You can deduct certain expenses (including any GST/HST) you paid to earn employment income. You can do this only if your employment contract required you to pay the expenses and you did not receive an allowance for them, or the allowance you received is included in your income.
Most employees cannot claim employment expenses. You cannot deduct the cost of travel to and from work, or other expenses, such as most tools and clothing.
You have to keep records for each year you claim expenses. These records must include all the following:
- a daily record of your expenses, together with your receipts and any cancelled cheques;
- any ticket stubs for travel;
- invoices;
- any monthly credit card statements; and
- a record of each motor vehicle you used for employment. This record must show both the total kilometres you drove and the kilometres you drove for employment purposes in the year.
You can deduct salary or wages you included in income for 2016 or a previous year, if you repaid them in 2016.
This includes amounts you repaid for a period when you were entitled to receive wage-loss replacement benefits or workers’ compensation benefits. However, you cannot deduct more than the income you received when you did not perform the duties of your employment.
Piligrim Accounting Inc. professional bookkeepers of Toronto will help you to submit proper forms to claim eligible employment expenses.