Update on T2200 Form

The following is a message from Naomi Andrew, Acting Vice-President (Administration):

On November 30, 2020 the Federal Government announced that the CRA will allow employees working from home in 2020 due to COVID-19 to claim up to $400, based on the amount of time working from home, without the need to track detailed expenses, and will generally not request that people provide a signed form from their employers. This Temporary Flat Rate Method will help taxpayers access deductions they are entitled to receive and simplify the tax filing process.

Further to that announcement, on December 15, 2020, the CRA provided additional information on how employees will be able to claim remote work expenses. Employees will have the option of using the “Temporary Flat Rate Method” described above or the “Detailed Method” which requires employees to track allowable expenses based on defined use criteria and the employer to provide a T2200 Short Form. Full information regarding the two options can be found here.

We encourage all employees to visit this site to learn more about their options and to determine which process will better meet their individual needs. To assist with this decision the site also includes a calculator specifically designed to assess eligible home office expenses. This will help employees to make an informed choice regarding whether the additional effort required to use the Detailed Method will be worthwhile for them.

While we believe that the Temporary Flat Rate Method will be welcome news for most of our employees given its ease of use and deduction level, we do understand that there may still be situations where the Detailed Method is preferred. In those cases the university will provide the T2200 Short Form.

A more comprehensive communication on our internal process for requesting forms will be sent to all staff following the winter break.