Railway employees

You can claim the cost of meals and lodging when you meet one of the following conditions:

• You work away from home for a railway company as a telegrapher or station agent in a relief capacity, or carry out maintenance and repair work for the railway company.
• You are a railway employee who works away from the municipality and the metropolitan area (if there is one) where your employer's relevant establishment (home terminal) is located. You also work at such a distant location that it is unreasonable for you to return daily to your home, where you support a spouse or common-law partner, or a dependant related to you.

If you meet one of these conditions, see Meals and lodging (including showers) for more details.

Note
You must reduce your claim for meal and lodging expenses, by any non-taxable allowance or reimbursement you received or are entitled to receive from your employer.

Your employer has to sign Form TL2. You do not have to send this form with your return, but you should keep it in case we ask to see it later.

You may be able to get a rebate of the GST/HST you paid. For more information, see Employee GST/HST Rebate.

Completing your tax return

Complete Form TL2, Claim for Meals and Lodging Expenses and claim your meal and lodging expenses on line 229 of your return. If you still need help completing this form, please contact us by calling 1-800-959-8281.

Forms and publications

• Guide T4044, Employment Expenses
• Form TL2, Claim for Meals and Lodging Expenses
• IC73-21, Claims for Meals and Lodging Expenses of Transport Employees