In order to claim home office expenses your home office must be the principal place of your business and you must use the space exclusively for business purposes on a consistent basis. To determine how much you can deduct for your home office expenses, calculate the size of your office as a percentage of your home’s total size. For example, if your home is 1,500 square meters and your office is 300 square meters, your office is 20% of your home’s total size, which means you are able to deduct 20% of many home expenses as home office expenses on your tax return.
The rules for claiming home office expenses depend heavily on your type of employment:
- Both self-employed individuals and eligible employees may claim expenses for heat, electricity, water, maintenance, and rent if applicable.
- Commission employees and the self-employed may also claim property taxes and insurance.
- Only self-employed taxpayers may claim mortgage interest as a home office expense.
Here is an informative article by the Government of Canada on the business use of home expenses.
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