COVID-19 Responses and the Contemplative Worker's Home Occupancy Expense Claim

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in government-mandated stay-at-home directives and office closures, challenging the scope of deductibility of home occupancy expense claims. Existing authority highlights that, in order to be eligible to deduct home occupancy expense claims, the taxpayer's home office usage must: (1) arise through necessity as opposed to mere convenience; and (2) be substantial, or almost exclusive, for income earning purposes. In 2019, Boccabella and Bain found that, for the contemplative worker, the first criteria is all but impossible to satisfy, as these workers can work almost anywhere and therefore always have an alternative place of work. This article extends their examination by analysing how the COVID-19 environment arguably establishes the circumstances to enable the first necessity criteria to be satisfied. It follows that, where the contemplative worker also satisfies the second criteria, home occupancy expense claims will be deductible.