Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
You can claim home office expenses as an employee only with the detailed method and a form T2200 signed by your employer. The temporary flat rate method no longer applies from the 2023 return on. A $1,200 claim saves about $342 of tax on an $80,000 salary in Ontario, so the paperwork is worth a look but won’t change your year.
The temporary flat rate method does not apply to the 2023 and later tax years.
Home office expenses for employees, canada.ca
Who can claim CRA home office expenses?
Three things have to line up. Your employer required you to work from home, in writing or by a verbal agreement. You spent over half your working time at home for a stretch of four weeks or more, or you use the space only for your job and meet clients there in person. And your employer signs form T2200 or T2200S.
Working from home purely by your own choice doesn’t qualify. The CRA says a formal telework arrangement you agreed to counts as being required. You can’t claim anything your employer paid back to you.
You keep the T2200 yourself. It stays out of your return, though the CRA may ask to see it.
What can you claim, and what can’t you?
| Type of employee | Claimable |
|---|---|
| All employees | Electricity, heat, water, the utilities part of condo fees, maintenance and minor repairs, rent |
| Commission employees only | Home insurance, property taxes |
| Not claimable | Mortgage interest, mortgage principal, furniture, capital costs such as windows or a furnace |
Consumable office supplies, think paper, pens and ink cartridges, are claimable too. So is the work-related part of a phone bill. Computers, printers, headsets and webcams aren’t on the claimable list.
Internet is where the CRA pages we read were not clear to us, so we’re leaving it out. Check the CRA’s page on expenses you can claim before you add it.
How do you work out the share for your work space?
You claim the part of each bill that belongs to your office. Measure the room and divide by the floor area of the home. If the office is 10 square metres in a 100 square metre home, the share is 10%, so $3,000 of electricity and heat gives a $300 claim. The CRA offers a calculator for the percentage of use.
The figures go on form T777, the Statement of Employment Expenses. Bring receipts or statements that show what you actually paid. A bank line that says “hydro” isn’t as good as the bill.
What should you keep in your folder?
Treat it like a small file you could hand over on request. Keep the signed T2200, the bills for each utility with the amounts you claimed, a sketch or note of the room sizes, and your arithmetic. Say Maya in Edmonton claims 10% of $3,000 of utilities. That’s $300 on the form, and if the CRA asks, she can show the bills, the room sizes and the sum in a minute.
How much tax does a claim save you?
A claim lowers your taxable income, so it saves tax at your marginal rate. We ran a $1,200 deduction through our engine for two Ontario salaries.
| Salary | Tax saved by a $1,200 claim |
|---|---|
| $60,000 | $319.26 |
| $80,000 | $341.57 |
So roughly 27 to 28 cents on the dollar. To check your own rate, try the marginal tax rate calculator, and see the full effect on your refund in the tax refund calculator. Ontario’s rate jumps near $72,000 and $200,000 because the Ontario Health Premium rises in narrow bands there, so a deduction at those incomes can save a bit more or less than you expect.
Do renters and owners claim the same way?
Mostly, yes. Renters can claim rent for the work space share, and owners can’t claim mortgage interest or principal, as the table shows. That surprises owners, who tend to assume the biggest housing cost is the one that counts. It isn’t, so the utilities and upkeep end up doing most of the work in your claim. Either way, the share of the home and the proof behind it are the same.
What mistakes cost people the claim?
Missing the T2200 is number one. Ask for it in January, not in April.
Next comes claiming space you also use for family life. The test is about the work space, and the CRA asks you to determine your use of it. A corner of the kitchen table isn’t a strong case unless you use it for work in the way the rules describe.
The last mistake is treating a one-off purchase as a home office expense. A desk and a chair are furniture, and the CRA lists furniture as not claimable. If you work for yourself, the rules are different, because your costs come off business income. The self-employed tax calculator is where to begin. For your pay after all deductions, the take-home pay calculator shows what arrives in the bank.
Sources, and how we checked them
The eligibility tests, the end of the flat rate and the expense lists come from the CRA‘s home office expenses for employees pages, read in September 2026. The tax savings come from our calculators with 2026 federal and Ontario data. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
Is the flat rate method still available?
No. No. That temporary method was not extended past the 2022 return, per the CRA.
Do I file the T2200 with my return?
No. Keep it in your records. Your employer signs it, and the CRA can request a copy later.
Can I claim my mortgage payments?
No. The CRA lists mortgage interest and principal as not claimable.
Can I claim if I work from home by choice?
Not on that basis. Your employer has to require it, although a formal telework arrangement counts as a requirement.
Which form do I use?
T777 lists the claim. The signed T2200 or T2200S from your employer supports it.
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