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Do I need to pay my taxes before applying for citizenship?

Slim1991

Star Member
May 17, 2019
109
65
Hi everyone,
So I have 3k to pay to Quebec government for this year’s taxes and 2 k to the federal. It turns out my employers were not taking enough from my pay.
My question is: do i need to pay these two in order to apply and not get refused?
If i pay in instalments, do i risk being refused in my application?

Thank you in advance for any help you may provide
 

Americanwife94

Star Member
Jun 5, 2016
177
235
They care that you’ve submitted your taxes, not that you owe exactly $0. I also had the same thought but everything I’ve read led me to believe you can owe and still be approved for citizenship. Otherwise SO many people would be denied May-July when people are still paying their tax bill.
 
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firstax

Hero Member
Dec 8, 2018
423
439
Tax filing is one way IRCC uses to verify residency, employment history and other background checks. They are not looking if you're owing taxes. A lot of people owe taxes or are on a payment plan so that's also not an issue too.
 
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abbas.pasha

VIP Member
Sep 17, 2016
3,601
2,022
Hi everyone,
So I have 3k to pay to Quebec government for this year’s taxes and 2 k to the federal. It turns out my employers were not taking enough from my pay.
My question is: do i need to pay these two in order to apply and not get refused?
If i pay in instalments, do i risk being refused in my application?

Thank you in advance for any help you may provide
Do invest in RRSP ;)
 

furrukhrao

Hero Member
Jun 13, 2015
326
94
Hi everyone,
So I have 3k to pay to Quebec government for this year’s taxes and 2 k to the federal. It turns out my employers were not taking enough from my pay.
My question is: do i need to pay these two in order to apply and not get refused?
If i pay in instalments, do i risk being refused in my application?

Thank you in advance for any help you may provide
No, Tax returns and owing to the Govt are two different matter if you work at two Jobs better try to put some money in RRSP to balance the payments.
 
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Hummingbird89

Hero Member
Mar 18, 2023
366
50
Toronto
Category........
CEC
LANDED..........
2019
Incorrect I have outstanding payments owed and my application went tru no problems IRCC doesn’t care , they only care about filing your taxes 3 years within the 5 years .
I would hope that's true but I had agents from CRA on my LinkedIn page scoping me out. I had a re-assessment pending and they wanted me to submit my proof of donations made for $3600 otherwise I'd owe the difference in taxes. I cleared my situation up before it affected my timeline. The reason why my brother refuses to apply for citizenship is because he's been evading taxes for years. He was advised not to submit under those circumstances. Because of it, he missed our father's funeral abroad.