9 August 2011 External T.I. 2011-0413521E5 - Form T2200 regarding travel of substitute teachers

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Principal Issues: Should an employer issue a T2200 to employees who are substitute teachers with respect to motor vehicle expenses incurred travelling to the various schools under the board's jurisdiction?

Position: No.

Reasons: The assigned school is considered the employer's place of business, not the administration office of the school board. Therefore, the requirements under s. 8(1)(h.1) are not met since the employee is not required to travel away from the employer's place of business.

XXXXXXXXXX 							2011-041352
								B. Ruttan-Morillo
August 9, 2011

Dear XXXXXXXXXX :

Re: Issuance of T2200 to Substitute Teachers

I am writing in response to your letter of July 7, 2011 concerning whether or not an employer should issue Form T2200 to employees who are substitute teachers and are required to travel to various schools throughout the jurisdiction of the school board.

Your letter states the following facts:

• The employer does not require an employee to have a driver's license.
• The employer does not reimburse substitute teachers for any mileage or vehicle expenses with respect to travel to the various schools.
• It is not uncommon for the employee to receive short notice with respect to the assignment and have only 30 minutes to reach the assigned school.

Our Comments

Written confirmation of the tax implications inherent in particular transactions may only be provided by this Directorate where the transactions are proposed and are the subject matter of an advance income tax ruling submitted in the manner set out in Information Circular 70-6R5, Advance Income Tax Rulings, dated May 17, 2002. This Information Circular and other Canada Revenue Agency ("CRA") publications can be accessed on the Internet at http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca. Where the particular transactions are completed, the inquiry should be addressed to the relevant Tax Services Office. We are, however, prepared to provide the following general comments.

According to subsection 8(10) of the Income Tax Act (the "Act"), Form T2200 is the prescribed form which must be completed and signed by an employer in order for an employee to claim a deduction for motor vehicle travel expenses under paragraph 8(1)(h.1) of the Act. While the employer is required to certify that the requisite conditions of employment have been met, the employer is not required to actually determine whether the expenses are deductible under section 8 of the Act. However, we would expect an employer to issue a Form T2200 only where an employee has reasonable grounds to make such claims.

Travelling between the employee's home and place of employment is considered to be personal travel and the expenses relating to such travel are not deductible in computing income from an office or employment. However, under certain circumstances, an employee may deduct such costs. Chapter 3 of the CRA Guide T4044, Employment Expenses and paragraphs 31 and 32 of Interpretation Bulletin IT-522R, Vehicle, Travel and Sales Expenses of Employees, explain the conditions that must be met by an employee in order to deduct motor vehicle expenses in computing income from an office or employment.

One of the conditions under paragraph 8(1)(h.1) of the Act is that the employee was ordinarily required to carry on the duties of the office or employment away from the employer's place of business. Where a substitute teacher is hired by a school board to teach at any one of the schools under its jurisdiction, the employer's place of business is considered to be the particular school at which the substitute teacher has been assigned to teach on any particular day. Thus, on any day that a substitute teacher performs all of his or her employment duties at one particular school, the requirements in subparagraph 8(1)(h.1) of the Act would not be satisfied since the employee is not required to perform the duties of the office or employment away from the employer's place of business. Therefore, the substitute teacher would not be entitled to claim any travel expenses in computing employment income. Accordingly, the employer should not prepare and sign a Form T2200 for the substitute teacher.

We trust these comments will be of assistance.

Randy Hewlett
Manager
for Director
Ontario Corporate Tax Division
Income Tax Rulings Directorate
Legislative Policy and Regulatory Affairs Branch