COVID-19 | Home Office Expenses for Employees
In response to COVID-19 challenges that have forced people to work from home the CRA has made the home office expenses deduction available to more Canadians and simplified the way employees can claim these expenses on their personal income tax returns for the 2020 tax year.
Eligibility
- Employees who worked from home on a full-time or part-time basis for more than 50% of the time for at least four consecutive weeks in 2020 due to COVID-19 will now be eligible to claim the home office expenses deduction for 2020.
- The use of a shorter qualifying period will ensure that more employees can claim the deduction than would otherwise have been possible under longstanding practice.
There are two COVID–19 Home Office Expenses Claim Methods
| Temporary Flat Rate Method | Detailed Method |
| Eligible employees working from home during 2020 due to the COVID – 19 Pandemic | Criteria to claim the employment portion of actual amounts you paid while you worked from home (for employees required to work from home or employees who worked from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic) |
| You can claim $2 for each day that you worked part time or full time from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, up to a maximum of $400 (200 Days) | You can claim the actual amounts you paid supported by documentation |
| Your employer is not required to complete and sign Form T2200 | You must have a completed and signed Form T2200S / Form T2200 from your employer |
| You fill out Option 1 – Temporary flat rate method on Form T777S | You fill out Option 2 – Detailed method on Form T777S Refer to Form T777S for the list of Eligible Expenses, Non-eligible expenses, & the calculations of claimable expenses |
| You are not required to keep supporting documents | You must keep your supporting documents |
| You are not required to calculate your workspace use as a % of your home | You need to calculate your workspace as a % of your home. The CRA has a calculator available for this – here |
| What counts as a workday? – Days you worked full-time hours from home – Days you worked part-time hours from home What does not count: – Days off – Vacation days – Sick leave days – Other leave or absence | What counts as a workday? – Days you worked full-time hours from home – Days you worked part-time hours from home What does not count: – Days off – Vacation days – Sick leave days – Other leave or absence |
Frequently Asked Questions & Form T2200S & Form T777S can be found here – Home office expenses for employees.
