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The T2200 form is a sheet your employer signs to confirm that your job required you to pay certain costs out of your own pocket. If you want to claim home office costs or most other job expenses on your return, you need it. You don’t send it in, but you do have to keep it.
Who fills in the T2200 form?
The t2200 form must be completed by employers in order for their employees to deduct employment expenses from their income.
T2200 Declaration of Conditions of Employment, CRA, canada.ca
Your employer does, not you. The CRA’s form page says employers complete it so their employees can deduct employment expenses, and the current fillable version is the 2025 one. So the practical job for you is to ask, early, and to check what the signed form says before you file.
The form only helps when the facts behind it are true. For the home office claim the CRA sets several conditions. Your employer has to require you to work from home (a formal telework arrangement counts, even if you chose it). You have to pay the costs yourself, with no reimbursement. And you must either work from home over half your working time across a stretch of four or more weeks, or use the space only for work and regularly meet clients there.
One change matters for anyone who claimed in the pandemic years. The CRA ended the temporary flat rate method after 2022. For your 2023 return and every one since, a home office claim means the T2200 plus the T777 expense statement.
Which claims need a signed T2200?
Home office is the famous one, but it isn’t alone. The CRA’s employment expenses guide asks you to keep a completed copy for each of these.
| Claim | Who it is for | T2200 on file? |
|---|---|---|
| Home office (work space in the home) | Employees required to work from home | Yes |
| Motor vehicle expenses | Salaried employees | Yes |
| Travel expenses | Salaried employees | Yes |
| Supplies you paid for | Salaried employees | Yes |
| Deduction against commission income | Commission employees | Yes |
What is a T2200 claim actually worth?
Less than people hope. A deduction shrinks taxable income, so what returns to you is a slice of the claim at your tax rate.
Say you have $65,000 of taxable income and $1,500 of eligible home office costs. In Ontario the engine behind our income tax calculator puts combined federal and Ontario tax about $444.75 lower, which is 29.65% of the claim. In Saskatchewan the same claim saves $495, because the combined rate on that slice is 33%. We used 2026 rates, so treat the result as a rough guide to the scale.
The marginal tax rate calculator shows the rate on your own next dollar. If you want to see the effect on a refund, run the tax refund calculator with and without the deduction.
How do you ask your employer for one?
Keep it short and put it in an email so there’s a record. Say which year you need it for, that you work from home under their arrangement, and that you pay these costs yourself. Ask them to confirm whether any costs are reimbursed. Many payroll teams only handle these in January or February, so sending the request in the fall, or even now, saves you a scramble at tax time.
If your arrangement changed partway through the year, mention the dates. A form that matches what really happened is worth more than a fast one.
What goes wrong with home office claims?
The big one is claiming costs your employer paid back. The CRA says you can’t deduct anything that was, or will be, reimbursed. A phone allowance or a desk your company bought doesn’t count as your expense.
Next, the paperwork. Keep the signed T2200 and your receipts together. The CRA says you don’t include the form with your return but should keep it in case they ask.
And what if your employer won’t sign? We couldn’t find an official CRA page that says what to do, so we won’t guess. Ask in writing, point to the conditions above, and if the answer is no, the claim is off the table.
Sales tax is easy to overlook. The CRA says employment expenses include the GST, PST or HST you paid, and you may be able to get a rebate of the GST/HST on form GST370. Self-employed people follow a different path, so try the self-employed tax calculator if that is you.
The sources behind this page
The rules above come from the Canada Revenue Agency pages on form T2200, home office expenses for employees and employment expenses (T4044). The tax figures come from our calculators, which use the 2026 federal, Ontario and Saskatchewan rates from the CRA payroll and rates pages. We haven’t checked anything a specific employer does. This is an independent guide, separate from any government body.
Frequently asked questions
Do I send the T2200 to the CRA?
No. The CRA says you don't include it with your return, but you should keep it in case they ask to see it.
Who completes the T2200?
Your employer. You ask for it, then check that what it says matches your real working conditions.
Can I use the flat rate method for home office?
Not for 2023 and later tax years. The temporary flat rate method ended, so the claim now uses the T2200 and the T777.
Do I need a T2200 if I'm self-employed?
No. It is for employees. Self-employed people claim business expenses on their own forms.
Can I claim costs my employer paid back?
No. The CRA says you can't deduct expenses that were or will be reimbursed.
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