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Should I claim non resident (Canada)?

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  1. #1

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    Should I claim non resident (Canada)?

    Hello all,

    I just recently got a job in HK and will be starting on January 11th. I have been in Hong Kong for the past 4 months (September-December) for a student exchange and just finished a couple weeks ago which also completed my degree.

    I have no property in Canada, and I only have some credit cards, bank accounts, driver license and also student loans. With that, am I able to claim non residence? I did work from March-August in Canada so that should be on my 2009-10 tax filing when this March rolls around. I didn't make much, so I am thinking I wont have to owe the government any money, and maybe a return is possible.

    Anyways, I think I can claim non residence so I wont have to pay double taxes. But I am not sure where to start, any advice would be great.

    Thanks!


  2. #2

    Hi BryanL,

    All information about filing non-residency can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency website.

    Is your job in HK a permanent full-time position? For how long do you think you'll be away from Canada? Do you still have family in Canada? Do you plan to travel back to Canada frequently?

    Whether the CRA allows you to claim non-residency depends on how many "ties" (personal, professional, residential, etc.) you still have in Canada. It's probably best to discuss directly with CRA.

    Also, you do not have to claim non-residency to avoid double tax. You can claim the HK tax you paid as foreign tax credit for your Canadian income tax. As I'm not a tax accountant (just another Canadian expat) I'd advise you talk to both HK and Canadian tax accountants.

    HTH.


  3. #3

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    You don't need to ask nor should you do so from CRA. Just tick the non resident box from your tax return and that's the end of the story. trying to get the official status is simply asking for trouble as they will be taking a closer look.

    If you have income in Canada then you keep filing tax returns every year to report it and pay the 25% on that amount. Otherwise, you need not do anything until your return.

    There are loads of people that don't fully qualify and it never becomes an issue unless you are audited which is quite rare unless you give them a reason to do so like asking for them to evaluate your non residency.

    The main points are no residence, no jobs waiting for you, no wives or children in Canada and obviously not using your health care card and being away for at least two years. The rest is mostly incidental...


  4. #4

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    Last year I did my tax returns online through Netfile, can I still do the same online?


  5. #5

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    You can't Netfile if you are non-resident which you are going to declare on that little check box of your T1. You can download the relevant tax forms from the CRA site.


  6. #6

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    So if I state non resident and write down the Month and Day, I don't have to fill anything else and just submit whatever is completed thus far? Even if I have some T4 slips from my previous employer before my departure from Canada?


  7. #7

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    You submit all your T4 from previous year. Say you are in HK now Dec 29, your tax return for the current yr is due next Apr. By next Feb you should have all your T4 from your previous employers, ensure they have a HK addy to forward your T4 to. You do your tax, enter last day in Canada of Dec 29, fill out the rest and include the T4. They process it and either you have a return or have to pay back. In my case I had to repay and used my CAD bank account to pay CRA. PM me if you like if you have more Q's.

    Football16 likes this.

  8. #8

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    Hey all,

    As you know the Canadian tax filing is coming up in a month, I just have some questions. I have read many threads basically telling me I do not need to make a claim, but I just wanted to reconfirm.

    The thing is, I had moved to HK in August. From Last year's tax year, April-August I was working and made $5000 while being a student. I had also received a scholarship and grants making my total income over $11,000. These are all T4A slips, none of them were just normal T4 slips. I also have a bunch of T5 slips from investment incomes such as stocks dividends, interest from bank accounts etc, but that total is a low number.

    I also have educational tuition credit that I will transfer to my father for him to deduct. I have given the written consent for him to deduct the $5000 maximum transfer contribution.

    I have been receiving CPP orphan's benefits up until December 2009 and also still receiving GST/HST returns quarterly.

    The date of my actual departure was in 3rd of August (I came to HK as an exchange student) and my first day of work was January 11th 2010. Given the information I have provided, should I file a tax return or just let it go? I am a bit worried that if I do not file one, my father will not get the $5000 tuition credit transfered to him. I also do not want to get in trouble with the CRA. I can understand people saying no need to claim, but it seems like those who do not claim have not had any income during that tax year so they were safe. I am over the $11,000 threshold, plus was receiving CPP and GST benefits.

    I have not made any official non residency claim, but I am obviously not a resident of Canada anymore.

    Any advice would be great, thanks!


  9. #9

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    In my opinion, if you earned income, you need to file even if you don't owe tax. It's likely that you would get some money back and it'll give you an opportunity to tick the non resident box on the form.


  10. #10

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    Yup, I would file since you got income as gilleshk mentioned. Also, you're still receiving benefits from Canada.

    If you want to claim non-resident this would be the tax form to mention your last day as resident however have you cancelled your benefits yet as that would be income for 2010 if you're still receiving it.


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