You need a completed T2200 (Declaration of Conditions of Employment) from your employer confirming the remote work arrangement. With that form, you can claim:

• Electricity, heating, and water
• Internet and phone — business-use portion only
• Rent or mortgage interest, proportional to workspace size
• Property taxes, home insurance, and maintenance

The calculation is based on the percentage of your home used for work. A dedicated office in a 900 sq ft apartment produces a different number than a corner of a shared living room — and CRA does care about the distinction.

Self-employed filers use Form T2125 (Statement of Business or Professional Activities), which covers a broader range of expenses — including vehicle costs — when the workspace is your principal place of business. If you’re contracting, freelancing, or running any gig income through your home, T2125 typically yields more than the employee route.

The CRA’s temporary flat-rate home office method ($2/day) was discontinued after the 2022 tax year. For 2025 filings, only the detailed method applies. Documentation required.

The contribution deadline for the 2025 tax year was March 2, 2026. If you put money in before that date, those contributions reduce your 2025 taxable income dollar-for-dollar.

Your limit is 18% of your previous year’s earned income, up to CRA’s annual maximum, minus any pension adjustment. The exact figure is on your Notice of Assessment — not something you need to calculate, but something you do need to check.

Contributing but not claiming. If you made an RRSP contribution in early 2026 to apply toward your 2025 return, it does not attach itself automatically. You report it on Line 20800. Skip this step and that deduction sits unused.

Leaving carry-forward room on the table. Unused RRSP room accumulates indefinitely. If you under-contributed in previous years — which most people have — that room is still available. Log into CRA My Account or check your last Notice of Assessment to see what you’re working with.

Under-claimed, year after year. Partly because people assume the threshold makes it not worth pursuing. Partly because the list of eligible medical expenses in Canada is much broader than most people expect.

You can claim medical expenses that exceed either 3% of your net income or $2,635 for the 2025 tax year (verify the current threshold at canada.ca before filing), whichever is lower. Once you clear that floor, the credit applies to everything above it.

• Dental and vision care — glasses, contacts, laser eye surgery
• Mental health services: psychologists, registered counsellors, therapists
• Fertility treatments and surrogacy expenses
• Medical devices: hearing aids, wheelchairs, blood pressure monitors
• Premiums paid to a private health insurance plan
• Travel to receive medical treatment, if the nearest facility is more than 40 km away

You can claim for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. If your household had a heavier-than-usual medical year, total everything up — the amount above the threshold could be more significant than you expect.

Newcomer note: If you arrived in Canada partway through 2025, your income threshold is lower because your Canadian income was partial-year. That means the 3% floor is lower — and the credit becomes accessible sooner. Medical costs you paid after your arrival date are eligible. Costs paid before establishing Canadian residency are not.

For working parents, this is often the largest deduction they’re not fully using.

You can deduct child care costs paid to let you — or your spouse or common-law partner — earn employment income, run a business, or attend school. The lower-income spouse must claim the deduction in most cases.

If you relocated in 2025 to start a new job, run a business in a new city, or attend post-secondary school full-time, the costs of that move are deductible — provided you meet the CRA’s distance rule.

The rule: your new home must be at least 40 kilometres closer (by the shortest usual public route) to your new workplace or school than your previous address was.

These tend to get paid automatically and forgotten. If you belong to a professional association or union, annual dues are deductible. This applies to CPAs, engineers, physicians, lawyers, and any regulated profession with annual licensing requirements.

Employment-related expenses — vehicle use, tools, certain travel — are deductible via Form T777, but only if your employer has provided a completed T2200. Without it, the claim does not stand.

The individual amounts here are often modest. They add up. If you’ve been paying professional dues for years and not claiming them, that’s a straightforward fix on Line 21200.

Most individual filers skip this one entirely. That’s understandable — it only applies to non-registered investment accounts, which rules out anything held inside an RRSP, TFSA, or other registered plan.

But two groups of filers hit this more often than they’d expect:

• Gig workers and self-employed filers whose income varies enough that they’ve been setting money aside in taxable brokerage accounts alongside — or instead of — maxing registered plans. Variable income makes RRSP timing complicated, and a non-registered account often fills that gap.
• Newcomers to Canada who arrived with foreign investment assets or opened a Canadian taxable account before navigating the registered-plan system. That’s a common sequence, and it leaves deductible carrying charges sitting unclaimed.

• What tax deductions do most Canadians miss?
  • The most commonly overlooked deductions are home office expenses (particularly for employees who don’t know they need a T2200), medical expenses (people underestimate the eligible list), RRSP carry-forward room, and professional or union dues paid annually but never claimed. Investment carrying charges on non-registered accounts are missed almost universally by individual filers.

• Can I claim home office expenses without a T2200?
  • Employees cannot claim home office expenses without a completed T2200 from their employer. Self-employed filers do not need a T2200 — they use Form T2125 instead. The T2200 requirement applies only to T4 employees.

• What medical expenses are tax deductible in Canada?
  • The CRA’s list is longer than most people expect. Prescription medications, dental work, vision care (including laser eye surgery), mental health services (psychologists, registered counsellors, therapists), medical devices, fertility treatments, private health insurance premiums, and travel to medical treatment more than 40 km away all qualify. You claim them on Lines 33099 and 33199.

• How do I know my RRSP contribution limit?
  • Your RRSP deduction limit is printed on your Notice of Assessment from the previous year. It’s also visible in CRA My Account. The limit is 18% of your previous year’s earned income up to the CRA annual maximum, minus any pension adjustment. Unused room carries forward indefinitely from prior years.

• Can newcomers to Canada claim tax deductions in their first year?
  • Yes. Newcomers to Canada are eligible for most standard deductions from the date they establish Canadian residency. Your income threshold for medical expenses is calculated on partial-year income, which typically makes the credit more accessible in year one. RRSP contribution room starts accumulating based on Canadian earned income. A specialist familiar with newcomer filings will ensure residency dates are applied correctly across all deductions.

• Can I claim child care expenses if my child attends a private school?
  • Tuition fees for private schools are not child care expenses for CRA purposes. However, if the school provides before- or after-school care as a separate program, those fees may qualify. Keep the receipts separated by service type. The school should be able to provide documentation that distinguishes care fees from tuition.

• What is the difference between a tax deduction and a tax credit in Canada?
  • A tax deduction reduces your taxable income. A tax credit reduces your tax payable directly. RRSP contributions, moving expenses, and home office expenses are deductions. Medical expenses and the disability tax credit are credits. The financial impact of each depends on your marginal tax rate and the type of credit (refundable vs. non-refundable).