Simplified Flat Tax Rate for Claiming Work from Home Expenses for 2020 Tax Year

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has acknowledged that there will be an unprecedented number of Canadians with a valid claim for working at home expenses for the 2020 tax year, and in that spirit, they have created a simplified, temporary flat tax rate to aid Canadian taxpayers in figuring out their work-from-home expense.

From the CRA website:

You are eligible to claim a deduction for home office expenses for the period you worked from home, if you meet all of the criteria:

• you worked from home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic or your employer required you to work from home
• you worked more than 50% of the time from home for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in 2020
• have a completed and signed Form T2200S or Form T2200 from your employer (only applicable if the detailed method is used to complete the claim)
• the expenses are used directly in your work during the period 

 A note: each person working from home who meets the eligibility criteria can make a work-from-home claim on their income taxes.

This video is a nice overview of the change that CRA has made for this tax year. 

Detailed Claim Instead?

Instead of the simplified flat rate, it might make more sense for you to do a detailed claim for work-from-home expenses (for example, if you run a business out of your home). This website goes into more detail about what is and what isn’t eligible to be claimed.

Let Us Guide You

Simplified temporary tax rates, detailed rates, expenses, income, what is and what isn’t eligible, who is and who isn’t eligible—talking to our tax experts at Shaw & Associates can help you make sense out of income tax filing this year, and find your best route to minimizing taxes paid or maximizing your refund.

Contact Shaw & Associates Chartered Accountants for accounting help you can count on. One complimentary meeting with us will put you and your business on a more profitable and positive path.