New CRA Guidance on Claiming Employment Expenses

Since March, many UBC employees have been working from home as a result of our response to COVID-19, and affected employees have been asking whether UBC will be issuing Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) T2200 tax forms.

In a typical tax year, these forms would allow employees to claim certain working-from-home expenses when filing their income tax returns.

CRA requirements for the T2200 include: an employment contract that specifies the requirement to work from home as a condition of employment, and an obligation for employees to pay for certain expenses out of pocket. In a typical year, these forms are not widely issued at UBC, as the university does not typically require employees whose contract specifies that they work from home to pay their own expenses.

Recognizing the special circumstances of the 2020 tax year, the CRA has just announced two new streamlined tax relief options for those who have moved to working from home:

• Option 1: A simple flat-rate process that is included as part of completing the T1 general return. This special schedule will allow employees with modest expenses to claim up to $400 based on their amount of time working from home — without the need to track detailed expenses.
• Option 2: The T2200S — a simplified application of the T2200 process that will allow staff and faculty to claim expenses with receipts using a new simplified form provided by the employer.

Updated information for the UBC community is now available on the Claiming Employment Expenses page, and more information about the tax relief options is available on the CRA website.

More information on how UBC will be issuing the T2200S for affected employees, as well as further details for the UBC community, will be shared through an update for faculty and staff early in the new year.