Form T2200 (Declaration of Conditions of Employment) confirms an employee's work terms and conditions. It is particularly relevant for those employees who might be eligible to claim deductions for work-related expenses in their personal tax returns.
The Canada Revenue Agency has released the 2023 version with updates, including:
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A new directive in Section 6:" If the employee only had home office expenses, skip to Employer Declaration section."
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A new inquiry has been incorporated in Section 13 "Did you require the employee, as a condition of employment, to provide a power saw (including a chain saw or tree trimmer)?"
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The CRA will accept an electronic signature.
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A reorganization of some sections.
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For consistency, some terminology has been revised without impacting the compliance aspect of the form.
Employers are advised to be ready to issue a T2200 form to any employee who meets the following criteria:
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They have employment terms that necessitate incurring personal expenses while executing their duties.
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It is foreseeable that they will claim these employment-related expenses as deductions on their personal tax returns.
Regarding the home office expenses, the CRA specifies on the T4044 Guide that employees are eligible to deduct home office expenses they pay if they worked from home more than 50 percent of the time for at least four consecutive weeks and the expenses were directly related to their work. This provision alleviates the requirement for employers to meticulously track the employee's work location over an extended period.
The CRA clarified in its 2023 eligibility criteria that for 2023, “if an employee has voluntarily entered into a formal telework arrangement with their employer, the employee is considered to have been required to work from home” since any decision by an employee to work from a home office indicates that the employer has agreed to the arrangement, regardless of how it was established, whether in writing or verbally.
The now expired T2200S form (Declaration of Conditions of Employment for Working at Home Due to COVID-19) and the flat-rate method, are no longer applicable for the 2023 tax year.