The Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") recently
announced two new, more streamlined options for the 2020 tax year
in order for employees to claim deductions for employment expenses
related to working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a
result of these new options, employers will need to decide how to
facilitate this process and, in particular, whether to issue a
"T2200S" form (as defined below) to each eligible
employee.
The new options have been adapted from the existing method under
the Income Tax Act (Canada) for
eligible employees who are required to pay their own expenses while
carrying out employment duties to claim a deduction ("Standard
Method"). The Standard Method has established eligibility
criteria, applies to a broader range of employment expenses
(e.g., motor vehicle expenses) and involves a
more comprehensive set of forms that must be completed by the
employee and employer, including the multi-page Form
T2200, Declaration of Conditions
