Tax deadline is Friday: Expert warns CERB recipients will likely owe money
by Denise Wong
Last Updated Apr 28, 2021 at 4:26 pm EDT
FILE - A tax return form is pictured in Toronto on Wednesday April 13, 2011. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young
Summary
Tax specialist says government has created a new method of claiming home office expenses
Pandemic means many Canadians worked from home or took CERB
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Tax deadline is Friday and for many Canadians, the return will look a bit different this year. That’s especially true for those who worked from home or needed government benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Was required to work from home by their employer.
The employee was required to pay for expenses related to the workspace in their home.
One of the following applies:
The employee’s home workspace is where they worked more than 50% of the time for a period of at least four consecutive weeks. This can be either a common area of the home or a designated room; or
The employee only uses their workspace to earn employment income
and the employee also uses it regularly and continually for meeting clients, customers, or other people in the course of their work. Note: the CRA has previously taken the position that a “meeting” means an in-person meeting (therefore a telephone call would not suffice). To date, the CRA has not announced any changes to this interpretation in light of COVID-19, particularly whether videoconference calls would be considered “meetings”, but it is anticipated some clarification will be provided prior to the filing deadline for 2020 income tax returns.
L'Agence du revenu du Canada a récemment annoncé deux nouvelles options simplifiées pour l'année d'imposition 2020, qui permettent aux employés de demander la déduction des frais liés au travail à domicile pendant la pandémie de COVID-19.
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The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) recently released a new, simplified process for deducting home office expenses for the 2020 tax year, which will require employers to be prepared to work with those employees seeking to take advantage of the changes. The revisions, announced on December 15, were brought about by the dramatic impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on typical working life. For millions of Canadians, this is the first year in which they will be able to deduct certain expenses related to working from home. For the 2020 tax year only, employees who have worked from home for at least one month due to COVID-19 may deduct home office expenses using either the Temporary Flat-Rate Method or the New Detailed Method.
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A record number of Canadians were forced to work remotely because of the pandemic, and the Canada Revenue Agency has unveiled a new tax deduction to allow more people to claim expenses related to their home office.
If you were among the 40 per cent of workers who, according to Statistics Canada, found themselves working remotely as pandemic lockdowns were enforced, then you have two options to claim your tax deduction.
The first is the Simplified Temporary Flat Rate Method, which is new for 2020 and is the most simple and straightforward. Thereâs no need to provide receipts or get anything signed by your employer.