Home Office Expenses for Employees
For 2020, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has put in place a new temporary flat-rate method allowing an employee required to work from home to seek to deduct up to $400 in expenses for the year. Under CRA’s flat-rate method, eligible employees (i.e. any employee who may have been required to work from home at any point in 2020) can claim $2 for each day worked from home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up to a maximum of $400. The flat-rate method requires no form and has no requirement to keep documents to support the claim.
As an alternative to the flat-rate method, there is a detailed method using a new CRA form called the Declaration of Conditions of Employment for Working at Home Due to COVID-19 (T2200S) for employees seeking to deduct their actual employment expenses. Note that you cannot claim any expenses reimbursed by Carleton.
A link to these forms will be found on the Tax Forms section of Carleton Central by the end of February. An announcement will be sent to all Carleton employees when these forms are available. There is an alternate form for Quebec residents (TP-64.3-V), which will also be made available by the end of February.
The eligibility criteria for both methods are on the CRA website. Please note that Carleton cannot provide legal or tax advice regarding an employee’s eligibility or eligible expenses.
For more information: