organizing-t2125-business-use-of-home

name	organizing-t2125-business-use-of-home
description	Organize business-use-of-home facts and amounts for form T2125 for a Canadian IT contractor. Use when the user works from a home office and needs to identify eligible home expenses, calculate a reasonable workspace allocation, and prepare a structured mapping for self-entry or CPA handoff. Accepts prior skill output, expense lists, floor plan descriptions, and lease or mortgage details. Produces a provisional business-use-of-home mapping with allocation method, support strength, flags, and downstream routing.
metadata	{"author":"Teplov CPA","version":1,"updated":"2026-04-18T00:00:00.000Z"}

T2125 Business Use of Home

Organize business-use-of-home facts and amounts for T2125 after the broader expense picture has already been identified.

Core Rules

• Work from actual home expense facts, not assumptions.
• Focus on the workspace allocation and eligible home expenses that may belong in the T2125 business-use-of-home section.
• Preserve uncertainty where the allocation method or support is incomplete.
• Organize and flag, do not advise.
• Do not determine final deductibility.
• Do not determine final GST/HST treatment.
• Do not assume a percentage without facts to support it.
• Do not force home expenses into the calculation without support.
• Do not state that any allocation is definitely correct.
• Do not state that the user is ready to file.
• Use this phrase where relevant: "That is outside what this workflow covers. It is a question for a CPA before you file."

Inputs

Do not ask the user to share SIN, business number, account numbers, or client names. Use general descriptions and rounded amounts.

Accept any of:

• output from identifying-expense-categories
• description of home and workspace
• lease or mortgage details
• utility bills
• home insurance records
• property tax records
• user explanation in chat

Minimum useful input:

• description of workspace used for business
• total home area or a reasonable basis for allocation
• at least one home expense category

Read from the shared input schema where available: case_id, tax_year, engagement_mode, user_profile, facts.business_activity, facts.home_office, documents.expense_support, form_context, review_state.

Read from prior skill outputs where available: identifying-expense-categories, organizing-t2125-routine-operating-expenses.

Workflow

1. Confirm business-use-of-home review is relevant

Check whether available facts suggest the user has a dedicated or regular workspace at home used for earning business income.

Typical indicators: user mentions home office, describes workspace used exclusively or regularly for business, or has home expenses that appear on the expense list.

If the file does not support a business-use-of-home review, preserve that uncertainty and do not force a mapping.

2. Gather workspace facts

Identify:

• whether the workspace is dedicated or shared
• approximate area of workspace
• approximate total home area
• basis for any percentage the user provides

Do not accept a percentage without a stated basis.

3. Identify eligible home expenses

Build a list of home expenses that may be eligible:

• rent or mortgage interest
• property taxes
• home insurance
• utilities
• maintenance and repairs relating to the home
• internet where allocated to home office use

Do not include personal portions of expenses without allocation support.

4. Assess support strength

For each expense category, mark support as sufficient, partial, weak, or none.

If the percentage basis is not documented, mark the allocation support accordingly.

5. Build the provisional business-use-of-home mapping

Map home expenses into provisional allocations:

• likely include with stated allocation
• include with caution pending clarification
• exclude_or_clarify
• needs_manual_review
• not_applicable

Note the allocation method used (area-based, room count, or other).

6. Flag issues that affect readiness

Flag issues such as:

• allocation percentage not supported by area facts
• workspace may not qualify if shared or occasional
• expense documentation missing
• home expense may have a personal component
• mortgage principal included where only interest is eligible
• repair or renovation may be a capital item

Only flag issues that materially affect readiness.

7. Prepare downstream routing

Indicate likely downstream uses:

• generating-self-entry-summary
• generating-cpa-handoff-summary
• generating-missing-items-summary

Do not run those workflows inside this skill.

Resource Map

• ../../references/shared-input-schema.md: read to populate input fields
• ../../references/shared-output-schema.md: read to format output fields

Output

Return using the shared output schema. Include:

• facts_accepted: usable home expense facts and workspace description the skill relied on
• mappings_proposed: use entries such as likely include with stated allocation, include with caution, exclude_or_clarify, needs_manual_review, not_applicable
• flags: use missing_support, mapping_uncertain, possible_personal_component, possible_capital_item, unclear_classification where applicable
• open_questions: only questions needed to resolve meaningful uncertainty; typical useful questions include: What is the size of your workspace? What is the total home area? Do you have a dedicated room? Do you have receipts for the home expenses?
• status: one of ready_for_entry, clarification_required, incomplete, cpa_review_recommended, not_applicable
• client_safe_summary: plain language, short and practical

Also include a business-use-of-home mapping grouped into:

• likely eligible home expenses (show category, amount if known, allocation percentage if stated, support strength)
• excluded or separately reviewed items
• unclear items needing clarification

Status Guidance

• ready_for_entry: workspace allocation and eligible expenses are sufficiently organized for downstream summary use
• clarification_required: home office facts are partly available but allocation or support is incomplete
• cpa_review_recommended: file includes material allocation uncertainty, mixed-use workspace, or missing documentation
• incomplete: major home expense or workspace facts are still missing
• not_applicable: business-use-of-home review does not appear relevant from the facts provided

Do not use ready_for_entry if the allocation percentage lacks a stated basis.

Validation

• Workspace description is recorded or flagged as missing.
• Allocation method is stated or flagged as unresolved.
• Every candidate home expense is mapped or explicitly excluded.
• Each included item has a support strength.
• At least one downstream skill is identified in routing.
• status is one of the five standard values.
• client_safe_summary is present and contains no tax advice.