2021 Federal Budget
The new Canadian federal budget was tabled on April 19, 2021 by finance minister Chrystia Freeland. The federal deficit is estimated to be $354.2 billion for fiscal year 2020-21 and next year’s deficit is expected to be $154.7 billion. By the end of 2021-22 fiscal year, the federal debt is expected to be over $1.2 trillion. The budget introduced a $30 billion national childcare plan over 5 years, to reduce kindergarten prices by 50% in 2022, with a target of $10 per day by 20
New Simplified Home Office Deduction for 2020 Income Tax Year
With the onset of the COVID-19 crisis in 2020, numerous employers allowed their employees to work from home. It is for this reason that Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) introduced a new temporary flat rate method to simplify the process for claiming a deduction for home office expenses for the 2020 tax year. This is a personal income tax deduction to be calculated on form T777S (Statement of Employment Expenses for Working at Home due to COVID-19), which then needs to be attached
