Filling income tax for newcomer

[hussainm85]

Hi All
I did my landing on 15th Feb 17 and became a permanent resident of Canada since then. However I was there for 2 days and went back to my current country of residence.
My PR card says valid from 17th March 17 and for a 5 year period.

My wife is planning to settle down by 15th August 17 for good. I plan to follow only by Feb 2018 as I am completing few more months here and finalising the move.

I am trying to read up on the tax system and how it works in a situation like this.

How do you file tax and for who in this case and from when?
Do I need to pay tax as an individual or for both?
If my wife has moved there and has no job does she need to pay file for tax?
We already have a bank account and a credit card but haven't used either for any transaction other than deposit into the account.

If there is any other information related to the case above please do let me know.

Apologies if this is a repeated question.

Thanks

 

[steaky]

If she has investment income or request benefits such as cctb, she need to file a tax return. Because your wife is resident, you need to file too in next April.

 

[hussainm85]

Thank steaky
There is no investment income neither we are planning to request for any benefit for now. Doesn't apply to us.

So can I assume that from 17th March onwards until next year Feb I will have to file tax based on my income abroad?

 

[Investocrat]

For your wife, she will definitely have to file a tax return come April next year for the 2017 tax year. However, for you, there are some scenarios:
1) You could be considered a "deemed non-resident for the 2017 tax year, since you did not earn any income in Canada and did not spend up to 183 days in Canada. If that's the case, the same rule that applies to non-residents may apply to you and it may not be necessary to file any tax return for 2017. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html
And according to the rules in the link above, your non-resident status and tax implication should not necessarily change even if you may also be deemed to have maintained significant residential ties to Canada i.e. your spouse or dependent were in Canada during that tax year.
2) If your other country of residency has a tax treaty with Canada, you may wish to file your taxes again in Canada (i.e. on your world income) and get credit for the taxes already paid on that income in the other country.

Generally for benefit calculation purposes, submitting a tax return may be in your interest if you didn't earn much elsewhere and Canada and are applying for child benefits and such. You can also check out this links for some info:
https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tips/canadian-tax-obligations-if-you-live-outside-of-canada-184
https://www.savvynewcanadians.com/filing-my-2016-income-tax-return/ (My personal finance blog)