Does after soft landing your worldwide income is taxable in Canada?

[Wunderkid]

You don't have to pay taxes

Hi, I opened a savings account during my soft landing and also have a credit card and a learner's license. I am in my country of residence and will return back to Canada for good. So I would not have to pay taxes on Global income, do I?

 

[Canadavisa92]

Hi, I opened a savings account during my soft landing and also have a credit card and a learner's license. I am in my country of residence and will return back to Canada for good. So I would not have to pay taxes on Global income, do I?

If you haven't earned any income while in Canada from a job inside Canada, then you don't have to pay taxes until you do so.
When did you land and when are you coming back

 

[jclarke99]

If you haven't earned any income while in Canada from a job inside Canada, then you don't have to pay taxes until you do so.
When did you land and when are you coming back

Hmmm, be careful here. Taxes can be on worldwide income, not just a job inside Canada. What's more important is determining if you are a Canadian resident for tax purposes. I suspect that a savings account, credit card and learner's license is probably not enough to make you a resident for tax purposes, especially if you haven't been in Canada for 183+ days in a given tax year. Check out the following...

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html

 

[Canadavisa92]

Hmmm, be careful here. Taxes can be on worldwide income, not just a job inside Canada. What's more important is determining if you are a Canadian resident for tax purposes. I suspect that a savings account, credit card and learner's license is probably not enough to make you a resident for tax purposes, especially if you haven't been in Canada for 183+ days in a given tax year. Check out the following...

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html

Yes ehat I meant is his ties aren't considered enough for him to become a tax resident. I have been there and when I filed my 2019 taxes I was deemed non resident by CRA so I am speaking out of experience. I had a credit card, 2 bank accounts, and a driving licence

 

[Wunderkid]

If you haven't earned any income while in Canada from a job inside Canada, then you don't have to pay taxes until you do so.
When did you land and when are you coming back

Hi, I did my landing in 2018 and stayed there for 21 days, opened a bank account with RBC. I returned back for a 21 days in June 2019 and stayed for a further 21 days and opened my second account with HSBC and got my learner's license. I opened a second account with HSBC as I bank with HSBC in the UAE. I'm currently working in the UAE and my salary gets transferred into HSBC UAE account.

So I'm wondering if I'm going to be taxed for the past 2-3 years?

 

[Wunderkid]

Hmmm, be careful here. Taxes can be on worldwide income, not just a job inside Canada. What's more important is determining if you are a Canadian resident for tax purposes. I suspect that a savings account, credit card and learner's license is probably not enough to make you a resident for tax purposes, especially if you haven't been in Canada for 183+ days in a given tax year. Check out the following...

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html

Thanks for the link. Very useful information.

 

[Canadavisa92]

Hi, I did my landing in 2018 and stayed there for 21 days, opened a bank account with RBC. I returned back for a 21 days in June 2019 and stayed for a further 21 days and opened my second account with HSBC and got my learner's license. I opened a second account with HSBC as I bank with HSBC in the UAE. I'm currently working in the UAE and my salary gets transferred into HSBC UAE account.

So I'm wondering if I'm going to be taxed for the past 2-3 years?

Well, the CRA is the only authority concerned with determining if you are or were a tax resident for 2018, 2019 and 2020 and now that we have this cleared let me.give you my 2 cents on the matter.
Given your situation, you aren't a tax resident and you didn't have to file for.any return, however, I would advice that you file taxes for those years even if its a zero return just to be on track of tax filing.( just an advice, you aren't legally entitled to do that).

When I was in your situation in the UAE too I phoned up the CRA and the agent made it clear to me that if I don't have any of the significant ties and just a couple of secondary ties that doesnt make me a tax resident, this was even confirmed when I approached H&R block to file my non tax resident tax year of 2019.
To make peace with yourself on that matter, try calling one of the tax preparation companies as they are a alot more knowledgeable of the matter and are easier to reach to via phone than the CRA.
(Try H&R block or Turbotax)

 

[yvanivanw]

Well, the CRA is the only authority concerned with determining if you are or were a tax resident for 2018, 2019 and 2020 and now that we have this cleared let me.give you my 2 cents on the matter.
Given your situation, you aren't a tax resident and you didn't have to file for.any return, however, I would advice that you file taxes for those years even if its a zero return just to be on track of tax filing.( just an advice, you aren't legally entitled to do that).

When I was in your situation in the UAE too I phoned up the CRA and the agent made it clear to me that if I don't have any of the significant ties and just a couple of secondary ties that doesnt make me a tax resident, this was even confirmed when I approached H&R block to file my non tax resident tax year of 2019.
To make peace with yourself on that matter, try calling one of the tax preparation companies as they are a alot more knowledgeable of the matter and are easier to reach to via phone than the CRA.
(Try H&R block or Turbotax)

Why did you file your tax as a non-resident for 2019? Do you have any Canadian income during that year, or?

 

[canuck78]

Well, the CRA is the only authority concerned with determining if you are or were a tax resident for 2018, 2019 and 2020 and now that we have this cleared let me.give you my 2 cents on the matter.
Given your situation, you aren't a tax resident and you didn't have to file for.any return, however, I would advice that you file taxes for those years even if its a zero return just to be on track of tax filing.( just an advice, you aren't legally entitled to do that).

When I was in your situation in the UAE too I phoned up the CRA and the agent made it clear to me that if I don't have any of the significant ties and just a couple of secondary ties that doesnt make me a tax resident, this was even confirmed when I approached H&R block to file my non tax resident tax year of 2019.
To make peace with yourself on that matter, try calling one of the tax preparation companies as they are a alot more knowledgeable of the matter and are easier to reach to via phone than the CRA.
(Try H&R block or Turbotax)

Would not say that most tax preparation offices are necessarily knowledgeable. They also can’t determine if you are a tax resident. CRA has issues but if you file to determine your tax residency status it will be on file with the CRA.

 

[PaulSarab]

Our family has been approved under the Quebec Investor immigration and have received the COPR which expires November 2022.

We plan to land in Montreal in October 2022 and stay there for 2 weeks to complete the documents (SIN card, PR etc) and eventually go back to our tax residency country (Thailand) to wind down. We plan to migrate mid 2023 to settle down in Canada. The address in Canada to send the PR card will be my sister’s address in Toronto so she can send it across to me once she gets it.

My question pertains to if we are liable to Canadian tax as a PR for the year 2022/2023? We do NOT plan to purchase/rent a house till the eventual move next year in 2023 and will just live at a hotel/AIrBNB. I would like to open a bank account to facilitate finances for the future but it is not imperative if the bank account means we will have a tie to Canada. I’m just not sure about the FMV (fair market value) of our assets - whether that’s based on the first date we enter or the second time we enter next year. We would like to delay being a Canadian tax resident till our eventual move in 2023.

I do have a Canadian driving license since 2018 ( I go to visit my sister every year) and also a savings account with Scotia bank since 2014 ( I gave my sister's address when I opened the account and did not inquire if it is a non-resident account). Do I need to surrender my driving license and close my bank account?

I have read online that -
You become a resident of Canada when you establish residential ties with Canada. The year in which you become a resident of Canada is considered a part-year for tax purposes. Keep in mind that tax residency is different from the immigration residency status in Canada. An individual who is a landed immigrant may not have established residential ties with Canada or another way round.

I thank you in advance for any guidance that you could provide to this question.

 

[canuck78]

Our family has been approved under the Quebec Investor immigration and have received the COPR which expires November 2022.

We plan to land in Montreal in October 2022 and stay there for 2 weeks to complete the documents (SIN card, PR etc) and eventually go back to our tax residency country (Thailand) to wind down. We plan to migrate mid 2023 to settle down in Canada. The address in Canada to send the PR card will be my sister’s address in Toronto so she can send it across to me once she gets it.

My question pertains to if we are liable to Canadian tax as a PR for the year 2022/2023? We do NOT plan to purchase/rent a house till the eventual move next year in 2023 and will just live at a hotel/AIrBNB. I would like to open a bank account to facilitate finances for the future but it is not imperative if the bank account means we will have a tie to Canada. I’m just not sure about the FMV (fair market value) of our assets - whether that’s based on the first date we enter or the second time we enter next year. We would like to delay being a Canadian tax resident till our eventual move in 2023.

I do have a Canadian driving license since 2018 ( I go to visit my sister every year) and also a savings account with Scotia bank since 2014 ( I gave my sister's address when I opened the account and did not inquire if it is a non-resident account). Do I need to surrender my driving license and close my bank account?

I have read online that -
You become a resident of Canada when you establish residential ties with Canada. The year in which you become a resident of Canada is considered a part-year for tax purposes. Keep in mind that tax residency is different from the immigration residency status in Canada. An individual who is a landed immigrant may not have established residential ties with Canada or another way round.

I thank you in advance for any guidance that you could provide to this question.

Given that you are applying to the Quebec investor program having a Toronto mailing isn’t advisable. If you have a bank account yes you could be a tax resident when you move to Canada. Lying to a bank to open an account is also not advisable. CRA is the only entity able to determine whether you are a tax resident with your account.

 

[jclarke99]

I've been in a similar situation. When I landed with COPR docs, I made it clear to immigration that I was doing a soft landing, and that my move date would be later. I also provided a list of all items that I would be moving at a later date - it's important to provide such a list when you land on Oct 2022 or you may be liable for duty when you do move. My PR status became official during my soft landing and I received paper-work as such, and I provided my sister's address in Canada for mailing the PR card.

Besides that, I've gone out of my way to NOT create further ties with Canada until our official move. So, I did NOT apply for a SIN card, nor a bank account, drivers license or anything else. Not sure if I'm being overly cautious.

Also not sure what you should do about your Canadian drivers license or bank account. But surrendering/closing them would be evidence that you did not consider yourself a resident until your official move.

 

[jclarke99]

I've been in a similar situation. When I landed with COPR docs, I made it clear to immigration that I was doing a soft landing, and that my move date would be later. I also provided a list of all items that I would be moving at a later date - it's important to provide such a list when you land on Oct 2022 or you may be liable for duty when you do move. My PR status became official during my soft landing and I received paper-work as such, and I provided my sister's address in Canada for mailing the PR card.

Besides that, I've gone out of my way to NOT create further ties with Canada until our official move. So, I did NOT apply for a SIN card, nor a bank account, drivers license or anything else. Not sure if I'm being overly cautious.

Also not sure what you should do about your Canadian drivers license or bank account. But surrendering/closing them would be evidence that you did not consider yourself a resident until your official move.

Check out this link for more info about the personal effects list. https://arrivein.com/daily-life-in-canada/how-to-fill-forms-b4-and-b4a-bsf186-and-bsf186a-while-moving-to-canada/

 

[PaulSarab]

Given that you are applying to the Quebec investor program having a Toronto mailing isn’t advisable. If you have a bank account yes you could be a tax resident when you move to Canada. Lying to a bank to open an account is also not advisable. CRA is the only entity able to determine whether you are a tax resident with your account.

My brother in law assisted in opening the bank account with Scotia using his address and as I am not aware of how things work with Canadian Banks, I did not ask any questions pertaining to taxes. Ditto with the driving license - I used his address.

I would like to call CRA to check on the bank account and the driving license and if needed, I can surrender both of them. But I cannot seems to find the phone number. I also was told that CRA now has a chat line but again, I cannot find it online. Any assistance is appreciated. Thank you.

 

[canuck78]

My brother in law assisted in opening the bank account with Scotia using his address and as I am not aware of how things work with Canadian Banks, I did not ask any questions pertaining to taxes. Ditto with the driving license - I used his address.

I would like to call CRA to check on the bank account and the driving license and if needed, I can surrender both of them. But I cannot seems to find the phone number. I also was told that CRA now has a chat line but again, I cannot find it online. Any assistance is appreciated. Thank you.

Not knowing how banks work in Canada doesn’t excuse anyone from saying their residential address is in Canada when it is not. There is a specific form you have to fill out for CRA to determine if you are a tax resident or not. Personally would close your bank account to minimize ties to Canada although CRA will determine if you have to 100% guarantee that you are not a tax resident. The driver’s license is less of a big deal although you also indicated that your sister’s address was your permanent residential address which also has never correct. In general any tie to Canada as a PR has the risk to make you a tax resident. Things like spouse or dependent children in Canada, financial accounts in Canada, etc. are the most common things that make non-residents tax residents.