Money received for work from abroad - declare or not declare

[Wendy_A]

Hello my friend,

I've got question which is related to my tax return filing for 2017

I became PR in Feb 2016 but only moved in Canada permanently since May 2017. To earn money for living, from May 2017, I did some work for my friend for his business in my home country and had commissions, money is transferred to my Canadian bank account. I also have a full-time job in Canada from Aug 2017, pay full EP, CPP and Federal income tax too. My friend transferred money to my Canadian bank account from his company's bank account in Canada. The total amount up to Feb 2018 is around $45k

Is it ok if I don't declare the commissions on my tax filing as overseas income since there's no contract, no agreement, no message on the remittance either?

I will declare the interest earned from those amount as interest from savings (under $100)

Thanks everyone for your guidance

 

[pie_vancouver]

Income is income, up to you if you want to be honest or not.

 

[Rob_TO]

Is it ok if I don't declare the commissions on my tax filing as overseas income since there's no contract, no agreement, no message on the remittance either?

So basically asking if ok to commit tax fraud since you think you probably won't be caught?

 

[Wendy_A]

So basically asking if ok to commit tax fraud since you think you probably won't be caught?

I just dont want to declare it, everything is for overseas job, only money received in Canada account

 

[Rob_TO]

I just dont want to declare it, everything is for overseas job, only money received in Canada account

Right, you want to commit tax fraud. Good luck with that.

Note that your bank can report to CRA the big amounts being transferred into your Canadian bank account.

 

[noscaf2014]

I just dont want to declare it, everything is for overseas job, only money received in Canada account

It is not about what you want, no one likes to pay taxes. Any form of income you earn has to be declared whether you like/want it or not. You asked if you can choose not to and you were answered that this is a fraud. You can ignore the answers but be ready for the consequences. Good Luck!

 

[Wendy_A]

Right, you want to commit tax fraud. Good luck with that.

Note that your bank can report to CRA the big amounts being transferred into your Canadian bank account.

Thanks, I'll take note

 

[Wendy_A]

Yeah @Rob_TO you're right, I checked with my bank and they say there will be a report for transaction over 10k, I have to file the return on it anyway **sigh**

 

[Rob_TO]

Yeah @Rob_TO you're right, I checked with my bank and they say there will be a report for transaction over 10k, I have to file the return on it anyway **sigh**

Regardless of the bank reporting, you are talking about committing tax fraud in not declaring income, an illegal activity.

This is as bad as committing misrepresentation on a PR app, so you will not find any sympathy on this site. Cheating on your taxes hurts all Canadians so if you proceed with it I hope you're caught by the CRA.

 

[canuck78]

Don't understand how this was tough choice. You had landed in Canada, weren't working another job for a few months but still consider this working abroad. I'm sure you would have no hesitation using Canadian services until you started working at your "Canadian" job.

 

[torontosm]

I just dont want to declare it, everything is for overseas job, only money received in Canada account

Not declaring it is illegal and is an act of fraud.

 

[Navprateek]

Regardless of the bank reporting, you are talking about committing tax fraud in not declaring income, an illegal activity.

This is as bad as committing misrepresentation on a PR app, so you will not find any sympathy on this site. Cheating on your taxes hurts all Canadians so if you proceed with it I hope you're caught by the CRA.

Just came across this thread. I am wondering if we have to declare the funds one might have received as a help from back home. My parents have transferred a total of 25-30K at different occasions. I am planning to file taxes in couple weeks. Any input will be appreciated.

 

[Rob_TO]

Just came across this thread. I am wondering if we have to declare the funds one might have received as a help from back home. My parents have transferred a total of 25-30K at different occasions. I am planning to file taxes in couple weeks. Any input will be appreciated.

Cash gifts from family should be non-taxable, so you don't need to report on income tax.

However expect that the large amounts (typically over $10K) deposited to your Canadian bank account were for sure flagged, and bank may have voluntarily reported it to CRA. So CRA may inquire about it. You may need to show a paper trail of where exactly the funds came from, so show originating account was your parents account in home country. Also there should have been some anti-money laundering paperwork done to ensure the source of the funds was not from crime.

 

[Navprateek]

Cash gifts from family should be non-taxable, so you don't need to report on income tax.

However expect that the large amounts (typically over $10K) deposited to your Canadian bank account were for sure flagged, and bank may have voluntarily reported it to CRA. So CRA may inquire about it. You may need to show a paper trail of where exactly the funds came from, so show originating account was your parents account in home country. Also there should have been some anti-money laundering paperwork done to ensure the source of the funds was not from crime.

Thank-you for your advice. I will ask my parents to keep a record of documents in case CRA asks for it.