Employee Home Office Expenses in Québec (2026): T2200 and TP-64.3

Hybrid work is now the norm for many Montréal employees, yet the tax rules on working from home are stricter than most people assume. The simple flat rate is gone, two employer forms are needed, the Québec return has its own form and line, and the list of deductible expenses is shorter for employees than for the self-employed. This guide explains who qualifies in 2026, what you can claim as a salaried or commission employee, how to calculate it on the federal T777 and Québec TP-59, how to recover part of the sales taxes, and how the employee rules differ from the self-employed rules. It reflects the guidance published by the CRA and Revenu Québec as of November 9, 2026, and the amounts in the examples are illustrative.

Can employees still deduct home office expenses in 2026?

Yes, but only with the detailed method. For 2020, 2021 and 2022, the CRA allowed a temporary flat rate of $2 per day worked from home (up to $400 for 2020 and $500 for 2021 and 2022) without receipts or an employer form, and Québec had a similar temporary deduction. The CRA confirms that the temporary flat rate method does not apply to 2023 and later years, and Revenu Québec states that from 2023 the COVID-19 teleworking deduction was abolished. For 2026, you claim the actual amounts you paid, supported by receipts, with signed employer forms.

Who can claim home office expenses as an employee?

Federally, you must meet all of these conditions for the detailed method:

1. Your employer required you to work from home. The requirement does not have to be in your employment contract; a written or verbal agreement is enough, and the CRA considers that an employee who voluntarily entered into a formal telework arrangement was required to work from home.
2. You were required to pay the expenses related to the work space, and they were not, and will not be, reimbursed.
3. One of two use tests applies: you worked more than 50% of the time from the work space for a period of at least four consecutive weeks in the year, or the space is used only to earn employment income and regularly and continually for in-person meetings with clients, customers or others.
4. Your employer completed and signed Form T2200, Declaration of Conditions of Employment.

You can have more than one eligible period in a year, and you claim the expenses paid during those periods only.

What Québec requires

Québec’s Taxation Act (sections 62.1 to 62.3) applies the same two use tests: the space must be where you principally perform your duties, which Revenu Québec’s guide IN-118 describes as more than 50% (the guide does not repeat the CRA’s four-consecutive-week period), or it must be used exclusively for your employment and regularly and continuously for meeting clients or others. Your employment contract must require you to pay the expenses, and your employer must complete Form TP-64.3, General Terms and Conditions of Employment, which asks, among other things, whether you were required to maintain an office at home and whether you worked there more than 50% of the time. The Taxation Act (section 78 for salaried employees, section 64.3 for commission employees) requires that this form be sent to Revenu Québec with your return, while the federal T2200 is kept in your records and given to the CRA only on request.

Examples of work arrangements

The T2200 and TP-64.3: what your employer signs

Ask for both employer forms early in the year after the tax year, especially in larger organizations where HR issues them in batches. An employer is not obliged to sign that you were required to work from home if that was not the case.

What home office expenses can employees claim?

Revenu Québec’s IN-118 guide uses the same list: maintenance costs (heating, electricity, water, lighting, cleaning products, minor repairs) and rent are deductible for all employees; insurance premiums and property taxes are deductible only for commission employees; mortgage interest, capital cost allowance and the rental value of an owned home are not deductible. The reasonable share of an internet plan attributable to your duties is deductible as a telecommunication expense. If you and your spouse both qualify, each expense can be claimed only once, but you can share it however you like as long as the total is not more than what you paid.

How do you calculate the work space percentage?

Both the CRA and Revenu Québec accept any reasonable basis, usually floor area:

• Designated room used only for work: area of the room ÷ total finished area of the home (including hallways, kitchen and bathrooms, but not an unfinished basement or garage).
• Shared space, such as a corner of the living room: area ÷ total finished area, multiplied by the hours you work there each week ÷ 168 hours.

Then apply the percentage only to expenses paid during the eligible periods, and only to the employment share if the room is also used personally.

Shared space example: you work 40 hours a week at a 150 sq ft dining area in a 1,000 sq ft condo. 150 ÷ 1,000 = 15%; 15% × 40 ÷ 168 = 3.57% of eligible expenses.

Worked example: a salaried employee renting in Montréal

Julie is a salaried analyst. Under a formal telework arrangement, she works from home three days a week for all of 2026, and her employer signs the T2200 and TP-64.3 confirming she must pay her own home office costs. She rents a 1,000 sq ft apartment in Villeray and uses a 120 sq ft spare room only for work, so her work space is 12%. Her employment income is $75,000, and she has no other employment expenses.

• Federal: Julie enters the expenses in the work-space-in-the-home section of Form T777 and reports $2,822.40 on line 22900.
• Québec: on Form TP-59, rent and electricity go in Part 5 (home office expenses), and the internet share is entered with her other employment expenses; the total, $2,822.40, goes on line 207 of her TP-1, and she attaches Form TP-64.3.
• Limit: her employment income far exceeds the claim, so the whole amount is deductible this year.

The tax saving equals the deduction times her marginal federal and Québec rates. If she owned the apartment instead of renting, she could not deduct mortgage interest, property taxes or insurance as a salaried employee, and her deduction would fall to the electricity and internet shares plus minor repairs.

Commission employee who owns a condo

Marc sells software on commission and works from a home office that is 10% of his condo. He pays $1,200 of electricity, $400 of minor repairs, $600 of home insurance and $3,600 of property taxes. As a salaried employee, he could deduct 10% of $1,600 = $160. As a commission employee, he can add 10% of $4,200 = $420, for a total of $580. The insurance and property tax share ($420) is deductible only up to the commissions earned in the year; electricity, minor repairs and other home office costs are not subject to that cap. If total expenses exceed commissions, it can be better to claim as a salaried employee instead.

Limits: no employment loss, but a carryforward

Home office expenses cannot create or increase a loss from employment. The claim is limited to employment income after all other employment expenses and deductions (Revenu Québec also subtracts registered pension plan contributions and salary repayments). Any excess is carried forward to the next year: federally, against income from the same employer; in Québec, against income from the same employment. The TP-59 has dedicated lines for the amount carried forward from the previous year and the amount carried to the next.

Getting part of the GST and QST back: GST370 and VD-358

If your employer is registered for the GST/HST and the QST, you can recover the sales taxes included in the employment expenses you deducted:

• Federal (Form GST370): the rebate is 5/105 of eligible expenses on which you paid GST. You file the form with your return and enter the amount on line 45700. You have four years after the end of the year to apply. The rebate is not available if your employer is a listed financial institution.
• Québec (Form VD-358): the rebate factor is 0.0907 of eligible expenses that included QST, and the result goes on line 459 of your TP-1. The rebate is available only if your employer is registered for the QST, and not if your employer is a designated financial institution.

Residential rent is exempt from GST and QST, so it does not count. In Julie’s example, only electricity and internet carried taxes: ($129.60 + $100.80) × 5/105 = $10.97 of GST and $230.40 × 0.0907 = $20.90 of QST. The rebates matter more for employees with large taxable expenses, such as commission salespeople with vehicles and leased equipment.

Allowances, reimbursements and equipment from your employer

You cannot deduct any expense that your employer reimbursed or will reimburse. If you receive a fixed home office allowance, check your T4 and RL-1: Revenu Québec treats expenses covered by a reasonable allowance that was not included in your income as ineligible for the QST rebate, and the same logic applies to the deduction, since you would be claiming costs that someone else paid. If the allowance was added to your employment income, you can claim your actual eligible expenses in the usual way. Equipment your employer lends you, such as a laptop, a monitor or a chair, has no tax consequence for you, and you cannot deduct anything for it. If you buy your own equipment because your employer refuses to provide it, it is still a capital purchase that employees cannot deduct.

Moving or changing work space during the year

If you moved, or used a different room for part of the year, calculate each work space separately: the CRA’s calculator asks you to run it once per location and add the results on a single T777. Do the same on the TP-59. Expenses paid outside your eligible periods, such as the summer months you spent back at the office full time, are excluded even if the room stayed set up as an office.

What records should you keep?

The CRA asks you to keep the T2200 and all receipts and supporting documents for six years, and Revenu Québec can ask for the same proof. Keep your lease or rent receipts, Hydro-Québec and internet bills, receipts for minor repairs and supplies, a simple floor plan showing the area calculation, your telework agreement or the email confirming it, and a calendar of the days you worked from home if your arrangement changed during the year. If you prefer to check your Québec numbers first, the Ministère des Finances offers an online calculator that helps complete Parts 2 and 5 of Form TP-59.

Common mistakes with employee home office claims

• Using the $2-a-day flat rate for 2023 or later. It no longer exists federally or in Québec.
• Claiming without a T2200 or TP-64.3, or with forms signed by someone who is not authorized by the employer.
• Forgetting to attach the TP-64.3 to the Québec return.
• Working from home by choice without a written or verbal arrangement with the employer.
• Claiming the whole year when you met the 50% test for only part of it.
• Deducting mortgage interest, property taxes or insurance as a salaried employee.
• Deducting a desk, chair or laptop. Employees cannot claim capital purchases or CCA on them.
• Claiming amounts your employer reimbursed, including a home office allowance paid for those costs.
• Both spouses claiming the same rent or hydro bill in full.
• Not keeping records. Keep receipts, the floor plan calculation and the employer forms for six years.

Employee or self-employed: how the home office rules differ

The Québec 50% restriction is a self-employed rule; it does not apply to employees. If you also run a side business from the same room, you must split the space between the two uses and claim each share under its own rules. See our guides to self-employed tax in Québec and self-employed deductions, and, if you are not sure which you are, employee or independent contractor in Québec.

How we can help

We prepare federal and Québec returns for employees with home office, vehicle and other employment expenses: we check the T2200 and TP-64.3, calculate the work space percentage, complete T777 and TP-59, carry forward unused amounts and file the GST370 and VD-358 rebates. A tax professional reviews every return. Personal returns start at $300 (personal tax returns). See pricing or contact us, and read our guide to the personal tax return in Québec and how long to keep your tax records.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• CRA – Home office expenses for employees
• CRA – What the changes are (flat rate not available from 2023)
• CRA – Eligibility criteria, detailed method
• CRA – Expenses you can claim (and limitations)
• CRA – How to claim (T777, T2200)
• CRA – GST/HST rebate for employees and partners: calculate the rebate (GST370)
• CRA – GST/HST rebate for employees and partners: how to apply
• Revenu Québec – Form TP-64.3, General Terms and Conditions of Employment
• Revenu Québec – Form TP-59, Employment Expenses for a Salaried or Commission Employee
• Revenu Québec – Guide IN-118, Dépenses d’emploi
• Revenu Québec – TP-59.S (COVID-19 teleworking deduction abolished from 2023)
• Revenu Québec – Line 207, employment expenses of a salaried employee (point 7)
• Revenu Québec – Form VD-358, QST rebate for employees and partners
• Légis Québec – Taxation Act (I-3), sections 62.1 to 62.3, 64.3, 78 and 175.5
• Québec.ca – Estimate the deduction for teleworking expenses

Keep reading

• Self-Employed Tax in Québec (2026): Rates, Deadlines, T2125, TP-80
• Self-Employed Tax Deductions in Québec: The Complete 2026 List
• How to File Your Tax Return in Québec: 2026 Tax Year Guide
• Employee or Independent Contractor in Québec? Tests and Risks (2026)
• How Long to Keep Tax and Business Records in Québec and Canada