Other business expenses

There are expenses you can incur to earn income, other than those listed on Form T2125. Enter on line 9270 the total of other expenses you incurred to earn income, as long as you did not include them on a previous line. You have to list these expenses on the form.

Some of the more common ones are:

• Disability-related modifications
• Computer and other equipment leasing costs
• Property leasing costs
• Convention expenses
• Allowable reserves
• Private health services plan (PHSP) premiums
• Undeducted premiums

Disability-related modifications

You can deduct expenses you incur for eligible disability-related modifications made to a building in the year you paid them, instead of adding them to the capital cost of your building.

Eligible disability-related modifications include changes you make to accommodate wheelchairs, such as:

• installing hand-activated power door openers
• installing interior and exterior ramps
• modifying a bathroom, an elevator, or a doorway

You can also deduct expenses paid to install or get the following disability-related devices and equipment:

• elevator car-position indicators (such as braille panels and audio indicators)
• visual fire-alarm indicators
• listening or telephone devices for people who have a hearing impairment
• disability‑specific computer software and hardware attachments

Computer and other equipment leasing costs

You may lease:

• computers
• cellular telephones
• fax machines
• other similar equipment

If so, you can deduct the percentage of the lease costs that reasonably relates to earning your business income. You can also deduct the percentage of airtime expenses for a cellular telephone that reasonably relates to earning your self-employment income.

If you buy a computer, cellular telephone, fax machine, or other such equipment, you cannot deduct the cost. You can deduct capital cost allowance (CCA) and interest you paid on money you borrowed to buy this equipment that reasonably relates to earning your business income.

Property leasing costs

Deduct the lease payments incurred in the year for property used in your business.

If you lease a passenger vehicle, go to Motor vehicle – Leasing costs.

If you entered into a lease agreement, you can choose to treat your lease payments as combined payments of principal and interest. However, you and the person from whom you are leasing have to agree to treat the payments this way.

In this case, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) considers that you:

• bought the property rather than leased it
• borrowed an amount equal to the fair market value (FMV) of the leased property

You can deduct the interest part of the payment as an expense.

You can also claim CCA on the property.

You can make this choice as long as the property qualified and the total FMV of all the property leased is more than $25,000. For example, a combine or fishing boat, leased with a FMV of $35,000 qualifies. However, office furniture and vehicles often do not qualify.

To treat your lease this way, file one of these forms with your income tax return for the year you make the lease agreement:

• Form T2145, Election in Respect of the Leasing of Property
• Form T2146, Election in Respect of Assigned Leases or Subleased Property

Convention expenses

You can deduct the cost of attending up to two conventions a year. The conventions have to meet the following conditions:

• relate to your business or professional activity
• be held by a business or professional organization within the geographical area where the organization normally conducts its business

This second limit may not apply if an organization from another country sponsors the convention, and the convention relates to your business or professional activity.

Sometimes, convention fees include the cost of food, beverages, or entertainment. The convention organizer may not show these amounts separately on your bill. In this case, subtract $50 from the total convention fee for each day the organizer provides food, beverages, or entertainment.

You can deduct this daily $50 amount as a meal and entertainment expense. The 50% limit applies to the daily $50 amount.

Food, beverages, or entertainment at a convention do not include incidental items such as coffee and doughnuts available at convention meetings or receptions.

Allowable reserves

You can deduct an amount for a reserve, contingent account, or a sinking fund as long as the federal Income Tax Act allows it and the amount is reasonable.

Private health services plan (PHSP) premiums

To find out what the CRA considers a private health services plan (PHSP) as of January 1, 2015, go to New position on private health services plans – Questions and answers.

You can deduct premiums paid to a PHSP if you meet the following conditions:

• you are actively engaged in your business on a regular and continuous basis, individually or as a member of a partnership
• the premiums are paid to insure yourself, your spouse or common-law partner, or any member of your household
• in the year or previous tax year, one of the following applies:
  • your net income from self-employment (excluding losses and PHSP deductions) is more than 50% of your total income^{Footnote 1}
  • your income from sources other than self-employment^{Footnote 2} is $10,000 or less

You cannot claim a deduction for PHSP premiums if another person deducted the amount, or if you or anyone else claimed the premiums as a medical expense.

For your premiums to be deductible, your PHSP coverage has to be paid under a contract with one of the following:

• an insurance company
• a trust company
• a person or partnership in the business of administering PHSPs
• a tax-exempt trade union of which you or the majority of your employees are members
• a tax-exempt business organization or a tax exempt professional organization of which you are a member

For the purposes of this claim, the following terms apply:

• Arm's length employees are, generally, employees who are not related to you and who are not carrying on your business with you, for example, as your partners.
• Qualified employees are arm's length, full time employees who have three months service since they last became employed with a business carried on by you, a business in which you are a majority interest partner, or a business carried on by a corporation affiliated with you. Temporary or seasonal workers are not qualified employees.
• Insurable persons are people to whom coverage is extended and who are either:
  • qualified employees
  • people who would be qualified employees if they had worked for you for three months
  • people carrying on your business (including yourself and your partners)

Undeducted premiums

If you deduct only part of your PHSP premium at line 9804 for farming or line 9270 for fishing, and you paid the premium in the year, you can include the undeducted balance when you calculate your non-refundable medical expense tax credit. For more information, go to Line 33000 and 33199 – Eligible medical expenses you can claim on your tax return.

Forms and publications

• Guide T4002, Self-employed Business, Professional, Commission, Farming, and Fishing Income
• Form T2125, Statement of Business or Professional Activities
• Guide T4037, Capital Gains
• Guide T4011, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons
• Form T2017, Summary of Reserves on Disposition of Capital Property
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-154, Special reserves
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-442, Bad debts and reserves for doubtful debts
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-131, Convention Expenses
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-339, Meaning of 'private health services plan' (1988 and subsequent taxation years)

Related links

• Business expenses
• Claiming capital cost allowance (CCA)