Consulting and artwork purchase | Income tax filing | Discussion forum

You still need a business number even when you don't need a GST number.

The painting seems to be more a capital expense, like furniture, equipment, or tools, than a current expense, like staples, printer toner, or electricity.

See Current or capital expenses of the T4002 Self-employed Business, Professional, Commission, Farming, and Fishing Income Guide.

The painting is probably like furniture and would be a Class 8 capital asset with 20% depreciation rate. Details about capital cost allowance are in Chapter 4 – Capital cost allowance of the T4002 guide.

If the question is whether or not a piece of art bought for your home office (do clients regularly come there?) and solely for Zoom background purposes qualifies as a legitimate business expense instead of being considered personal in nature, I'm not sure that's been confirmed here yet. Sounds ok to me but I wouldn't know for sure.

But if it does, and if the artwork qualifies, I believe the first year's CCA can be tripled under the recent Accelerated Investment Incentive, check out the details for yourself to be sure. I found this example online:
"....in 2013 a Toronto based law firm acquires a piece of art from a local art gallery for $20,000 to display in their lobby. The artist who originally produced the work was a permanent resident of Québec at time of creation. Since the artwork was created by a Canadian artist, costs over $200, and is used as a beautifying fixture in their office, the $20,000 acquisition would be considered a Class 8 capital asset for tax purposes and would be eligible for deduction at a declining rate of 20% per year. Due to CRA’s half-year rule, the deduction in year 1 would be equal to $2,000, or half of the normal 20%. With the new Accelerated Investment Incentive rules, the year 1 deduction in the above example would be increased to $6,000 if the artwork were purchased in 2019."