Employment Expenses
What employees can deduct with a T2200, including vehicle, supplies, commission and tradesperson tools.
The short version
- Employees can only deduct work costs the law specifically allows, and almost always only with form T2200 (or T2200S) signed by the employer.
- Common ones: vehicle costs for travel away from your employer's workplace, supplies used up on the job, an assistant's salary you had to pay, and a home office.
- Commission employees can claim more, including advertising and 50% of client meals and entertainment, limited to their commission income in most cases.
- Tradespeople can deduct up to $1,000 of new tools over a threshold equal to the Canada employment amount ($1,501 for 2026), and construction workers who relocate temporarily can deduct up to $10,000 of travel and lodging from 2026.
- Anything your employer reimbursed, or covered with a reasonable allowance, isn't deductible. Claim on line 22900 with form T777.
Employment Expense Tax Deductions
Being an employee is a good deal in many ways, but not at tax time. A contractor can deduct nearly anything reasonable spent to earn income. An employee can deduct only what the Income Tax Act lists, and only with the employer's signature. Here's the list, and the paperwork that makes it stick.
Rule One: You Need the T2200
Form T2200 is the employer's declaration that your job required you to pay certain expenses and that you weren't fully reimbursed. You don't send it; you keep it. Without it, CRA denies the claim, no matter how legitimate the cost. Home-office-only claims can use the shorter T2200S; see work from home tax deductions.
What Salaried Employees Can Deduct
| Expense | Conditions |
|---|---|
| Motor vehicle expenses | Required to travel away from the employer's place of business, and to pay your own vehicle costs; no non-taxable allowance received. Driving to and from your regular workplace never counts. |
| Travel (meals and lodging) | Away at least 12 hours from the municipality of your workplace; meals at 50%. |
| Supplies used directly in your work | Consumed on the job, such as stationery or toner. Not tools or equipment for most employees. |
| Salary to an assistant or substitute | Required by your contract; includes CPP and EI you paid on it. |
| Home office | See work from home. |
| Union and professional dues | Claimed separately on line 21200; see union and professional dues. |
Vehicle claims need a logbook: date, destination, purpose and kilometres for each work trip, and total kilometres for the year. CRA cuts vehicle claims without a log first.
Commission Employees
If you sell or negotiate contracts for your employer and are paid at least partly by commission, you can also deduct advertising and promotion, 50% of meals and entertainment for clients, licences, and a broader list of home costs. Most of these can't exceed your commission income for the year. Your T4 box 42 shows the commissions.
Which of your work costs can you deduct?
Describe your job, how you're paid and what you spend on it. The assistant tells you which expenses qualify, whether you need a T2200, and roughly what the deduction is worth.
Tradespeople and Apprentice Mechanics
If you bought new tools to use as an employed tradesperson, you can deduct up to $1,000 of the cost above a threshold equal to the Canada employment amount ($1,501 for 2026). Buy $2,200 of tools, and you deduct $699 ($2,200 minus $1,501). Buy $3,000, and you deduct the $1,000 maximum, not $1,499. The cap was $500 before 2023. Eligible apprentice mechanics can deduct more, under a separate rule. You also need a T2200 confirming the tools were required. Electronic devices like phones and tablets generally don't qualify unless they're for measuring, locating or calculating.
Labour Mobility Deduction (Bigger From 2026)
Employed tradespeople and apprentices in construction who take a temporary job far enough from home that they need to stay near the site can deduct travel, temporary lodging and meals. From 2026 the limit rose from $4,000 to $10,000 a year, and the temporary lodging must now be at least 120 km closer to the job than home, down from 150 km. You must be away at least 36 hours, keep your home available for your return, and the deduction can't exceed half of your employment income from that work. Claim it on form T777, line 22900. Example: a carpenter from Barrie on a seven-month Sudbury job pays $1,400 a month for a room plus about $1,800 of round trips: $11,600 of costs, a $10,000 deduction, worth about $2,970 on a $90,000 Ontario salary. Self-employed trades deduct travel on form T2125 instead; see business travel.
What's Never Deductible for Employees
- Commuting between home and your regular workplace.
- Clothing and uniforms you could wear elsewhere (with narrow exceptions).
- Professional development and course fees, unless they qualify as tuition.
- Anything reimbursed by the employer.
- Computers and cell phones for most salaried employees (a share of airtime may qualify with a T2200).
Keep the Paper
Employment expenses are one of the claims CRA reviews most. Keep the T2200, the logbook, and receipts for everything; see what tax receipts to keep. Return Check flags employment expense claims without the matching employer form before you file. Every other deduction is on Canadian tax deductions.
Employment Expense Questions
Can employees deduct work expenses in Canada?
Only specific expenses allowed by the Income Tax Act, and generally only if the employer signs form T2200 or T2200S confirming the job required you to pay them without full reimbursement.
Can I deduct my commute to work?
No. Driving between home and your regular place of work is personal, not an employment expense.
What is the tradesperson's tools deduction?
Employed tradespeople can deduct up to $1,000 of the cost of new eligible tools above a threshold equal to the Canada employment amount ($1,501 for 2026).
What is the labour mobility deduction for 2026?
Employed tradespeople and apprentices in construction who temporarily relocate, with lodging at least 120 km closer to the job, can deduct up to $10,000 a year of travel, lodging and meal costs from 2026, up from $4,000, limited to half of their employment income from that work.
What extra expenses can commission employees deduct?
Advertising and promotion, 50% of client meals and entertainment, licences and certain home costs, generally limited to commission income.
Where do I claim employment expenses?
On line 22900 of your return, using form T777 to calculate them. Union and professional dues go on line 21200.
Sources: CRA, Guide T4044 Employment Expenses; Finance Canada, Spring Economic Update 2026, tax measures (labour mobility deduction, enacted June 2026); forms T2200, T2200S and T777; 2026 indexation table (Canada employment amount). Checked October 2026. The tools deduction, apprentice mechanic and labour mobility rules are summarized from our knowledge of T4044; check the guide for the full conditions.
Last reviewed October 5, 2026 against CRA and Government of Canada sources. How we check our facts.