I just filed my tax return for the 2018 tax year (NETFILE, with StudioTax). I work 100% at home, and I rent the place from a landlord. According to an agent of the Canada Revenue Agency, I am allowed to deduct work-space-in-the-home expenses to the extent of the work space, as a percentage of the total finished area of the place of residence.
I had determined that the work space is 20% of the home, so I basically deducted 20% of the total amount of rent paid to the landlord. That in and of itslf is absolutely a legitimate deduction, except, I have no actual way to prove that I paid any rent in 2018.
You see, the lease agreement is in my sister's name only, and the bank account from which post-dated cheques were written, is also in her name only. So, on paper, I paid no rent to the landlord. But, through back channels, I had--by automatic transfers into the very account that rent payments are made from. For reference, my sister, mother and myself all resided in the home in 2018.
The total amount of rent paid for the place was $16,300. I claimed, essentially, because there are 3 adults living there, that I paid 1/3, or $5,433.33 in 2018. I wrote off $1,086.67, or 20% of the amount I claimed to have paid, on line 229, Other Employment Expenses. So, what could I do to avoid having the deduction disallowed by the CRA after the fact?
P.S. Yes, the landlord knows I live here, and no, he does not know I have a job.
