Tax deductions for home-based employee

[haggis88]

Hey team, just wanted to ask on here before I seek out an accountant, so I have some knowledge of whether it's even worth it first.

So I work for a major US company, as a field technician, but am based from home here in Calgary and am paid in CAD$ from our Canadian "department" in Montreal (2 HR women in an office building).

Most of my work related expenses are charged to the company credit card, so i'm not out of pocket for those.

My question is in regards to the ability to 'write off' some of the personal expenses that I do not get reimbursed for, such as the office space in my house, portion of my internet bill since I require internet access to work, travel in my personal vehicle to the airport and anything that I may not be thinking of right now.

Can I do this as an employee? I know some of my contractor buddies are able to do this as they're running their own businesses essentially.

Also, If I am able, I'd like to see a decent accountant to help me with this as it will be my first time filing a tax return with this sort of stuff on it, so recommendations would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[Xtrema]

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/t...rkspc-eng.html

Very limited but doable.

Don't bother with car unless that's what you do for a living (multiple clients, locations, jobs). Driving to and from place of work usually doesn't count.

[Mckenzie]

That may be difficult as an employee without your employer backing you up on necessity of employment expenses which are generally not written off (versus a contracted job which can bring a host of deductions). Read here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/employmentexpenses/
and here: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/t.../menu-eng.html

A contractor could pick a defensible home office deduction based on a pro-rated amount of the total annual cost of your residence and charge mileage, not expenses. Pretty limited unless it's your lifestyle (heavily focsed on clients and sales activities).

[JDMMAN]

There is a form which your HR department can complete for you which states your vehicle is required for work purposes as it relates to you earning income. You will however need to track all your mileage. (as an employee) As for the home office component etc., unless you're a contractor, I believe it would be difficult to be able to claim those expenses.

[Xtrema]

Originally posted by JDMMAN
There is a form which your HR department can complete for you which states your vehicle is required for work purposes as it relates to you earning income. You will however need to track all your mileage. (as an employee) As for the home office component etc., unless you're a contractor, I believe it would be difficult to be able to claim those expenses.

Only if the company isn't compensating you for the mileage.

[JDMMAN]

Yes Xtrema is correct. Only valid if you're not being compensated already (i.e. claiming mileage)

[never]

You should talk to your company about reimbursing you for your home office space. We have a few employees that work remotely out of home offices and have some of their home office costs covered.