Delean: Readers Ask About Claiming Home Office Expenses And More

Other questions involve claims for medical expenses and the tax implications of the check Ottawa sent to seniors last month.

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The tax treatment of medical expenses and the federal government’s August check to retirees were some of the issues raised in letters from recent readers. This is what they wanted to know.

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Q: I am a salaried employee with labor expenses. Currently, I am renting in the country so I am discounting the rent payments. Next year, I will own a condo downtown (still under construction). When I’m ready, I’ll be splitting the time between the two of you, working on both. Can I deduct the expenses of the employees of both places?

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TO: It would be complicated. A home office is a place where you are supposed to work at least 50 percent of the time. How would you divide it in half? Better to just designate a place. Also remember that expenses should be proportional to the hours actually worked at that location and that as a salaried employee you have more limitations on what you can claim than someone who is self-employed. The easiest solution, while it lasts, is the simplified home office deduction introduced in 2020 by the federal and provincial governments. While it didn’t seem like much initially, the $ 2-a-day deduction for those who worked from home at least 50 percent of the time for at least four consecutive weeks due to the pandemic was actually more beneficial to many than the formula. for detailed calculations. Naturally, you cannot claim it for the same day at two locations.

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Q: My daughter is a dental student who will not graduate for two more years. He underwent expensive laser eye surgery last year. How long can you wait before claiming this as a medical expense? Your current income as a student is minimal, so a claim now makes no sense. Can you claim this on your taxes several years from now when you start working full time?

TO: Unfortunately, this is not how it works with medical expenses. There is only a two year window to claim them. (Any 12-month period ending in the calendar year can be used, so you could use January 1 as the end date and effectively claim 2020 expenses in 2021.) If your daughter paid the expenses herself, the tax credit is lost on her federal return because she does not have enough income to use it. But if you or your spouse paid, it can count as a medical expense for you. It goes on line 33199 of the federal return (Allowable amount of medical expenses for other dependents), which is for dependents over 18 years of age. By the way, those other dependents can include parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts and uncles, even nieces and nephews, if you paid their bills. Revenue Quebec takes a similar approach. If you paid for your daughter’s surgery, you can claim it as a medical expense as long as she meets the definition of a dependent and “normally” lived with you in the year the expenses were incurred. (You would qualify, for example, if you returned home after temporarily living elsewhere during the school year.) If she paid for the surgery herself and her earned income in the claim year exceeded $ 3,175, she may be eligible for a refundable reimbursement. Tax credit for part of the expense (Line 462 of the provincial return) by completing Part D of Schedule B. Otherwise, the expense will not help you, as far as taxes are concerned.