If you are required to work at home and you have set aside a room or part of your home to be occupied for purposes of your “trade”, you may be allowed to deduct certain home office expenses for tax purposes calculated on a pro-rata basis. A room or “part” of your home or dwelling will be considered to be occupied for the purposes of trade if both of the following requirements are met:
- Such part is specifically equipped for the purposes of your trade, namely your employment, profession, etc.; and
- Such part is regularly and exclusively used for the purposes of your trade.
Importantly, in addition to the above requirements, should the room/part of your home/dwelling meet the above requirements and your tradeconstitutes employment or holding of an office (i.e. you are a salaried employee), a tax deduction will only be granted to you in respect of your home office expenses if:
a) the income from your employment or office is derived mainly (i.e. more than 50%) from commission or other variable payments and you do not perform your duties mainly (more than 50% of the time) in an office provided by your employer; or
b) you mainly (more than 50% of your working time) perform your duties in your home office (i.e. that room/part of your home/dwelling that is occupied for purposes of trade). No deduction is allowed when salaried employees perform only some duties at home but work mainly from an office provided by their employers (such as teachers, for example).