Tradespeople: your vehicle, tools, and materials are deductible, if you keep the proof

The rule tradespeople forget

If you work a trade, most of what you spend to do the job is deductible: your tools, your work vehicle, the materials you install. But a deduction is only as good as the proof behind it. Without a receipt, that deduction can be denied if the CRA or Revenu Québec ever asks.

What is deductible (with proof)

• Tools and equipment: smaller tools are often expensed in the year; bigger equipment is capitalized and depreciated (capital cost allowance). Keep the purchase receipt either way.
• Vehicle: fuel, insurance, repairs, and maintenance, for the business-use portion. Keep the receipts and a mileage log.
• Materials and supplies: lumber, wire, fittings, consumables, and personal protective equipment used on jobs. Keep the supplier invoices.
• Trade dues, licences, and certifications tied to your work.

Why the receipt beats the bank line

A bank or card statement shows an amount and a vendor. It does not prove the purchase was for your business, or what it even was. The receipt is the evidence. Photograph receipts the day you get them, since thermal receipts fade, and keep them for six years.

The vehicle is where people get tripped up

Vehicle costs are one of the biggest trade deductions and the most closely reviewed. You can only deduct the business-use share, and you need a mileage log to support that percentage. "I use it mostly for work" does not hold up on its own if you are asked to back it.

Claiming these expenses is straightforward; keeping the proof is the part that slips. Capturing each receipt as you go is what turns a stack of maybes into deductions you can actually defend.