholic beverages.

This webinar outlines the circumstances of when an MP would need a lease and managing the lease process.

Watch the Managing leases webinar.

It also covers Completing a Property Registration Form and Completing a Property Amendment Form, and what to do if the forms are rejected, all using IPSA Online.

This webinar covers Completing a Property Registration Form and Completing a Property Amendment Form, and what to do if the forms are rejected, all using IPSA Online.

Watch the Property registration and amendment webinar.