Working from home this year? New tax deduction introduced due to COVID-19

The CRA announced on Tuesday December 15, 2020, that those who worked from home more than 50 per cent of the time over at least four consecutive weeks due to COVID-19 will be eligible to claim the home office expenses deduction.

The CRA says the use of a shorter qualifying period will ensure that more Canadians can benefit from the deduction. A new temporary flat rate method will allow Canadians to claim a deduction of $2 for each day they worked from home due to COVID-19 up to a maximum of $400. In addition, Canadians will not be required to have the forms T2200 or T2200S to be signed by their employers to be eligible.

To simplify the process, CRA has launched simplified working-from-home COVID-19 tax forms (Form T2200S and Form T777S) along with a calculator to assist with the calculation of eligible home office expenses.

Please note, if you work from home and it is note due to COVID-19, you will be required to use the regular tax forms (Form T777 and Form T2200).

Detailed information can be found on the CRA website https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/news/2020/12/introducing-a-simplified-process-for-claiming-the-home-office-expenses-for-canadians-working-from-home-due-to-the-covid-19-pandemic.html