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What you can deduct on your taxes if you work from home

  • <p><strong>Cleaning supplies.</strong> Just as in a conventional office, maintenance costs are legitimate write-offs—provided they’re for your workspace only, not for other areas of your home that you may have spruced up during a recent reno. (Collin Anderson/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    1/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Cleaning supplies. Just as in a conventional office, maintenance costs are legitimate write-offs—provided they’re for your workspace only, not for other areas of your home that you may have spruced up during a recent reno. (Collin Anderson/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Paint, light bulbs, and garbage bags.</strong> These are considered maintenance costs, with paint included if you’ve given your home office a fresh coat. (James Bowe/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    2/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Paint, light bulbs, and garbage bags. These are considered maintenance costs, with paint included if you’ve given your home office a fresh coat. (James Bowe/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Cleaning services.</strong> If you have a cleaning person or company tidy your home office, you can claim a portion of the cost. (Lory Lindner/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    3/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Cleaning services. If you have a cleaning person or company tidy your home office, you can claim a portion of the cost. (Lory Lindner/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Electricity, heating, and gas or utilities.</strong> People who work from home are not expected to work in the dark or under a blanket. (Anthony Easton/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    4/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Electricity, heating, and gas or utilities. People who work from home are not expected to work in the dark or under a blanket. (Anthony Easton/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Telephone and Internet.</strong> (Billy Brown/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    5/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Telephone and Internet. (Billy Brown/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Property taxes.</strong> A portion of this expense is okay to claim, but mortgage interest is not. (David Sawyer/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    6/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Property taxes. A portion of this expense is okay to claim, but mortgage interest is not. (David Sawyer/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Strata/condo fees.</strong> (Kyle Pearce/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    7/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Strata/condo fees. (Kyle Pearce/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Rent and home insurance.</strong> Again, it’s just a portion of these costs you can claim, not the entire monthly amount. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    8/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Rent and home insurance. Again, it’s just a portion of these costs you can claim, not the entire monthly amount. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Supplies.</strong> Just as at a corporate space, the cost of items such as pens, pencils, paper clips, stationary, and stamps are write-offs. These don’t need to be pro-rated and can be deducted in full. Printer paper, toner cartridges, and a business phone also fall into this category. (Dean Hochman/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    9/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Supplies. Just as at a corporate space, the cost of items such as pens, pencils, paper clips, stationary, and stamps are write-offs. These don’t need to be pro-rated and can be deducted in full. Printer paper, toner cartridges, and a business phone also fall into this category. (Dean Hochman/Flickr)

  • <p><strong>Not all office items should be claimed as business expenses.</strong> Chairs, desks, filing cabinets, and even calculators fall under capital expenses, not business expenses. (Paul Lamere/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
    10/10

    Expenses you can write off when you work from home

    Not all office items should be claimed as business expenses. Chairs, desks, filing cabinets, and even calculators fall under capital expenses, not business expenses. (Paul Lamere/Flickr)

<p><strong>Cleaning supplies.</strong> Just as in a conventional office, maintenance costs are legitimate write-offs—provided they’re for your workspace only, not for other areas of your home that you may have spruced up during a recent reno. (Collin Anderson/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Paint, light bulbs, and garbage bags.</strong> These are considered maintenance costs, with paint included if you’ve given your home office a fresh coat. (James Bowe/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Cleaning services.</strong> If you have a cleaning person or company tidy your home office, you can claim a portion of the cost. (Lory Lindner/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Electricity, heating, and gas or utilities.</strong> People who work from home are not expected to work in the dark or under a blanket. (Anthony Easton/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Telephone and Internet.</strong> (Billy Brown/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Property taxes.</strong> A portion of this expense is okay to claim, but mortgage interest is not. (David Sawyer/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Strata/condo fees.</strong> (Kyle Pearce/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Rent and home insurance.</strong> Again, it’s just a portion of these costs you can claim, not the entire monthly amount. (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Supplies.</strong> Just as at a corporate space, the cost of items such as pens, pencils, paper clips, stationary, and stamps are write-offs. These don’t need to be pro-rated and can be deducted in full. Printer paper, toner cartridges, and a business phone also fall into this category. (Dean Hochman/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
<p><strong>Not all office items should be claimed as business expenses.</strong> Chairs, desks, filing cabinets, and even calculators fall under capital expenses, not business expenses. (Paul Lamere/<span>Flickr</span>) </p>
Gail Johnson

As the number of people working for themselves continues to grow, more Canadians are working from home. With tax season here, those stay-at-home workers will want to start thinking about what they can write off as tax expenses.

Be careful not to push your luck, however; outrageous expenses won’t fly.

“When we see things on the books that stand out, we bring it to clients’ attention, saying ‘This is going to be hammered in an audit, and you—not us—have to be able to justify that this is for business use,” says North Vancouver certified public accountant Christian Stewart of Stewart + Associates. “It’s a question of fact in many cases.”

And remember that can only deduct a portion of expenses incurred, relative to the part of your home you actually use to conduct business.

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“To calculate the percentage of workspace-in-the-home expenses you can deduct, use a reasonable basis, such as the area of the work space divided by the total finished area (including hallways, bathrooms, kitchens, etc.),” the Canada Revenue Agency says on its website.

For example, say your home has 2,000 total square feet of usable space and your home office takes up 200 square feet. The percentage of the home allocated for office space would be 10 per cent. If your total home-office expenses come to $20,000, your deduction would be $2,000.

Click through the gallery to see some expenses that the CRA does allow.