Many businesses started the pandemic anticipating employees
would have to work from home as a temporary arrangement, however,
many are now considering more permanent shifts to employees working
from home.
Now is a good time to consider whether you can claim expenses in
relation to your workspace at home and what expenses may be
eligible.
Who can claim home office expenses?
Under the current tax rules, you must (1) complete more than 50%
of your employment duties from your workspace at home or (2) the
home office must be used on a regular and continuous basis to meet
with clients.
Your employer must agree that you were required to fulfill your
employment function through your home office. Given that many
businesses are requiring employees to work remotely, this should
not be a difficult position to take for the 2020 taxation
year. However, on a go-forward basis you may want to review
your employee contract or your company's employee
manual/work-from-home
