Updated Checked by the Tax-Services.ca editorial team How we check
If you’re an employee, you can deduct home office expenses only when your employer signs Form T2200 and you work from home more than half the time, or use the space only for work and meet clients there regularly. The CRA’s temporary flat rate method is gone too, so you claim actual costs.
Who can claim home office expenses as an employee?
Two tests exist, and you need to pass one. The first is that you do most of your work, meaning more than 50% of your time, in the space at home. The second is that the space is used only for your job and you regularly meet customers or clients there. Most people who work from a kitchen table and never host anyone fall under the first test or nothing at all.
Either way, your employer has to complete and sign Form T2200, the declaration of conditions of employment. Without it, the claim isn’t valid. You don’t send the form in with your return, but keep it.
A quick word about the flat rate. The CRA says the temporary flat rate method doesn’t apply to 2023 and later tax years. If you claimed a fixed amount in the pandemic years, that shortcut has ended.
The temporary flat rate method does not apply to the 2023 and later tax years.
Work-space-in-the-home expenses, Canada Revenue Agency, canada.ca
Which expenses go on your home office claim?
| Claimable as an employee | Not claimable as an employee |
|---|---|
| Electricity | Mortgage interest |
| Heat | Property tax |
| Water | Home insurance |
| Maintenance and minor repairs | Capital costs, such as buying the home |
| Rent, if you rent your home |
You claim the work share of each bill. The CRA’s business guidance describes dividing the workspace area by the total area of the home, and that’s a sensible model here too. We couldn’t confirm a separate employee rule on the method, so check the current CRA page before you file.
How do you work out your share?
Take a 12 square metre spare room in a 120 square metre home. That’s 10% of the floor area. If your heat, electricity and water add up to $4,200 for the year, 10% is $420 of claimable cost. At the tax saving rate in the next example, that’s about $125 back, not a fortune, but not nothing either. Keep the bills and a note of the measurements.
The CRA also lists office supplies and some phone costs as their own items for employees, apart from the work-space claim. Those have their own rules, so read the CRA page for them before you add them to the same line.
What is a home office claim worth?
Less than most people hope. The claim is a deduction, so it saves you tax at your marginal rate, and it doesn’t come back as cash.
Say you earn $70,000 in Ontario and your share of heat, electricity and minor repairs comes to $1,400. In the income tax calculator, entering $1,400 under deductions lowers income tax from $11,133.91 to $10,718.81. That’s $415.10 saved. Your payroll contributions don’t change.
So if your space is small and your bills are modest, the saving can be a couple of hundred dollars. It’s still worth claiming when you qualify. It’s not worth bending the facts for.
Mistakes that sink a home office claim
Claiming without a signed T2200 is the big one.
After that comes claiming things the employee list excludes, like a share of mortgage interest or property tax. Those belong to self-employed people, not employees.
The CRA also says your expenses can’t create a loss and can’t go above your employment income. You file the claim on Form T777. And keep the bills: you may be asked for them.
Commission employees have some different rules on the CRA’s pages, and we haven’t covered those here. If that’s you, read the CRA page before you claim.
What if you’re self-employed instead?
Then a different set of rules applies, with a different form and a wider list of costs. Our guide to home business tax deductions covers it. If you’re unsure which side of the line you fall on, the self-employed tax calculator shows what a business income figure costs you in tax and CPP, and the take-home pay calculator shows your pay as an employee.
The sources behind this page
The eligibility tests, the expense list, the T2200 and T777 forms and the end of the flat rate come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s pages on work-space-in-home expenses, read in September 2026. The $415.10 saving is from our income tax calculator using 2026 data. This is an independent guide, separate from any government body.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim home office expenses if I work from home?
Only if you meet the CRA tests and your employer signs Form T2200. Working from home alone isn't enough.
Is there still a flat rate home office claim?
No. The CRA says the temporary flat rate method doesn't apply to the 2023 and later tax years.
Can an employee claim mortgage interest or property tax?
No. For employees the CRA lists electricity, heat, water, maintenance, minor repairs and rent. Mortgage interest and property tax aren't on that list.
Do I send the T2200 with my return?
You don't have to send it in, but keep it in case the CRA asks. You claim the expenses on Form T777.
How much tax does a $1,400 claim save?
On $70,000 of employment income in Ontario it saves $415.10 in income tax, by our calculator.
- Property and tax in Canada: buying, owning and selling
How property tax and transfer tax apply when you buy, own, rent out or sell a home in Canada, with the calculators for each step