CUPFA does not provide financial or tax advice; members are advised to use the services of certified professionals. The following information is intended to help members access information provided by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), Revenue Quebec (RQ), and Concordia University, our employer.
Reminders:
- Home Office expenses can be assigned only once – either to the 2020 500$ reimbursement or CRA/RQ deductions (flat-rate or detailed method), or Small Claims.
- Official Home Office forms – download from myconcordia as needed – see #4 below. Contact Eric Major at eric.major@concordia.ca with further questions about tax forms (not Suzanne Downs).
Q&A + COMPREHENSIVE INFO about HOME OFFICE DEDUCTIONS for 2020 – on C-Space:
https://cspace.concordia.ca/services/budget-expenses-finance/temporary-protocols.html
- 2020 Home Office expenses / deductions:
- 500$ reimbursement (2020 one-time, non-taxable benefit from our employer):Explanatory slides also identify claims best suited to 500$ reimbursement vs. calculating CRA/RQ Home Office deductions.
Employees do not report the reimbursement as income but must keep receipts in case of a CRA/RQ audit to justify the use of the full 500$ for items related to working from home.
- CRA simplified home office deductions for 2020:Employees who worked from home under certain conditions in 2020 due to COVID-19 can use
- A new, temporary flat rate deduction for 2020 work-from-home expenses up to $400.
- A simplified detailed deduction for eligible, documented claims exceeding $400.
- Revenue Quebec employment expenses related to teleworking:Employees who teleworked in 2020 because of COVID-19 can use
- A temporary fixed rate method
- A detailed, documented method to claim a deduction for employment expenses. In the link below, scroll down to info in sections “Employment expenses related to teleworking” and “How do I deduct teleworking-related employment expenses?” :
https://www.revenuquebec.ca/en/coronavirus-disease-covid-19/faq-for-individuals/
- Individualized forms for CRA & RQ deductions:Concordia has posted personalized versions of the new simplified T2200S and TP-64.3 (2020-10) forms in our Myconcordia portals for use with detailed home office claims.
www.myconcordia.ca → Employee Services → Staff Services → Employee Self Service → Tax T2200 Form
- CUPFA’s Annual Small Claims process (deadline January 15): Small Claims: CUPFA covers costs directly related to teaching and helps offset minor research and training expenses. To be eligible, members must have a contract in the academic year of the application (May 1- April 30); have a minimum of 12 seniority credits, and be a CUPFA member at the time of application.
