Thanks for offering this service. My company in March of 2020 sent employees away to work from home. Some employees have been called back. My team has not. The company has never officially said my team is now a work from home team even though I have not worked a day in the office since March of 2020. Am I able to get tax relief since I will have been working from home all of 2021? If so what can I claim?

TurboTax

File with experts
File your taxes
Experts at your fingertips

An expert helps with your taxes, or does them for you
TurboTax Expert Full Service

TurboTax Expert Assist

TurboTax Self-Employed
Prior year taxes
File myself
File myself
Do it yourself

We'll guide you step-by-step
TurboTax Do It Yourself

TurboTax Self-Employed

TurboTax Desktop
TurboTax Free

Activate your product

Prior year taxes
Business
Business
Business taxes

Get your T2 corporate return done right, your way
TurboTax Business

TurboTax Business Desktop
Tax situations
Tax situations
Tax situations

Find extra guidance for your big life moves
For investors

For 25 and younger

For self-employed

For new to Canada

For life changes
Resources
Resources
Resources

Explore tax tools, get tips, and read reviews
Personal income tax calculator

RRSP savings calculator

Learning hub

TurboTax support (FAQ)

TurboTax community
Pricing

ajolley42

Level 1

Question

Working location change now from home

3 replies
44 views

Thanks for offering this service. My company in March of 2020 sent employees away to work from home. Some employees have been called back. My team has not. The company has never officially said my team is now a work from home team even though I have not worked a day in the office since March of 2020. Am I able to get tax relief since I will have been working from home all of 2021? If so what can I claim?

xmasbaby0

Level 15

No----W-2 employees cannot get any federal deduction for job-related expenses, although some state tax laws may vary. The tax laws that changed for 2018 and beyond eliminated job-related expenses as a federal deduction.

https://ttlc.intuit.com/questions/4482873-which-federal-tax-deductions-have-been-suspended-by-tax-reform

**Disclaimer: Every effort has been made to offer the most correct information possible. The poster disclaims any legal responsibility for the accuracy of the information that is contained in this post.**

Critter-3

Level 15

Your benefits for working at home will not show on the tax return but it is the money you saved on things like gas, car insurance(you should have called the insurance to let them know your mileage was reduced significantly), wear and tear on the car, eating out costs, not to mention the clothing/laundry costs (since you didn't have to wash them or yourself 😉 as often ). Yes you may have incurred an increase in the electric bill and water bill for the extra flushing of the toilet but you still came out way ahead.

Opus 17

Level 15

Your company is free to reimburse you for part or all of your costs. If they do it via a "non-accountable plan", then the reimbursement is part of your taxable income. If they use an "accountable plan" where you prove your work-related expenses with receipts and other proof, then the reimbursement is not taxable income.

They are not required to reimburse you under federal law. Whether they might owe you something under state law would depend on your state laws, employment contract, and so on. (For example, in New York, if an employee's expenses would bring their net income below the minimum wage, the employer must reimburse the expenses or give the employee a raise.)

There are no tax breaks for regular employees working at home.