You are eligible to claim a deduction for home office expenses for the period you worked from home, if you meet all of the criteria:
you worked from home in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic or your employer required you to work from home
you worked more than 50% of the time from home for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in 2020
have a completed and signed Form T2200S or Form T2200 from your employer (only applicable if the detailed method is used to complete the claim)
the expenses are used directly in your work during the period
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.
For 2020, eligible employees will be able to claim a personal income tax deduction for home office expenses at a flat rate of $2 per day worked at home in 2020 due to COVID-19, up to a maximum of $400. To be eligible for this deduction, employees must have worked more than 50% of the time from home over a period of at least four consecutive weeks in 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Provided this condition is met, all days worked at home during the year are eligible for the flat rate claim. If multiple employees worked at a single household, each eligible employee is entitled to claim the flat rate deduction using the temporary simplified method.
For purposes of counting the days worked at home, a work day is considered to be one that an employee worked either full time or part time hours from home. The following days would not count as a work day:
day off (including weekend days or other days on which no work was performed)
vacation day
sick leave day
other leave or absence
If an employee deducts home office expenses using this simplified method for 2020, the employee will not be:
required to obtain a completed and signed form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment, from their employer
permitted to deduct any other employment expenses for 2020
The CRA has provided further information, and answers to “frequently asked questions” regarding this simplified method, on its website.