The Canada Revenue Agency has introduced a temporary flat rate method to calculate your home office expenses for 2020 for employees
who worked from home in 2020 due to COVID-19. If you use this method, your employer is not required to complete Form T2200S,
Declaration of Conditions of Employment for Working at Home Due to COVID-19, and you are not required to keep documents to support
your claim.
Option 1 – Temporary flat rate method
You may use this method to calculate your home office expenses if you worked more than 50% of the time from home for a period of
at least a month (four consecutive weeks) in 2020 due to COVID-19. If you meet this condition, you can claim $2 for each day that you
worked at home during that period, plus any other days you worked at home in 2020 due to COVID-19, up to a maximum of $400. This amount is entered as a deduction on line 22900 of your return.
Option 2 – Detailed Method
You can also calculate your home office expenses using detailed method.
You may use this method to calculate your home office expenses if you:
1) Worked more than 50% of the time from home for a period of at least a month (four consecutive weeks) in 2020.
The period can be longer than a month. For examples, go to canada.ca/cra-home-workspace-expenses
2) Have a completed and signed Form T2200 Short, Declaration of Conditions of Employment for Working at Home Due to COVID-19,
from your employer
and
3) Kept all your supporting documents
Note: You cannot claim any expenses that were or will be reimbursed by your employer
Eligible Expenses The following list includes common home office expenses:
For additional home office expenses you may be able to claim, go to canada.ca/cra-home-workspace-expenses
• rent paid for a house or apartment where you live
• electricity, water, heat, or the utilities portion of your condominium fees
• maintenance (minor repairs, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, paint, etc.)
• home internet access fees
• office supplies (stationery items, pens, folders, sticky notes, postage, toner, ink cartridge, etc.)
• employment use of a basic cell phone service plan
• long distance calls for employment purposes Employees who earn commission income can also claim the following:
• property taxes
• home insurance
• lease of a cell phone, computer, laptop, tablet, fax machine, etc. that reasonably relate to earning commission income
Non-eligible Expenses You cannot claim any of the following:
• capital cost allowance
• mortgage interest
• principal mortgage payments
• capital expenses (replacing windows, flooring, furnace, etc.)
• office equipment (printer, fax machine, briefcase, laptop case or bag, calculator, etc.)
• monthly basic rate for a landline telephone
• cell phone connection or license fees
• purchase of a cell phone, computer, laptop, tablet, fax machine, etc.
• computer accessories (monitor, mouse, keyboard, headset, microphone, speakers, webcam, router, etc.)
• other electronics (television, smart speaker, voice assistant, etc.) • furniture (desk, chair, etc.)