In honour of another year of Taxes!
Okay, official filing begins on the 21st of February.
Some updates for another unconventional year of tax filings:
1) Work From Home
Obviously this is a big one, if you were working from home you have 2 options available to you.
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- T777S
This is the simplified WFH Tax credit, you receive a standard credit for every day you worked from home.
This is a simplified method, there is no requirement for employers to fill out the T2200 or T2200S. Just number of days worked from home and you're off to the races.
- T777
This is the full form, it also encompasses other related expenses such as cell phone usage, office expenses, etc.
To qualify for this you will need a T2200 or T2200S signed by your employer depending on the expenses you want to claim.
You cannot use form T777 without a signed T2200 from your employer. This is very important.
You will be entitled to deduct, per your employer's sign-off, Utilities, Maintenance and incidental office-related expenses. All of these will be pro-rated by the size of your Working Office Space relative to the total square footage of your home.
2) Employment Travel
Once again, not much has changed in relation to employees requiring to Travel for work, however due to the Pandemic and WFH orders and Travel Restrictions it has been reported that Travel expenses will be looked at more closely by CRA.
So make sure you have your T2200 completed and signed and be sure that all claimed Travel expenses are well documented.
3) Eligible Educator School Supply Tax Credit
This is fairly simple and has been in place for one tax season already. If you are a teacher and you buy supplies you are eligible to claim them up to a maximum of $1,000.
HOWEVER! As of this moment this Tax Credit for the 2021 Filing Season has NOT received Royal Assent!
What this means is that if you're a teacher claiming this credit prior to Royal Assent it will be reviewed and potentially denied. You will be requested to provide receipts.
Or you can file your return without claiming this credit and then amend later to apply assuming it receives Royal Assent.
4) Climate Action Incentive
This was included on Tax Returns as a Refundable amount and included in any refund received over the past 2 years but that program has been modified so if you see that reduction in your refund, expect that.
Alright. Happy Taxes everyone.