Claiming expenses if you worked from home due to COVID-19 (T777S and TP-59.S-V)

If you worked from home due to COVID-19, you can claim your home office expenses. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and Revenu Québec have released two new simplified methods to make it easier for you to claim your home office expenses:

  • Temporary flat (fixed) rate method – You can claim $2 for each day you worked from home, up to a maximum of $400, to cover your home office expenses.

  • Detailed method – You can claim the amount you actually paid for your home office expenses.

Note: You can’t use these methods to claim your expenses if you regularly work from home (not just because of COVID-19) and/or have other employment expenses to claim (like motor vehicle expenses). You’ll need to use the traditional method instead.

The method you use depends on how much you paid in expenses to work from home this year and if you have supporting documents such as receipts and a signed T2200S form (and TP-64.3-V, if you’re a Québec resident) from your employer. You can also use CRA’s calculator to see how much you’ll be able to claim with each method.

Here’s a quick comparison of all the methods with which you can claim your expenses:

Temporary flat rate method Detailed method Traditional method

Use this method if:

You’re an eligible employee who worked from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 and:

  • you didn’t receive a signed T2200S from your employer

  • you didn’t receive a signed TP-64.3-V from your employer (for Québec residents only)

 

I want to find out more about the temporary flat rate method

Where do I claim my expenses using the temporary flat rate method?

Use this method if:

You’re an eligible employee who worked from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 and:

  • you received a signed T2200S from your employer

  • you received a signed TP-64.3-V from your employer (for Québec residents only)

 

I want to find out more about the detailed method

Where do I claim my expenses using the detailed method?

 

Use this method if :

You’re an eligible employee who regularly works from home and:

  • you received a signed T2200 from your employer

  • you received a signed TP-64.3-V from your employer (for Québec residents only)

  • you have other employment expenses to claim (like motor vehicle expenses)

I want to find out more about the traditional method