You Can Claim Up To $500 On Canada Taxes For Working From Home — Here's How
Your pets, and also your wallet, thank you for your service.
A Canadian flag flies outside St. George's Anglican Church in Montreal. Right: Canadian paper money lies in a pile.
Calling all work-from-homers, it's time to claim your dues as tax season rears its sometimes confusing and mostly annoying head. Thanks to an initiative that began during the early years (hahaha oh God) of the COVID-19 pandemic, Canada gives a certain amount back to Canadians who spent time working from their couches, floors and beds this past year.
\u201c\ud83c\udfe0 Did you #WorkFromHome this year? \n\nYou may be able to reduce the amount of tax you pay by claiming home office expenses! Find out if you\u2019re eligible \u27a1\ufe0f https://t.co/cBtifaWw7o #CdnTax\u201d— Canada Revenue Agency (@Canada Revenue Agency) 1651068304
How much can you write off using the work-from-home tax credit?
In previous years, the total was lower, but in 2023 you can claim a total of $400 for 2020 and $500 for 2021 and 2022 through this specialized tax credit, although the exact amount you receive depends on several factors.
How does the work-from-home tax credit work?
There are two main ways to make your deduction claims through this tax credit. The first is the flat-rate method, which allows you to claim $2 per day for each day you worked from home in 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second method, the detailed method, is much more involved (as one might expect from the name), and requires you to provide proof of the employment-related portion of real amounts of money you paid while working from home either due to the pandemic or simply because you're required to work from home.
To make your claim using the flat rate, you fill in a form called T777S and claim that amount in your taxes.
To make a detailed claim, you'll need to fill out that same form, and your employer needs to fill out form T2200S. Then, you can claim the amount determined in your taxes. If you use this method, you'll need to keep records for six years.
Who's eligible to claim the work-from-home credit?
The eligibility criteria for each method are slightly different. The flat-rate method is open to anyone who worked from home in 2020, 2021 or 2022 due to the pandemic, who worked more than 50% of the time from home, who is claiming only home office expenses, and whose employer did not reimburse you for your home office expenses. You must meet all of these criteria in order to use the flat-rate method.
To be eligible for the detailed method, you must have worked from home in 2020, 2021 or 2022 for any reason and been required to pay for things in your home office. Then, there are several eligiblity criteria which you only need one of to claim the credit. These are:
- you spent more than 50% of your time in your home office for at least four consecutive weeks in a year, OR
- you use your workspace to make money regularly, OR
- your expenses are directly related to your work
It's called the detailed version for a reason!
This article's cover image was used for illustrative purposes only.
