Which tools count, the form your employer signs, where the claim goes on your return, and a calculator that reproduces CRA’s own 2025 examples.
| What it is | A deduction from employment income for the cost of tools an employed tradesperson has to provide for the job. Most employees cannot deduct tools; tradespeople are an exception. |
| How much | The lesser of $1,000 and the cost of eligible tools bought in the year minus $1,471. Tools costing $2,471 or more give the full $1,000. |
| Apprentice mechanics | An eligible apprentice mechanic can claim a second, separate deduction on top, which can be much larger, and can carry unused amounts forward. |
| Which tools | Bought new for the job, certified by your employer, and not a cell phone or computer unless it can only measure, locate or calculate. A toolbox counts. The cost includes GST, PST or HST. |
| Proof | Form T2200 signed by your employer (Part C question 12; question 13 for apprentice mechanics), with your list of tools and receipts. Keep them; do not send them with the return. |
| Where it goes | Form T777: line 1770 (tradesperson’s tools) and line 9131 (apprentice mechanic tools). The total goes on line 22900 of your return. |
| Sales tax back | You may also get a rebate of the GST/HST paid on the tools: Form GST370, Situation 6. |
The calculator follows CRA’s formulas for 2025 and gives the same results as CRA’s two worked examples ($1,000, and $4,029 for the apprentice mechanic). It does not cover the extra tools a first-year apprentice mechanic can count from the last three months of 2024, or a year in which you were not an eligible apprentice mechanic.
Take the lesser of the tools you bought and your income as a tradesperson (plus any Apprenticeship Incentive or Completion Grant received, minus repayments). Subtract $1,471. Your deduction is that amount or $1,000, whichever is less. CRA’s example: an electrician earning $45,000 buys $2,500 of tools; $2,500 − $1,471 = $1,029, so the deduction is $1,000.
Work out the tradesperson’s deduction first. Then take the cost of the tools bought in the year and subtract the larger of two amounts, but never more than the tools cost: $1,000 plus the Canada employment amount you claim, or 5% of your apprentice mechanic income (plus grants, minus the tradesperson’s deduction and grant repayments). Add any unused amount carried forward from last year. The claim cannot be more than your net income from all sources, and whatever you do not claim carries forward to later years, against any income, even after the apprenticeship ends.
CRA’s example: an apprentice mechanic with $18,000 of apprentice income, a $1,000 Apprenticeship Incentive Grant, $4,000 of other income and $2,000 carried forward buys $4,500 of tools and claims the $1,000 tradesperson’s deduction and a $1,471 Canada employment amount. The amount to subtract is the larger of $2,471 and $900 (5% of $18,000), so the apprentice deduction is $4,500 − $2,471 + $2,000 = $4,029, within the $22,000 net income.
CRA’s definition has two parts: you are employed as an apprentice mechanic, and you are registered in a program under federal, provincial or territorial law that leads to a designation as a mechanic licensed to repair self-propelled motorized vehicles. CRA gives automobiles, aircraft, boats and snowmobiles as examples. If you are unsure whether your apprenticeship fits, check with your apprenticeship authority or the CRA before claiming.
In the year you sell a tool you deducted, you add to your income the amount by which the sale price is more than the tool’s adjusted cost. The adjusted cost is the tool’s cost minus its share of that year’s deductions: cost − cost × (deductions claimed ÷ total cost of eligible tools that year), with any carried-forward amount left out. In CRA’s example, $3,029 of deductions on $4,500 of tools leaves a $2,500 tool with an adjusted cost of $817; selling it for $1,500 adds $683 to income. Selling below the adjusted cost gives no deduction.
Separately from the deduction, you may be able to get a rebate of the GST/HST you paid on the tools with Form GST370, Employee and Partner GST/HST Rebate Application. CRA points tradespeople to Situation 6 on that form.
Paying for tools during technical training? The Canada Apprentice Loan lends up to $4,000 per period of technical training, interest-free, and tools are one of the things it can pay for.
Working on a construction site far from home? The labour mobility deduction covers up to $4,000 a year of temporary lodging and travel when the lodging is at least 150 km closer to the site than home.
Free practice questions for 11 Red Seal trades, with a written explanation on every answer. Pick your trade to start a free quiz. Each trade’s bank is also sold as a printable PDF with revision notes, if you would rather study on paper.
For the 2025 tax year, an employed tradesperson can deduct the lesser of $1,000 and the cost of eligible tools bought that year minus $1,471. The cost used is capped at your employment income as a tradesperson plus any Apprenticeship Incentive Grant or Apprenticeship Completion Grant you received. So tools costing $2,471 or more give the full $1,000.
Yes. An eligible apprentice mechanic first claims the tradesperson's deduction, then a separate apprentice mechanic deduction: the cost of eligible tools bought in the year minus an amount that is at least $1,000 plus the Canada employment amount you claimed, plus any unused amount carried forward from the year before. In CRA's 2025 example the apprentice deduction is $4,029 on top of the $1,000 tradesperson's deduction.
Someone employed as an apprentice mechanic and registered in a program under federal, provincial or territorial law that leads to a licence to repair self-propelled motorized vehicles. CRA gives automobiles, aircraft, boats and snowmobiles as examples.
Tools, including associated equipment such as a toolbox, that you bought new for your job, that your employer certifies on Form T2200 as necessary for you to provide as a condition of the job, and that are not cell phones or computers unless the device can only measure, locate or calculate. The cost includes the GST, PST or HST you paid.
No. Your employer completes Form T2200 (Part C question 12 for the tradesperson's deduction, question 13 for the apprentice mechanic deduction), you attach your list of tools and receipts to it, and you keep it all in case the CRA asks to see it.
You include in income the amount by which the sale price is more than the tool's adjusted cost, which is its cost reduced by the share of that year's deductions that applied to it. Selling below the adjusted cost gives no deduction.
All read on November 5, 2026. CRA’s pages are the authority; if they change, they win.
Independent guide. Not affiliated with the Canada Revenue Agency or the Government of Canada, and not tax advice. Checked against canada.ca again before the 2026 tax season.
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