diff --git a/docs/cmd/tkn_task_start.md b/docs/cmd/tkn_task_start.md
index 15a1cf62f..835744c80 100644
--- a/docs/cmd/tkn_task_start.md
+++ b/docs/cmd/tkn_task_start.md
@@ -30,7 +30,7 @@ like cat,foo,bar
 ### Options
 
 ```
-  -f, --filename string          filename containing a task definition
+  -f, --filename string          local or remote file name containing a task definition
   -h, --help                     help for start
   -i, --inputresource strings    pass the input resource name and ref as name=ref
   -l, --labels strings           pass labels as label=value.
diff --git a/docs/man/man1/tkn-task-start.1 b/docs/man/man1/tkn-task-start.1
index 5eb2bafa9..6db5456a1 100644
--- a/docs/man/man1/tkn-task-start.1
+++ b/docs/man/man1/tkn-task-start.1
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ Start tasks
 .SH OPTIONS
 .PP
 \fB\-f\fP, \fB\-\-filename\fP=""
-    filename containing a task definition
+    local or remote file name containing a task definition
 
 .PP
 \fB\-h\fP, \fB\-\-help\fP[=false]
diff --git a/go.sum b/go.sum
index 0c070fec7..3f564aba7 100644
--- a/go.sum
+++ b/go.sum
@@ -412,6 +412,7 @@ k8s.io/api v0.0.0-20191004102255-dacd7df5a50b h1:38Nx0U83WjBqn1hUWxlgKc7mvH7WhyH
 k8s.io/api v0.0.0-20191004102255-dacd7df5a50b/go.mod h1:iuAfoD4hCxJ8Onx9kaTIt30j7jUFS00AXQi6QMi99vA=
 k8s.io/apimachinery v0.0.0-20191004074956-01f8b7d1121a h1:lDydUqHrbL/1l5ZQrqD1RIlabhmX8aiZEtxVUb+30iU=
 k8s.io/apimachinery v0.0.0-20191004074956-01f8b7d1121a/go.mod h1:ccL7Eh7zubPUSh9A3USN90/OzHNSVN6zxzde07TDCL0=
+k8s.io/apimachinery v0.17.0 h1:xRBnuie9rXcPxUkDizUsGvPf1cnlZCFu210op7J7LJo=
 k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.0.0-20191004110054-fe9b9282443f h1:vJOrMsZe+RD884n+WQ5So2oOp7SajI0Op3oOBg64ZsY=
 k8s.io/cli-runtime v0.0.0-20191004110054-fe9b9282443f/go.mod h1:qWnH3/b8sp/l7EvlDh7ulDU3UWA4P4N1NFbEEP791tM=
 k8s.io/client-go v0.0.0-20191004102537-eb5b9a8cfde7 h1:WyPHgjjXvF4zVVwKGZKKiJGBUW45AuN44uSOuH8euuE=
diff --git a/pkg/cmd/task/start.go b/pkg/cmd/task/start.go
index 6587ffcd3..781c02d22 100644
--- a/pkg/cmd/task/start.go
+++ b/pkg/cmd/task/start.go
@@ -17,7 +17,6 @@ package task
 import (
 	"errors"
 	"fmt"
-	"io/ioutil"
 	"strings"
 	"time"
 
@@ -26,6 +25,7 @@ import (
 	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/cli"
 	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/cmd/taskrun"
 	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/flags"
+	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/helper/file"
 	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/helper/labels"
 	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/helper/options"
 	"github.com/tektoncd/cli/pkg/helper/params"
@@ -140,7 +140,7 @@ like cat,foo,bar
 	c.Flags().BoolVarP(&opt.Last, "last", "L", false, "re-run the task using last taskrun values")
 	c.Flags().StringSliceVarP(&opt.Labels, "labels", "l", []string{}, "pass labels as label=value.")
 	c.Flags().BoolVarP(&opt.ShowLog, "showlog", "", false, "show logs right after starting the task")
-	c.Flags().StringVarP(&opt.Filename, "filename", "f", "", "filename containing a task definition")
+	c.Flags().StringVarP(&opt.Filename, "filename", "f", "", "local or remote file name containing a task definition")
 	c.Flags().Int64VarP(&opt.TimeOut, "timeout", "t", 3600, "timeout for taskrun in seconds")
 
 	_ = c.MarkZshCompPositionalArgumentCustom(1, "__tkn_get_task")
@@ -148,8 +148,8 @@ like cat,foo,bar
 	return c
 }
 
-func parseTask(p string) (*v1alpha1.Task, error) {
-	b, err := ioutil.ReadFile(p)
+func parseTask(taskLocation string, p cli.Params) (*v1alpha1.Task, error) {
+	b, err := file.LoadFileContent(p, taskLocation, file.IsYamlFile(), fmt.Errorf("inavlid file format for %s: .yaml or .yml file extension and format required", taskLocation))
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -177,7 +177,7 @@ func startTask(opt startOptions, args []string) error {
 			Timeout: &metav1.Duration{Duration: timeoutSeconds},
 		}
 	} else {
-		task, err := parseTask(opt.Filename)
+		task, err := parseTask(opt.Filename, opt.cliparams)
 		if err != nil {
 			return err
 		}