Home office expense deduction for 2022
If you worked from home during the last two years due to COVID-19, you may have taken advantage of the new temporary flat-rate method for claiming a home office expense deduction when you filed your 2021 or 2020 tax return. This method allowed a deduction of up to $500 in home office expenses ($400 in 2020), provided that you worked from home for at least four consecutive weeks in the year due to the pandemic, without the need to track detailed expenses or the requirement for a signed Form T2200 or T2200S from your employer. For 2022, the eligibility requirements and maximum deduction amount remain the same.
As with previous years, if you are self-employed, you have much more flexibility and can generally deduct reasonable expenses incurred to earn business income, such as stationery supplies used in the business. Self-employed individuals can also deduct workspace in home expenses if the workspace is either:
The individual’s principal place of business; or
Used exclusively to earn business income and used on a regular and continuous basis for meeting clients, customers, or patients of the individual in respect of the business.
Where one of these conditions are met, deductible amounts include the business use portion of a reasonable allocation of expenses related to your home office, including capital cost allowance, mortgage interest, and property taxes.