Child tax benefit outside of Canada?

[mrbeachman]

I am sorry, but why would Canada be paying you a child tax benefit if you are not living in Canada? You are spending Canadian tax payer money in a foreign country.

I currently live outside Canada (for 2 years now) and am still paying my provincial and federal tax just like in Canada. I am back for one month visiting in Ontario and I am not even allowed to see a doctor.

These are the rules.

 

[ayesharobaid]

I don't expect CRA to pay me when I'm out of Canada but I am in Canada. I have been in Canada for 14 years, I am a citizen and a resident of Canada. So why am I having to pay them back?? Because I was out of the country for an emergency? They are not even saying its because I was out of the country for too long, they are saying I owe them money because I haven't been able to prove that my daughter is with me or not?? Absurd...

 

[torontosm]

I don't expect CRA to pay me when I'm out of Canada but I am in Canada. I have been in Canada for 14 years, I am a citizen and a resident of Canada. So why am I having to pay them back?? Because I was out of the country for an emergency? They are not even saying its because I was out of the country for too long, they are saying I owe them money because I haven't been able to prove that my daughter is with me or not?? Absurd...

I'm not sure why you are so upset. The rules are very clear that you must be in Canada to legally receive the benefits. You said yourself that were out of the country for two years, and received benefits that you were not entitled to. Why are you angry that you have to pay those back?

 

[rhcohen2014]

I don't expect CRA to pay me when I'm out of Canada but I am in Canada. I have been in Canada for 14 years, I am a citizen and a resident of Canada. So why am I having to pay them back?? Because I was out of the country for an emergency? They are not even saying its because I was out of the country for too long, they are saying I owe them money because I haven't been able to prove that my daughter is with me or not?? Absurd...

if a child is not physically IN canada, and neither is the parent, then WHY would the parent be entitled to a child tax benefit - which i believe is a benefit aimed to help those living IN canada? i would imagine it would be pretty simple to prove where the child was during the 2 years. just because you are a citizen/resident for tax purposes, doesn't mean you are entitled to every benefit as if you actually were living IN canada. unfortunately, the law is not on your side here.

 

[ayesharobaid]

I'm not sure why you are so upset. The rules are very clear that you must be in Canada to legally receive the benefits. You said yourself that were out of the country for two years, and received benefits that you were not entitled to. Why are you angry that you have to pay those back?

I was entitled to the benefits for 1 of those 2 years that I was out of the country because I had filed my taxes and paid taxes because I had been working. I am upset that I am still not receiving the benefits because I am in Canada and have filed my taxes. So what is stopping them from paying them now. I'm upset because I was not aware that I could not receive benefits out of the country, I'm upset because each and every agent working for CRA told me different things and mislead me. One agent told me that I am entitled to the benefits even if I'm abroad as long as I am a factual resident and am reporting my income and my spouses income which I did while I was abroad.
I am fine with paying back if I illegally took their money but right now I'm unemployed and CRA is aware of that, they should not be sending citizens letters threatening to freeze their bank accounts and their assets without understanding the tax payers situation. These benefits are here to help citizens in need not to take advantage and if I paid taxes for a certain year , I am rightfully entitled to those benefits. Maybe they should give me back the taxes I have been paying.
RECENTLY they told me I had been chosen randomly for a review so no I have to give proof that my daughter lives with me and has been living with me. I couldn't provide them with all the documentation and so now i them everything they paid me the past few years??? If you ask me they just need an excuse to eat our money.
Besides I would like to know where my tax money goes??? I really do think it goes to those alcoholics and drug addicts who voluntarily ruined their lives, they get all the benefits, welfare, affordable housing... it doesn't go to people like me who have worked hard in their lives and is now unexpectedly going through a tough time. I just went to the food bank the other day... and they gave me food that was close to expiry date. So I have to feed my toddler and my pregnant self this??? This is what the government does with my tax money?? I applied for affordable housing and you know what they said? I'm on low priority! I'm unemployed because my employer fired me for being pregnant(which is illegal ), I have a little daughter to support and my husband lives abroad. So why am I on low priority?
I am not looking for sympathy here, I just feel cheated because I have never in life taken welfare, EI or anything like that...
Anyways just taking my frustration out

 

[SenoritaBella]

@ayesharobaid, so sorry to hear that you are having a hard time. It appears CRA wants proof that your daughter lives with you - what kind of documentation did you provide? Things like the following may help prove she has been with you:
a) record of doctor/dentists visits,
b) daycare/school attendance records(if she is enrolled),
c) do you attend church and can your Pastor give you an affidavit?, etc
d) travel records from CBSA for yourself and daughter(to show when you and the child last entered Canada)
e) photocopies of all pages of yours and the child's passport(s)
f) any other thing you think can prove your daughter lives with you.

CRA is not in the business of cheating taxpayers, neither do they want to be cheated(intentionally or not). They can make mistakes, but the worse thing to do is to ignore them. Call them up, explain your situation and what you are doing to find work, ask for an extension or if you can, make a payment plan for however amount you can afford to start paying back. You don't want them to go into your bank account(which they can do).

You said you were fired for being pregnant - how long ago was that? Did you apply for EI? If not, you should apply immediately and explain what happened. Service Canada will get in touch with your employer, etc and go from there. You may still be eligible for EI benefits even if you were fired. This way you will be able to support yourself and your daughter without much hardship.

Next, visit your local legal aid office. If you were indeed fired for being pregnant, you may have a good case against your employer. Some lawyers will take a case and charge the client after they have won their case(settlement). If you agree to such a deal, make sure you get the agreement and the fees you will have to pay in writing. Please don't just sit back and feel sorry for yourself, fight for you, your daughter and unborn child. Congrats on the impending addition to your family and hope it all works out well.

 

[jazibkg]

Say what you will, CRA is an unnecessarily complicated system.

 

[shahriar shantunu]

Dear members I have a question.recently I got immigration and planning to move on June this year but as my mother is very sick I have to come back to my homeland for an uncertain period.Shall I get any child benefit??if not shall I have to pay any tax.pls tell me...

 

[Leon]

Dear members I have a question.recently I got immigration and planning to move on June this year but as my mother is very sick I have to come back to my homeland for an uncertain period.Shall I get any child benefit??if not shall I have to pay any tax.pls tell me...

If you are just coming to land and not to stay, you should only register for a SIN number and not for health care or for child benefits. You will not have to start filing and paying taxes in Canada until you actually settle.

 

[skogutem]

Hi,

Can someone please advise on the below:

I landed in Canada in July 2015 and my wife and 1year old kid landed in Aug 2015 as Permanent residents.
and
All three of us got SIN number and my wife is already registrar and claiming child tax benefits.
and
I am still living in Canada however my family (Wife and Kid) left in September 2015 and they may join me in June 2016.

Can my wife still claim child tax benefits staying out of Canada? if yes, do you have any source info. if no how do we return child tax benefits funds.

thank you so much!!!

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hi,

Can someone please advise on the below:

I landed in Canada in July 2015 and my wife and 1year old kid landed in Aug 2015 as Permanent residents.
and
All three of us got SIN number and my wife is already registrar and claiming child tax benefits.
and
I am still living in Canada however my family (Wife and Kid) left in September 2015 and they may join me in June 2016.

Can my wife still claim child tax benefits staying out of Canada? if yes, do you have any source info. if no how do we return child tax benefits funds.

thank you so much!!!

No, both the claimant and the child have to be in Canada,

 

[BrianDell]

No, both the claimant and the child have to be in Canada

This is not correct. If a Canadian mother takes a two month leave of absence from work and isn't living with her Canadian husband for those two months because she and the child are visiting grandma, it is not true that Canada Revenue will later coming knocking looking for a refund of those two months worth of child benefit.

The reason why the government went after the poster in this thread is because she did not just temporarily leave the family home, she effectively pulled up stakes and left. What stakes were left behind? Any belongings like house or car? She says her husband lives abroad, which is a huge factor in deciding someone's ties to Canada (along with whether one has taken a job overseas versus merely studying overseas or visiting overseas family). She was also away for a full two years, which is a very long time for a mere trip outside Canada and it doesn't sound like the family home in Canada was just left vacant during this time waiting for her return. Even then it sounds like Canada Revenue went after her not with respect to her residency status per se but with respect to whether she actually had responsibility for caring for the child. The policy reason for not paying child benefit to people who are not caring for children ought to be obvious.

It's not that difficult to stay clearly onside the rules here. First of all, if someone is established in Canada prior to the sojourn overseas and the stay overseas is less than 183 days in the tax year, it normally doesn't even go to the question of residential ties. Secondly, look at the documentary requirement:
http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/cctb/pplctn-eng.html
It says proof of birth is required if the child was born outside Canada. So it's obviously possible to receive the benefit if the child was born overseas. The documentary requirements are notably higher if "your application is for a period that started more than 11 months ago". The implication is that if one is back in Canada within those 11 months, one's ordinarily unlikely to have a problem.

 

[Leon]

ayesharobaid, you say that you were entitled to CCTB for the first year gone because you had paid taxes in Canada the year before. This is not necessarily true. The question is if you were a factual resident of Canada. You may have decided that you were but CRA may not agree.

Now you are in a pickle with CRA, you will have to clear that up. SenoritaBella already gave you some tips on how to prove that your daughter was living with you. They will naturally not pay you benefits now if they believe you owe them $10,000. You need legal aid to explain to them that you are pregnant and penniless with a child to feed and to make a payment plan in case you owe them.

As for your lack of income, being fired etc. you should apply for EI and if you don't qualify for EI, apply for welfare to make sure you can put food on the table for your child.

 

[Singh27]

hello friends ,

Need help from every one here.

Last year mid (2015) i got my PR and did a short landing. While in canada we did all our landing formalities and even applied for child benefit ,as we were planing to come back by this year beginning (2016). But due to unforeseen issues we couldn't come back and are planning to return to canada by 2016 year end.

the question i have for people in this forum is that

1. I want to stop our child benefit as we are not eligible for it, so how do we inform them
2. how do we return the money they have deposited in our till now.

any help and guidance from fellow settlers will be highly appreciated.

regards,
singh

 

[iwannago]

Hi! We are permanent immigrants landing end of may this year. I am just curious, i have 3 kids aged 12, 9 and 6. I just want to hve an idea if we can claim child benefits after a month from landing? More or less, how much per month can we expect to receive? Thank you