Tax Tip 10

A lot of people think or are told and believe that they can deduct the expenses they incurred during the course of their employment (uniforms, safety boots, First Aid courses, parking etc.). The truth is that none of these can be claimed on your income tax return. Schedule 1 already provides individuals with the Canada Employment Amount in the amount of $1146 which means that if you earned $1146 or more in income, you are already claiming $1146 in Employment Expenses.

Transportation Employees (Truckers & Railway workers), Tradespersons who have to buy their own tools and employees required to use their vehicles or a home office as part of their contract may be entitled to claim Employment Expenses. However, in order to claim Employment Expenses, your employer must also complete form T2200 attesting to the fact that you do have to pay these expenses as part of your contract.

Motor Vehicle Expenses are the most popular Employment Expenses but there are very strict guidelines that must be followed in order to do so. An employee must keep logs of every single kilometre they claim as an employment expense, keep all receipts (gas, maintenance, insurance, licensing) and must take odometer readings on the first and last day of each year. This is a non-negotiable obligation if you wish to claim Motor Vehicle Expenses. You also must NOT have received reasonable reimbursements for the motor vehicle expenses (for 2015, Revenue Canada considers reasonable reimbursements as 54 cents for the first 5,000km and 48 cents for the remainder ergo average 51 cents per km) from your employer.

For more information on Employment Expenses, visit http://sauvetaxservices.ca/tax-tips-2/employment-expenses/