Translation disclaimer
This translation was prepared by Tax Interpretations Inc. The CRA did not issue this document in the language in which it now appears, and is not responsible for any errors in its translation that might impact a reader’s understanding of it or the position(s) taken therein. See also the general Disclaimer below.
Principal Issues: Are the car allowances paid in the various proposed scenarios reasonable ? 2. Can an employee claim a deduction for the use of his motor vehicle in the course of his employment if his employer is of the opinion that the allowance paid for the use of the said vehicle is reasonable (contrary to the employee’s opinion) ? 3. Can the CRA specify the amount of eligible expenses an employee may claim for the use of his or her motor vehicle under various scenarios ?
Position: 1. General comments. 2. No. 3. No.
Reasons: 1. General comments will be helpful in answering specific questions. 2. One of the conditions for an employee to claim employment expenses is that he must enclose with his return the prescribed form signed by his employer certifying that the conditions of employment set out in paragraph 8(1)(h.1) are met. If the employer believes that the allowance received by the employee is reasonable, the conditions set out in paragraph 8(1)(h.1) would not be met. The employer has no obligation to produce such a form. 3. This Directorate does not confirm any tax treatment resulting from a given situation except in the context of a request for an advance income tax ruling.
QUÉBEC CPA ROUNDTABLE - TAXATION OF INDIVIDUALS -
FEBRUARY 2, 2017
QUESTION 1.7
AUTOMOBILE ALLOWANCE AND MOTOR VEHICLE EXPENSE
Paragraph 8(1)(h.1) provides that a taxpayer may deduct in respect of a motor vehicle in a taxation year the cost of traveling in the performance of the taxpayer’s employment duties if certain conditions are met. In particular, he or she must be required to carry on the duties of the office or employment away from the employer’s place of business or in different places, and must be required under the contract of employment to pay motor vehicle expenses incurred in the performance of the duties of the office or employment. Form T2200 will generally attest to these two conditions.
However, such deduction is not permitted if the taxpayer has received an allowance for motor vehicle expenses which, because of paragraph 6(1)(b), is not included in the taxpayer's income for the year.
In some situations, an employee may be partially reimbursed with respect to traveling in the course of employment with the employee’s own vehicle. This may occur, for example, for an employer who only reimburses employees only up to a maximum number of kilometers to employees in a calendar year, an employer who does not reimburse for a certain number of kilometers in each trip made, or one who compensates the employee according to the distance between a client's place of business and the employer’s main place of business (and not the employee's home, even if the latter leaves home to go directly to the client).
Questions to the CRA:
A. Does the CRA consider that allowances paid to an employee in respect of travel in the course of employment are reasonable in the following situations?
I. An employer pays an allowance of $0.45 per kilometer to its employees, up to a maximum of 10,000 kilometers per year. Once this level is reached, the employer no longer pays allowances to the employee.
Ii. An employer pays an allowance of $0.45 per kilometer to employees but the employee does not receive an allowance for the portion of the trip that is 20 km or less on the same day. If the distance is, for example, 30 km, the employee receives an allowance of $4.50 [(30 km - 20 km) x $0.45].
iii. An employer pays an allowance of $0.45 per kilometer to its employee, calculated on the lesser of the employee's actual distance traveled or the distance to and from the employer's place of business to that of the customer.
B. Where the per-kilometer allowance paid is not reasonable in the eyes of the employee but is not included on the employee’s T4 by the employer (which considered it to be reasonable at the time it was paid), can the CRA provide an explanation of how the employee should claim the motor vehicle expenses and the GST rebate, if applicable? As an example, here are some alternatives that we think could be available to the employee:
I. Reduce expenses related to the use of the automobile by the amount of the allowance received, on Form T777
ii. Add the amount of allowances received on line 104 of T1 and claim all expenses related to the use of the automobile
iii. Ask the employer to amend the T4 to include the allowances received in employment income and claim all expenses related to the use of the automobile
C. With respect to the four situations outlined below, can the CRA specify the amount of eligible expenses among the three alternatives and indicate whether the employee can claim the GST rebate in respect of the amounts deducted:
i. An employee traveled a total of 14,000 km during the year in the course of employment (out of the 20,000 km traveled in total with the employee’s car) and received an allowance of $0.40 per km for the first 10,000 kilometers traveled during the year. In total, the employee's expenses for the year in respect of the vehicle are $10,000. Different alternatives are possible for computing the deductible amount:
1. an amount of $2,000 [($10,000/20,000 km) x (14,000 km - 10,000 km)] which is the expense relating to the 4,000 km which have not been the object of the per-kilometer allowance (which was considered reasonable by the employer);
2. an amount of $3,000 [(14,000 km/20,000 km) x $10,000 - ($0.40 x 10,000 km)], which is the percentage of expenditures related to use in employment (70% of $10,000), reduced by the allowance received ($4,000);
3. inclusion of the allowance received of $4,000 in other employment income on line 104 and deduction in the computation of employment income in the amount of $7,000, that is, the expenses related to the use of the automobile in employment.
ii. An employee traveled a total of 12,000 km during the year in the course of employment (out of the 20,000 km traveled in total with the employee’s car) and received an allowance of $0.51 per km for the 10,000 kilometers driven during the year. The difference of 2,000 km is due to the fact that the allowance was not paid for the first 20 kilometers driven in a day. In total, the employee's expenses for the year in respect of the vehicle are $10,000. Different alternatives are possible for computing the deductible amount:
1. an amount of $1,000 [($10,000/20,000 km) x (12,000 km - 10,000 km)], which is the expense relating to the 2,000 km which have not been the object of the per-kilometer allowance (which was considered reasonable by the employer);
2. an amount of $900 [(12,000 km/20,000 km) x $10,000 - ($0.51 x 10,000 km)], which is the percentage of expenses related to employment (60% of $10,000), reduced by the allowance received ($5,100);
3. inclusion of the allowance received of $5,100 in other employment income on line 104 and deduction in the calculation of employment income in the amount of $6,000, that is, the expenses related to the use of the automobile in employment.
iii. An employee traveled a total of 13,000 km during the year in the course of employment (out of the 20,000 km traveled in total with the employee’s car) and received an allowance of $0.51 per km for the 10,000 kilometers traveled during the year. The difference of 3,000 km is based on the fact that the allowance was calculated on the lesser of the actual distance traveled by the employee or the distance between the place of business of the employer and that of the client. In total, the employee's expenses for the year in respect of the vehicle are $10,000. Different alternatives are possible for calculating the deductible amount:
1. an amount of $1,500 [($10,000/20,000 km) x (13,000 km – 10,000 km)], i.e. the expense relating to the 3,000 km which have not been the object of the per-kilometer allowance (which was considered reasonable by the employer);
2. an amount of $1,400 [(13,000 km/20,000 km) x $10,000 - ($0.51 x 10,000 km)], which is the percentage of expenses related to use in employment (65% of $10,000), reduced by the allowance received ($5,100);
3. inclusion of the allowance received of $5,100 in other employment income on line 104 and deduction in the computation of employment income in the amount of $6,500, that is, the expenses related to the use of the automobile in employment.
iv. An employee traveled a total of 14,000 km during the year in the course of employment (of the 20,000 km traveled in total with the employee’s car) and received an allowance of $0.40 per km for all 14,000 kilometers traveled for employment purposes in the year. In total, the employee's expenses for the year in respect of the vehicle are $10,000. Different alternatives are possible for calculating the deductible amount:
1. an amount of $1,400 [(14,000 km/20,000 km) x $10,000 - ($0.40 x 14,000 km)], which is the percentage of expenses related to use in employment (70% of $10,000), reduced by the allowance received ($5,600);
2. inclusion of the allowance received of $5,600 in other employment income on line 104 and deduction in the calculation of employment income in the amount of $7,000, that is, expenses related to the use of the automobile in employment;
3. no deductible amount because all kilometers traveled were covered by a reasonable allowance.
CRA response:
A. The Income Tax Act does not specify what constitutes a "reasonable allowance" for the purposes of section 6. The question of whether an allowance is reasonable is a fact which can only be resolved after an analysis of all the facts relating to each situation. Accordingly, the CRA cannot make a definitive determination as to the reasonableness of the allowances paid to employees in the three scenarios described in Section A above.
That being said, the following general comments have been prepared to assist taxpayers in determining the tax consequences that may result from the allowances they receive for traveling in the course of their employment. Although these comments do not refer to any specific situation set out in the question, they take into account the information contained therein.
In short, the CRA's long-standing position (footnote 1) is that an allowance calculated at a rate per kilometer is considered reasonable if all of the following conditions are met:
- the allowance is only calculated according to the number of kilometers traveled on business in the year;
- the rate per kilometer is reasonable;
- the employer has not reimbursed the employee for expenses related to this use of the vehicle.
The CRA is of the view that a per-kilometer rate is reasonable if it is to cover expenses incurred by an employee for the use of a motor vehicle in the performance of employment duties. For example, to justify that a per-kilometer rate is reasonable, the following could be taken into account: the type of vehicle, the road conditions and the cost of gasoline or the electricity rate at the specific venue.
Generally, the CRA accepts a rate based on mileage as being reasonable if it corresponds to the rate prescribed in section 7306 (footnote 2). This administrative position applies where an employee is responsible for all expenses related to the motor vehicle. However, a rate different from that prescribed may be considered reasonable in light of the particular facts of a situation.
The situations described in (i), (ii) and (iii) have the particular aspect of describing where an employee could not receive any allowance for part of the total distance traveled in the performance of employment duties .
In such cases, an allowance may not be high enough in relation to expenses that an employee is expected to incur in a specific situation, and thus not be reasonable. If applicable, the allowance is a taxable benefit that the employee will have to include in employment income in accordance with paragraph 6(1)(b). An employee may, however, if all of the requirements are met, claim the deductions provided in paragraphs 8(1)(h), (h.1) or (j). The limits of paragraph 13(7)(g) and sections 67.2 and 67.3 will apply to the computation of expenses incurred by the employee.
In addition, the CRA has stated (footnote 3) that where an employee elects to include in income the amount of a non-taxable motor vehicle allowance, the employee can deduct the expenses for that vehicle which were actually incurred and which are otherwise deductible on condition that the employee can demonstrate that such expenses are in excess of the allowance in question.
B. Subsection 8(10) establishes certain conditions that an employee must satisfy in order to be able to deduct an amount for a taxation year, inter alia, under paragraph 8(1)(h.1). One of them is that the taxpayer must enclose with the taxpayer’s return for the taxation year the prescribed form signed by the taxpayer’s employer, which certifies that the emplyment conditions set out in paragraph 8(1)(h.1) are met.
Where an employer realizes that a mistake has been made, the employer must normally prepare modified T4 slips to correct the situation. Changes can be made via the internet or by producing new paper slips that will be sent to the CRA. In both cases, a copy of the amended T4 slips must be sent to all affected employees so that they can request an adjustment to their income tax return for the particular taxation year. When an employee wishes to obtain an adjustment to an income tax return already filed for a particular taxation year that is within the normal reassessment period, the employee must request that CRA correct the income tax return by filing with the Tax Center, a T1-ADJ - T1 Adjustment Request form, duly completed, or a signed letter that provides all information respecting the request.
C. The income tax treatment of particular transactions proposed by a specific taxpayer will only be confirmed by the Income Tax Rulings Directorate in the context of an advance income tax ruling request submitted in the manner set out in Information Circular IC 70-6R7 (footnote 4).
Consequently, under the hypothetical scenarios proposed, the CRA cannot specify or confirm the amount of eligible motor vehicle expenses that an employee may claim or the amount of the GST rebate for such an amount.
In general, Chapters 8 and 9 of the Employers' Guide 2016 (footnote 5) are excellent sources of information that allow taxpayers (employees) to determine the amount of motor vehicle expenses to which they are entitled depending on their particular circumstances. Chapter 10 of the Guide also provides information on the GST rebate.
Nancy Deslandes
2016-067481
February 2, 2017
FOOTNOTES
Due to our system requirements, footnotes contained in the original document are reproduced below:
1 CANADA REVENUE AGENCY, T4130 - Employers' Guide - Taxable Benefits and Allowances Guide, 2016, Chapter 2, under "Automobile and motor vehicle allowances".
2 CANADA REVENUE AGENCY, Income Tax Folio - S2-F3-C2, Benefits and Allowances Received from Employment, July 6, 2016, paragraph 2.67.
3 See http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/ndvdls/tpcs/ncm-tx/rtrn/cmpltng/ddctns/lns206-236/229/slry/mtrvhcl-eng.html.
4 CANADA REVENUE AGENCY, Information Circular IC70-6R7 - Advance Income Tax Rulings and Technical Interpretations, April 22, 2016.
5 CANADA REVENUE AGENCY, T4130 - Employers' Guide - Taxable Benefits and Allowances Guide - Including Forms T777, TL2, T2200 and GST370", 2016.
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