Those working at home because of COVID-19 may be able to claim some expenses
You might be able to claim a portion of your household expenses
If you've been forced to work at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic you might be able to claim some of your household expenses on your income tax next year.
Tax accountants say people working from home can claim a portion of their home expenses if they are using part of their house for work purposes.
"The T-2200 is the form you have to fill out," said Scott Dupuis, tax partner at the Baker Tilly accounting firm.
The T-2200 form is a Declaration of Conditions of Employment issued by the Canada Revenue Agency.
Employers must fill out the form and declare that they are not reimbursing employees for expenses in order for employees to get a deduction.
Dupuis said the amount to claim is calculated based on how much of the home or apartment is being used as a work space.
"If you have 10 rooms in your house and one room you're using for work purposes you would take one tenth of effectively all the expenses in your house," said Dupuis.
That would include expenses such as electricity, gas, property taxes and repairs
Dupuis said employees can claim 100 per cent of any items such as stationery or toner they had to buy for work purposes.
He says it's important to keep bills, receipts and statements to prove what your expenses were for the time period you had to work at home.
The T-2200 forms can be downloaded from the internet or obtained from an employer.
Meanwhile, the Canada Revenue Agency has extended the filing deadline for this year's taxes. Taxpayers have until June 1 to file and until August 31 to pay amounts owing.
There is more information on the CRA website at canada.ca.
Clarifications
- An earlier version of this story stated that a computer monitor could be written off on income tax, in fact, while some office supplies can be written off, the Canada Revenue Agency rules state that computer equipment costs are not deductible.Mar 24, 2020 3:18 PM ET
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