A self-employed radiologist, who does not have a permanent office at Hospital A (80 kilometres from his home) but an office and an X-ray room are available to him when working there, but Hospital B (75 kilometres from his home) provides him with an office for his exclusive use. In addition to a regular work schedule at both hospitals, he is periodically on call, which requires him to rent a hotel room or apartment near the hospital where he is on call.
CRA indicated that Hospital B should be considered a place of business of the radiologist having regard to its policy that travel between a place of work and home is non-deductible, stating in this regard that:
[I]n some cases, such as that of health professionals, it may be sufficient for an individual to have access to certain premises on a continuous basis to carry on the individual’s business and for it to be common knowledge that the individual can be reached at such location when the individual’s services are required, in order to conclude that it is the individual’s place of business.
Regarding Hospital A, it stated:
The fact that a radiologist does not have a permanent work office at that hospital may serve as an indication but is not, in our view, a conclusive criterion … . [O]ne could conclude that Hospital A is a place of business for the radiologist since … the radiologist has a regular work schedule at both hospitals. In such a case, travel between his residence and his place of business would be considered to be of a personal nature.
The rental costs were non-deductible.