Memorandum from the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT)

New CRA Rules for Claiming Home Office Expenses due to COVID-19
for 2020 Tax Year

On December 15, Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced details of the new simplified process for claiming expenses related to working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new flat rate deduction is being introduced for expenses up to $400, and a simplified detailed deduction for those wishing to claim more than $400. To assist in the assessment of which method is best, CRA has launched this calculator.

Dear Colleagues,

We hope you have begun settling into the term. There is no need to engage in platitudes about extraordinary times or exhortations that we are all in this together and doing a great job. We entered the new academic year anxious about our students, our families, our jobs; we are not certain how well we’ll do in our teaching and research or other professional activities under current conditions. The world seems an endless series of epidemiological, climatic, social justice, economic, and political disasters. We’re all doing what we can; we’re doing what we hope is well enough . . .