Deficits, debt-to-gdp ratios, and the headline numbers about containing the spread of COVID-19 will get most of the attention on a fiscal update day. But there are other line items that will have a direct impact on many Canadians’ pocketbooks and in their everyday lives.

Here are some of those items:

1. Remote workers will now be able to use the Home Office Expense Deduction in the 2021 and 2022 tax years. The feds are extending the simplified rules for deducting home office expenses on your income tax return and will raise the temporary flat rate to $500 annually, from the original $400.
2. The feds are looking to establish a new fund aimed at helping workers in the live performance industry. This temporary program, called the Canada Performing Arts Workers Resilience Fund, would roll out $60 million in fiscal 2022-23 in sector-specific initiatives to improve the careers and personal circumstances of those in the live performance sector.
3. The government is proposing a top-up for the zero-emission vehicles incentive, allowing the program to run until the end of March next year.
4. The government is looking to spend an additional $30 million over three years, starting next year, so communities can better adapt their public spaces to support more outdoor gatherings and social distancing.
5. The government is offering up help for Canadians whose Guaranteed Income Supplement or Allowance benefits were reduced due to COVID aid they received: $742.4 million is being set aside for one-time payments to support those individuals.
6. Debt relief is being offered to students who received the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, but were not eligible for it. The feds are proposing offsetting the amount that would need to be paid back by the amount they would have received under the Canada Emergency Student Benefit, at an overall estimated cost of $67.9 million.