Northern Residents Deductions (T2222 and TP-350.1-V)

If you lived in the northern regions of Canada for at least 6 consecutive months, you might be able to claim a residency deduction and/or the deduction for travel benefits on your tax return using on your tax return using the Northern residents deduction (T2222) form.

Note: If you're a Québec resident, you can also claim the related provincial deductions on your Québec tax return, by completing the TP-350.1-V form. Fortunately, the T2222 and the TP-350.1-V forms are combined in H&R Block’s tax software.

For all northern residents deductions, where you live determines how much you can claim. For example, you can claim the deduction amounts in full if you live in a prescribed northern zone (Zone A). If you live in a prescribed intermediate zone (Zone B), you’re only eligible for half of the deduction amounts.

To find out if you live in a prescribed zone, check the following list from the CRA and Revenu Québec:

If you lived in a prescribed zone for work for at least 6 consecutive months, but your permanent home is elsewhere, you still might qualify for a deduction.

The residency deduction is for northern residents who live in a prescribed zone on a permanent basis in a house, apartment, mobile home, etc. If you lived at a camp, bunkhouse, hotel room, dormitory, or boarding house, you won’t be able to claim this deduction.

The residency deduction has two parts:

  • a basic residency amount and
  • an additional residency amount

The basic residency amount is based on the number of days you lived in a prescribed zone in 2023. Generally speaking, absences won’t affect your period of residency (for example, if you go on vacation) but it depends on your reason for leaving and how long you were gone.

The additional residency amount is based on the number of days you used to calculate the basic amount if:

  • You lived in and maintained a home located in a prescribed zone
  • You’re the only person in the household claiming the basic residency amount

You can claim the following deduction amounts:

  • If you lived in a prescribed northern zone (Zone A):
    • a basic residency amount of $11.00 for each day that you lived in this zone plus
    • an additional residency amount of $11.00 for each day you lived in this zone if you maintained a residence and you are the only person claiming the basic residency amount
  • If you lived in a prescribed intermediate zone (Zone B):
    • a basic residency amount of $5.50 for each day that you lived in this zone plus
    • an additional residency amount of $5.50 for each day you lived in this zone if you maintained a residence and you are the only person claiming the basic residency amount

Important: Everyone in your household can claim the basic residency amount if they qualify for it. However, if more than one person in your household is claiming the basic amount for the same period, no one can claim the additional amount. Therefore, you should decide if one of you should claim the basic and additional residency amount or whether all members of the household should just claim the basic residency amount.

For more information on the residency deduction, visit the CRA website.

If you didn’t live in a prescribed zone on a permanent basis, you might still qualify for the basic residency amount if you lived at a special work site that’s located in a prescribed zone (within 30 km from a population centre of at least 40,000 people) for at least six consecutive months.

A special work site is a location where you worked temporarily while your principal residence (the main house or apartment where you live) was at another location. Because of the distance between the two areas, you weren’t expected to travel from the work site to your home every day.

If you lived at a special work site, your employer or the principal contractor of your project (like the Société d’énergie de la Baie James) might have provided you a tax-exempt benefit for boarding and lodging. If so, your residency amount is lowered by the tax-exempt benefits you received. You can find these amounts in box 31 of your T4 slip or box 124 of your T4A slip, and/or box V-1 of your RL-1 slip.

Note: If your principal residence was located in a northern or intermediate zone while you were employed on a special work site, you don’t need to enter the value of the tax-exempt benefits on the T2222/TP-350.1 page.

Visit the CRA website for more information on temporarily living at special work sites.

You can claim the travel benefits deduction (or travel deduction, if you’re a Québec resident) if you:

  • lived in a prescribed zone for at least 6 consecutive months (starting or ending in 2023)

  • paid for travel or for the value of travel provided by your employer

To qualify, you must meet the following requirements:

  • You qualify to claim the northern residents deductions
  • You’re an employee who deals at arm’s length with your employer (in other words, you’re not related)
  • You’ve included your taxable travel benefits in your income for the same year that you took your trip

The most you can deduct from each eligible trip is the lowest amount out of:

  • The taxable travel benefits you received from your employer for the trip
  • The total travel expenses you paid for the trip
  • The cost of the least expensive return flight (lowest return airfare*) available when you took the trip between the airport closest to where you live and where you were going (nearest designated city)

You have to claim the travel benefits deduction in the same year the taxable travel benefits were included in your income. This means if you travelled in 2023 but the cost of your trip was reimbursed by your employer in 2024, you need to claim the travel benefits deduction on your 2024 return.

You can’t claim the deduction, if you took a trip that began and ended in the year and you were reimbursed in the following year for that trip.

Note: If you’re claiming these benefits for another member of your household, they must have been living with you at the time they travelled. If you’re a Québec resident, don’t include members of your household for whom you’re claiming the amount for dependants and amount transferred by a child 18 or over enrolled in post-secondary studies.

Taxable travel benefits include:

  • Travel assistance provided by your employer such as airline tickets

  • A travel allowance or a lump-sum payment you received from your employer for travel expenses you paid

Travel expenses include:

  • Air, train, or bus fares

  • Vehicle expenses

  • Meals

  • Hotel or motel accommodations

  • Camping fees

  • Other incidentals such as taxis and highway or ferry tolls

A designated city is the city closest to where you live. You can’t claim more than the cost of the lowest return airfare to that city on the day you took your trip (even though you may not have travelled to that city or even travelled by air). The designated cities are:

  • Vancouver, BC

  • Calgary, AB

  • Edmonton, AB

  • Saskatoon, SK

  • Winnipeg, MB

  • North Bay, ON

  • Toronto, ON

  • Ottawa, ON

  • Montréal, QC

  • Québec, QC

  • Moncton, NB

  • Halifax, NS

  • St. John's, NL

The lowest return airfare includes any GST/PST/HST and airport taxes. It doesn’t include:

  • Any promotions or discounts on your flight that aren’t normally available

  • Additional charges, such as flight cancellation insurance, meals, and baggage surcharges aren't considered part of the lowest return airfare

You can claim a deduction for travel benefits for a trip that you or your household members (who lived with you at the time of the trip) took for vacation, family, or medical reasons. The trip must have started from a prescribed zone.

If you travelled for medical reasons, you can claim a deduction if there is an amount in box 33 of your T4 slip, box 116 of your T4A slip, or box K-1 of your RL-1 slip. These amounts are the value of the taxable travel benefits you received in the year. These medical services must not have been available where you lived.

There’s no limit on the number of trips you can claim if you travelled for medical reasons.

Note: If you’re claiming a deduction for medical travel on the T2222 (and/or TP-350.1-V) form, no one can claim it as a medical expense on their return.

If you require attendant care while travelling for a valid medical reason, you can claim your attendant’s travel expenses along with your own. For more information, visit the CRA website.

Starting in 2021, you can claim a deduction if you or someone in your household travelled within Canada for personal reasons (vacation or family), even if you didn’t receive taxable travel benefits from an employer. You can claim the cost of up to of 2 trips per year for personal travel for yourself and for each member of your household. If you took more than 2 trips in the year, you can choose the two trips you want to claim on this form.

The amount you can claim is the lowest of the following amounts:

  • The cost of your trip (including what you paid for transportation and accommodations)

  • The lowest return airfare to the closest designated city when you took your trip

  • Up to $1200 per family member

Note: If you get a non-taxable travel allowance or any other non-taxable travel assistance from your employer, you can’t claim the travel benefits deduction on your return.

If you’re using the detailed method to claim your expenses, make sure you have:

  • The date your trip began (to calculate the lowest return airfare between where you travelled and a designated city)

  • Receipts for your transportation (for example, air, train, bus fare or vehicle expenses)

  • Receipts for your accommodations (for example, the cost of your motel or hotel)

When it comes to calculating the meal and vehicle expenses related to your travels, you can use either the detailed or simplified method of reporting.

Detailed method: Using the detailed method of reporting expenses allows you to claim the actual amount that you spent. Of course, this means that you’ll need to keep each receipt to validate your expenses.

Simplified method: Using the simplified method, a flat rate is used to calculate your daily meal and vehicle expenses. Even though you aren’t required to keep your receipts when using the simplified method, you should still hang onto documentation that can support your claim(s).

  • Meals: Claim a flat rate of $22 per meal (including tax). These can be claimed in either Canadian or U.S. funds.
  • Vehicle expenses: Record the kilometres driven during the tax year for the trip. To figure out the amount you’re allowed to claim on your return, simply multiply the number of kilometres driven with the cents/km rate assigned to the province or territory where your travels began. Check out the CRA website for the rate that applies to you.

If you recently moved but haven’t lived in a prescribed zone for 6 consecutive months, you can file your return without claiming your deductions. When you do qualify, you can adjust your return using the H&R Block tax software’s ReFILE feature. You can also request to change your return.

Follow these steps in H&R Block’s 2023 tax software:

  1. On the left navigation menu, click the Credits & deductions tab and then, the Commonly Claimed heading.

  2. Under the DEDUCTIONS heading, select the checkbox labelled Northern residents deductions for 2023 (T2222), then click Continue. If you're a Québec resident, select the checkbox labelled Calculation of the deduction for residents of designated remote areas (T2222 & TP-350.1-V), then click Continue.

  3. When you arrive at the page for the Northern residents deductions, enter your information into the tax software.