Oct 3, 2026
Since July 6, most federal public servants have been required in the office four days a week, up from three. If you’re part of Ontario’s provincial staff, you went to five days in January. For many Canadians, the question is no longer whether they’ll go back, it’s what going back will cost.
The bad news is it’s probably more than you think. A working example from PaycheckGuru prices a single weekly office day for a Greater Toronto Area parent at $2,898 a year. In its example, the person in the equation has a 25-kilometre drive and two school-age kids. On a $90,000 salary, it means they would need $4,120 just to break even.
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The gap comes from a simple tax quirk. Remember, a dollar saved on commuting is worth more than a dollar earned in salary. Savings come out of your net, after-tax income, while a raise has to run the tax gauntlet before making it to your paycheque. Here’s how the math works and how to run your own number.
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What does one office day a week really cost?
The example above assumes about 46 office days a year, once vacation and statutory holidays are accounted for. Each day costs about $12 in fuel and vehicle wear for a 50-kilometre round trip drive, $15 for parking and $12 for a bought lunch and coffee. Factor in after-school care for two young kids for another $24 (with the tax deduction). That’s about $63 per office day, or roughly $2,898 a year: $552 for driving, $690 for parking, $552 for food and $1,104 for care.
The driving amount only accounts for fuel and wear, not the insurance and depreciation. The care line is reduced because before- and after-school programs qualify for the child care expense deduction on Form T778 (up to $5,000 per child aged 7 to 16, usually claimed by the lower-earning spouse). When you drop the care, you also lose the deduction, so $30 a day in fees saves closer to $24.
This is just an example used; your totals will differ. Transit riders, people with free parking and workers without kids may land well below $2,898, while long-distance commuters could land well above.
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Why does the raise need to be bigger than the savings?
Let’s talk about that raise — every dollar of a raise is taxed at your marginal rate. At $90,000 in Ontario, that’s 20.5% federal plus 9.15% provincial, or about 29.65% combined. CPP and EI contributions have already stopped at that income. The 2026 CPP ceilings are $74,600 and $85,000, and EI premiums stop at $68,900.
That makes the math $2,898 ÷ (1 − 0.2965), or about $4,120.
Here’s the counterintuitive part. If you’re making $60,000, the income tax rates are the same, but CPP (5.95%) and EI (1.63%) still come off each new dollar. The combined bite rises to about 37%, and the break-even raise climbs to roughly $4,617. Lower earners need a bigger raise to cover the same costs. CPP contributions aren’t money down the drain since they build up your future pension, but you won’t see any of that benefit landing on your current pay stub.
Will the CRA offset any of this?
Mostly, no. As far as the CRA is concerned, your daily commute from home to your usual workplace is strictly a personal expense — so you can’t write it off. Gas, parking and transit passes aren’t deductible.
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The temporary $2-a-day flat-rate home office method only covered 2020 to 2022. Employees now must use the detailed method, which requires a signed Form T2200 and working from home more than half the time for at least four consecutive weeks.
Having a formal telework agreement means you’re officially required to work from home. So if you’re working remotely 3 or 4 days a week, you might qualify for home-office tax write-offs. But flip that schedule to three or more days in the office, and that tax claim usually vanishes, adding yet another hidden cost to your commute.
What is the time worth?
The money you save is only half the story — time is the real kicker. StatCan data shows commuters spend an average of 63 minutes on the road every single day. For parents working from home, that reclaimed time translated into roughly 71 extra minutes spent hanging out with or taking care of their kids.
Most people aren’t eager to rush back to the office. Angus Reid found that 59% of workers prefer working mostly from home—a number that leaps to 76% for those who’ve actually experienced it. In fact, research from the National Bureau of Economic Research across 27 countries revealed that employees view working remotely two or three days a week as being equivalent to a 5% pay raise. Parents and long-distance commuters valued it even more.
What to do now
Before you accept a new schedule or negotiate pay, calculate your own break-even raise:
- Multiply your office days per week by 46
- Price driving at fuel plus wear, or use your actual transit fare
- Add parking, plus any food you buy only because you’re out
- Add care you need only because you commute. Then subtract the value of the T778 deduction at the lower earner’s marginal rate
- Divide the annual total by (1 − your marginal rate). Include CPP and EI if you’re under the ceilings
- Check whether your home office claim survives the new schedule
Any pay bump below that baseline actually leaves you with less spending money in your pocket — and that’s before factoring in a single stressful minute in rush-hour traffic. If an offer tops that number, it comes down to whether the extra cash is worth the lost time. And if a salary bump is totally off the table, use that exact figure to negotiate for what really matters, like fewer mandated office days or flexible hours.
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Amy Tokic is an SEO content editor for Money.ca. She holds a B.A. in Communications from the University of Windsor. Amy is an award-winning author and has been writing professionally for 15 years, publishing articles in the lifestyle and health sectors.
