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I bought a house in 2020. So in the middle of the year, I went from renting to owning. How do I claim my home office expenses?

 
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I bought a house in 2020. So in the middle of the year, I went from renting to owning. How do I claim my home office expenses?

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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