Hello,
I am a salaried employee working remotely. I am considering getting a membership in a coworking space as my home situation is not really suitable for setting up a home office. Logically, I would like to think that such an expense would be tax deductible as the coworking space would be used exclusively for work purpose.
My contract stipulates that I am working from home and my employer is filling T2200 with a Yes answer to this question:
“Did this employee’s contract require them to pay their own expenses while carrying out the duties
of employment?”
However, they are answering No to this one:
“Did this employee’s contract of employment require them to:
• rent an office away from your place of business?”
Because of that, I cannot use the standard tax deduction for an external office (also, my contract does not mandate me to rent one). Is there a chance a coworking space could pass as “home office” tax deductible expense or would I need my contract / T2200 to be updated and use the standard external office deduction?
Hi Olivier,
very interesting question which I unfortunately cannot answer properly, maybe @Cailan_Happipad could?
Here in Europe you have atm 2 options: Getting the standard tax deduction pretending you have a home office (enough room required) or subscribing with a hybrid work service/ coworking platform to get tax reduction for work expenses counted as equipment.
You should also talk to your employer to update the T2200, that is the easiest solution.
Typically for home-office you can deduct a percentage of your homes rental cost. You could also go about claiming it this way which may be similar deduction to what you pay for a coworking desk space.
I suggest talking to a talk professional or your accountant.
Thank you both.
I talked to two professionals and even they don’t agree on how to deduct the expense. One said to try passing it off as home expenses, the other one said to go with the external office (update to T2200). I am trying to get my employer to agree changing my contract and update the T2200 as this seems the safest way, but it’s not clear they’ll agree, in which case I’ll revert the first approach.
Thanks again!
Olivier
I would love to know the resolution to whether you were able to deduct the expense. I am about the join a co-working space as a hybrid worker even though I have a desk at home, because I have been struggling focusing on work at my home office.
It’s costly, but I think better for my wellbeing and productivity; it would be great if the cost could be deducted from my income for tax purposes!