Self employed by a company and had expenses that are reimbursed on top of wages. Given T4A with fees for services including re-paid expenses. Where do I enter expenses?

If your employer reimburses you for your expenses and includes the reimbursement as taxable income on your T4 – Statement of Remuneration Paid, you can claim employment expenses. You’re paying tax on that reimbursement so it makes sense to claim the offsetting expenses.

If you are reimbursed or receive an allowance for your employment expenses that aren’t included in your taxable income, you will not be able to claim employment expenses. This commonly happens when an employer gives you a monthly allowance or reimburses you dollar-for-dollar for expenses which you hand receipts in for. These benefits and allowances need to be shown in Box 40 of your T4 slip in order for you to claim the deduction.

• The only exception to this rule is if your allowance doesn’t cover the actual cost. For example, imagine you are required to use your vehicle as part of your job. Your employer gives you an allowance of $.20/km and the allowance isn’t included on your T4. The allowance is rather low compared to the actual cost of gasoline, etc. If you have a signed T2200 and can prove your expenses were significantly more than the allowance, you can claim the actual amount of the expense. It’s important to point out that if you choose to claim the expenses on your tax return, you must also include the allowance you were given in your income.

Please visit our TurboTax article on Tips for Claiming Job-Related Expenses to learn more about how to deduct job related expenses.

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