Going somewhere to earn business or professional income costs money, and you can deduct it. On Form T2125, it goes on line 9200, Travel expenses.
What belongs here
- public transportation fares
- hotel accommodations
- meals, subject to the limit described below
Public transportation fares means a ride you paid for rather than one you drove: a bus or train ticket, a plane ticket, a taxi, a fare on a ride-hailing app.
What does not belong here
What your own vehicle costs you. Fuel, parking, and servicing for a vehicle you drive yourself are motor vehicle expenses, claimed on line 9281 and apportioned by the kilometres you drive to earn income. They are not travel.
Convention costs. Attending a convention is claimed as other expenses on line 9270, where the rule about how many conventions a year you can claim lives.
Meals on a trip
In most cases the meals limit applies to the cost of meals, beverages, and entertainment when you travel: you can claim half of the lesser of what you incurred and an amount that is reasonable in the circumstances. The same limit applies to food and beverages served, and entertainment enjoyed, when you travel on an airplane, train, or bus, if the ticket price does not include those amounts.
A meal on a business trip therefore gets counted once. Record it either with your travel costs here or on line 8523, meals and entertainment — not both. The limit reaches it either way.
What to keep
Keep a record of all your income and expenses, with the documents behind them. For a trip, that is the ticket or fare receipt, the hotel folio, and the itemized meal receipts, each showing the seller, the date, and what was bought.
An emailed booking confirmation works the same way as a paper receipt, as long as it shows those things.
Don't send them in with your return. Keep them in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks to see them. Business records follow the same six-year retention rule as your personal documents.
Official CRA sources
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.