In late August 2020, the Canada Revenue Agency (“CRA”) sought the assistance of TEI’s Canadian Income Tax Committee in obtaining broad-based feedback from TEI members across Canada on the CRA’s initiative to clarify whether employees required to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic can claim home office expense deductions. A significant part of this initiative will be the introduction of a new, simplified version of Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment for Working at Home During COVID-19 (“Form T2200 Short”), to make it easier for employers to complete the form for their employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.
On September 15, 2020, following an intensive effort to survey TEI members working for companies in different industries across Canada, TEI’s Canadian Income Committee submitted a compilation of responsive, actionable comments to the CRA concerning the draft form. Given the unprecedented number of employees working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, these comments urged the CRA to take a number of specific, additional steps to streamline and clarify the information that employers would be required to report on Form T2200 Short, consistent with the requirements of the Income Tax Act.
TEI’s Canadian Income Tax Committee facilitated the compilation of our members’ feedback under the leadership of its Chair, Kurtis L. Bond. Principal responsibility for preparing these comments was exercised by Watson M. McLeish, TEI Tax Counsel.
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Committee