Determination of residence status vs file tax return

[takamasa]

hi there ,as to follow up my previous post.
I have spoken with Cra agent over the phone, my status is a Canadian resident as they are still processing my application .

However here‘s comes a question ,hope some of u guys can give me an idea if I should re file my tax return.

Here’s the story and timeline
Before oct 2016: working in Canada as pr.
2016 nov, started new job in the oversea while immigration Canada was still working on my citizenship application.
2018 dec : became a Canadian citizen
Early 2019: immediately declare non resident using the form and filed by mail.

So in that case, am I supposed to file tax return for 2017 and 2018. Or tax purposes only for income in Canada only.

Because one thing she stresses on , my immigrant status has nothing to do with my cra tax purpose.

Thanks guys for helping with this situation.

 

[zardoz]

hi there ,as to follow up my previous post.
I have spoken with Cra agent over the phone, my status is a Canadian resident as they are still processing my application .

However here‘s comes a question ,hope some of u guys can give me an idea if I should re file my tax return.

Here’s the story and timeline
Before oct 2016: working in Canada as pr.
2016 nov, started new job in the oversea while immigration Canada was still working on my citizenship application.
2018 dec : became a Canadian citizen
Early 2019: immediately declare non resident using the form and filed by mail.

So in that case, am I supposed to file tax return for 2017 and 2018. Or tax purposes only for income in Canada only.

Because one thing she stresses on , my immigrant status has nothing to do with my cra tax purpose.

Thanks guys for helping with this situation.

That's as I understand it. Your immigration status is NOT related to your tax residency status.
If you are not sure, ask CRA for a formal ruling on your tax status for each year. Just because you are not in Canada, it doesn't necessarily make you a non-resident.

 

[takamasa]

But if I were not working in Canada as a pr,do I need file tax return for that tax year ?

 

[dpenabill]

But if I were not working in Canada as a pr,do I need file tax return for that tax year ?

This forum is about citizenship and immigration. While there are some incidental tax filing issues related to citizenship and immigration, they are tangents.

Mostly, however, this is NOT a forum about CRA policies or rules. For more information about CRA policies and rules, best to first research the CRA website and review relevant information. And if you still have questions, access sources more specifically about Canadian tax filing and tax payment issues.

REMEMBER: while it is usually easy to determine who is a resident of Canada for TAX PURPOSES, for anyone actually living or working in Canada, outside the more or less obvious cases THERE IS NO DEFINITIVE RULE. There is little certainty any time there is a mixed question of FACT (most of the relevant considerations in determining if a person is a resident are questions of fact) and of LAW (applying the CRA guidelines to the facts), and especially if this involves BALANCING multiple factors which can have variable weight in the balancing.

In other words, determining who must file a RESIDENT tax return in Canada is a simple question UNLESS it is not a simple question, in which event it is a complex question which potentially can be a very complicated question for which even those who are well informed may reach differing conclusions. Not the forte of this forum. Far from it.

BOTTOM-LINE: do not rely on this forum to answer who in particular must file a tax return, including questions about who is a resident for tax purposes.

Note: it is one thing to restate the citizenship application rules, pursuant to which an applicant must disclose whether or not the applicant was required to file a return (without distinguishing whether that needs to be a resident or non-resident return) and also disclose whether or not a return was filed, for five relevant tax years. BUT quite another to offer an opinion, let alone advice, about who must file a return, whether that is based on requirements for non-residents or related to a probability that CRA will DEEM a person to have been a resident for tax purposes. There tends to be minimal reliable information about the latter in this forum . . . since, after all, that is NOT what this forum is about.

 

[takamasa]

hey

thank you for detail reply, much appreciated. totally understood and will look into the terms and rules with cra web site.

i do apologize if i post irrelevant questions here though, not purpose, hope everyone wont mind

 

[dpenabill]

i do apologize if i post irrelevant questions here

My observation, though strongly stated, was not intended to chastise. Far from it. Never hurts to ask. I certainly do not want to discourage anyone from asking questions, any questions.

Rather, the point was to alert you, with some emphasis, that this forum will NOT provide much in the way of reliable information regarding tax related questions if those questions are at all complicated.

Most people who are a resident of Canada for TAX purposes are residents in fact and generally considered Canadian residents for other purposes. Not complicated.

But as you appear to be well aware, CRA can also DEEM an individual to be a resident of Canada for TAX purposes. Some of the factors considered are fairly easy to recognize, like physical presence in Canada for more than six months in the respective tax year. But not everyone who spends more than six months of the year in Canada is a resident of Canada for TAX purposes. And, in contrast, some persons who spend less than six months in Canada can nonetheless still be deemed to be a resident of Canada for TAX purposes.

Sorting through the relevant criteria and applying them to the vast array of factual scenarios which arise in the course of real life can get complicated, and TRICKY. Often too complicated and tricky for open forum keyboard counseling, generally, let alone in a forum such as this, a forum which is focused on very different subjects. That does not always preclude offers of keyboard advice here and, in numerous other topics, there is no shortage of unreliable and occasionally outright erroneous opinions regarding various tax related questions. So I emphasize, foremost, going to the primary source, the information provided by CRA, and otherwise looking for other better informed and more reliable sources about Canadian tax-related questions.