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Budget 2026, tabled on 5 November 2026, proposes optional flat amounts so some people could skip receipts: $1,000 for moving expenses, $1,500 for the Labour Mobility Deduction for Tradespeople, a one-time $1,000 for the Home Accessibility Tax Credit and $1,200 per child for adoption. These are proposals, not law, and they would apply to 2027 and later years.
What does Budget 2026 propose for flat amounts?
The federal budget says individuals need to keep receipts and meet other requirements to claim certain deductions and credits. To cut down on that paperwork, Budget 2026 proposes optional flat-amount methods for several of them. Individuals would still need to show they are eligible. The flat amount only replaces the work of tracking and adding up the actual costs.
Everything here is a proposal. Budget 2026 proposes these changes, and they would need legislation before anyone could rely on them. The budget says the measures would apply to the 2027 and subsequent taxation years, so nothing changes for the return you file for 2026.
This guide is information only. It does not represent the CRA or the Department of Finance, and it sells no services.
Which amounts are proposed?
The budget covers five items in this section. The table sums up what each one would offer, based on the budget text.
| Item | Proposed optional flat amount |
|---|---|
| Moving Expense Deduction | $1,000 for an eligible relocation |
| Clergy Residence Deduction | $1,000 for each eligible month, up to $12,000 a year |
| Labour Mobility Deduction for Tradespeople | $1,500 per year |
| Home Accessibility Tax Credit | One-time $1,000 for a year |
| Adoption Expense Tax Credit | $1,200 per adopted child, in the year the adoption is completed |
In each case the flat amount would be an option. You could still claim your actual expenses under the existing rules if that works out better for you.
How would it work for movers and tradespeople?
Today, the Moving Expense Deduction lets you deduct costs such as travel, moving and storing household goods, meals, temporary accommodation and the cost of selling your old home. The budget says the deduction is limited to the employment or self-employment income earned at the new location, and you need bills and receipts. Budget 2026 proposes that an individual making an eligible relocation could deduct a flat $1,000 instead. The same income limit would still apply. If you claim the flat amount, your spouse or common-law partner could not claim a deduction for the same relocation. For the current rules, see Moving Expenses Deduction in Canada: Who Can Claim It.
The Labour Mobility Deduction for Tradespeople covers eligible tradespeople and apprentices in the construction industry who take on an eligible temporary relocation. The budget says they can deduct up to $10,000 of eligible expenses in 2026, limited to 50 per cent of employment income from the relocation. Budget 2026 proposes a flat $1,500 per year as an alternative to claiming actual expenses. If you work away from home for a few weeks and your lodging, travel and meals are small, the flat amount could save you the record keeping. If you have large costs, you would likely stay with the actual method.
For clergy, the proposed flat amount is $1,000 for each month of eligibility, up to $12,000 a year, limited to remuneration from the office or employment. If either spouse chooses the flat amount for a year, neither could use the detailed method for that residence that year.
What about home accessibility and adoption?
The Home Accessibility Tax Credit currently covers up to $20,000 of qualifying renovation or alteration expenses per calendar year for a home used by someone aged 65 or older or eligible for the Disability Tax Credit. Budget 2026 proposes a one-time optional flat expense amount of $1,000 for a year. Only one taxpayer could claim it for the same dwelling in a year. If anyone claims the detailed expenses for that dwelling in that year, the flat amount would not be available to any claimant for it. You could use the flat amount only once in your lifetime, and you could still claim detailed expenses in later years. The budget also says people using the flat amount would still need to keep some documents showing they had qualifying expenses for a qualifying renovation. See Home Accessibility Tax Credit (HATC) in Canada: Who Qualifies for the existing credit.
The Adoption Expense Tax Credit currently allows up to $19,972 of eligible expenses in 2026 for adopting a child under 18. Budget 2026 proposes an optional flat expense amount of $1,200 per adopted child in the year the adoption is completed, instead of actual eligible adoption expenses. Since the current limit is far higher, families with real costs near that level would probably compare both methods.
A simple example with round numbers
Say a carpenter moves for a new job and earns $30,000 at the new location in 2027. Her documented moving costs are $600. Under the proposal she could deduct the flat $1,000 instead, because it is below her new income. If her tax rate on the next dollar of income were 20 per cent, a $1,000 deduction would be worth about $200, compared with about $120 for the $600 actual claim. The 20 per cent rate is only an illustration. Your own rate depends on your province and income.
Now say a different worker moved with $4,000 of receipted costs. The actual method gives a bigger deduction than $1,000, so the flat amount would not help. The same comparison applies to the $1,500 tradespeople amount: if your lodging, travel and meals for the year came to $5,000, the actual method would still win. The flat amounts mostly help people with small costs, or with receipts they never kept.
You could try your own numbers in the Moving Expenses Deduction Calculator for Canada, which uses the current rules.
What should you do now, and what is still uncertain?
For a 2026 return, keep doing what you already do. Keep receipts, since the flat amounts would not apply until 2027. If you expect to move, work away from home or renovate for accessibility in 2027, keep your records anyway until the rules become law. Records protect you if you end up choosing the actual method.
Several points are still open. The proposals have not been legislated, and the budget text does not give a draft of the legal wording. Final rules could differ from what is described here. The budget does not say how the flat amount would be reported on a return, and it leaves the existing eligibility rules in place. Check the budget and the CRA pages before you rely on any figure.
This guide uses the budget document named in the sources, checked on 9 November 2026. It is an independent information site, offers no services, does not represent the CRA or any organization, collects information from open sources, does not guarantee accuracy and accepts no liability for how you use it.
Frequently asked questions
Are the flat amounts in Budget 2026 law yet?
No. Budget 2026 proposes them. They would need legislation, and the budget says they would apply to the 2027 and subsequent taxation years.
How much is the proposed flat moving expense deduction?
Budget 2026 proposes a flat $1,000 for an eligible relocation, still limited to income earned at the new location. A spouse or common-law partner could not claim the same relocation.
What is the proposed flat amount for tradespeople?
Budget 2026 proposes a flat $1,500 per year for eligible construction tradespeople and apprentices on an eligible temporary relocation, instead of claiming actual expenses.
Can I claim the Home Accessibility Tax Credit flat amount every year?
No. The budget proposes a one-time optional flat amount of $1,000. You could claim it once in your lifetime and still use detailed expenses in later years.
How much is the proposed adoption flat amount?
Budget 2026 proposes $1,200 per adopted child, in the year the adoption is completed, as an optional alternative to actual eligible adoption expenses.