Some real costs of earning rental income have no line of their own on Form T776. Line 9270, Other expenses, is where they go.
It is not a catch-all for anything you'd like to claim. It's for expenses the guide recognizes but the form has no room to name — and the one rule that governs it is that nothing may appear here that you already entered somewhere else.
What belongs here
Condominium fees. If you rent out a condominium unit, you can deduct the fees that represent your share of the upkeep, repairs, maintenance, and other current expenses of the common property.
Landscaping costs. The cost of landscaping the grounds around your rental property, deductible in the year you paid it. Note the timing: this one follows when you paid, even if you otherwise use the accrual method to calculate your rental income.
Lease cancellation payments. Amounts paid or payable to tenants to cancel their leases. You don't deduct the whole payment at once — it's spread across the days remaining on the lease, and for that calculation the life of the lease, renewal periods included, is capped. Keep the cancellation agreement and the lease together, since the calculation needs both sets of dates.
Telephone expenses incurred to earn rental income. Long distance calls made for the rental, and a separate telephone line for the rental, are deductible.
What does not belong here
Anything already on another line. Enter here only what you didn't include on a previous line. Double-entering is the mistake this line invites.
The basic monthly rate of your home telephone. Not deductible, even when you use the phone for the rental. The long distance charges for rental calls still are.
The purchase cost of a cellphone. That's a capital cost, claimed through capital cost allowance (CCA) rather than deducted here.
What to keep
Keep detailed records of the rental income you earn and the expenses you incur, supported by invoices, receipts, contracts, and other supporting documents. Because this line is a mixture, what supports it is a mixture too:
- condominium statements showing your share of common expenses
- landscaping invoices, dated to show when you paid
- the lease and the cancellation agreement, for a cancellation payment
- phone bills with the rental calls identifiable
Don't send them in with your return — keep them in case the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) asks to see them. The CRA may not allow an expense you can't support with a document. Generally, keep your records for six years from the end of the tax year they relate to.
Official CRA sources
Source: Canada Revenue Agency (canada.ca). Not tax advice.