Income Tax Return

[riahif]

Good evening,

I am planning to apply for Canadian Citizenship. while looking at the application form, I learnt that I have to list all the income taxes of the last five years that fall within the eligibility period. my eligibility period is from January 2016 to January 2021. I filled the income taxes of 2017,2018,2019 and I am planning to file the 2020 income tax, but I didn't file the 2016 income tax as I was outside Canada. I was in Dubai since 2012. I went back to Canada in September 2017. Do I have to file the 2016 income tax though I was not a resident of Canada at That time? What should I write in the citizenship application under section 12/b:
Tax year: 2016.................Required to file (yes/no)........Tax filed (no). Should write no as I was outside Canada?
Please advise.
Many thanks

 

[Seym]

Put No/no for 2016 in the tab and Yes/yes for the following years and you're good to go.

 

[EUK]

Good evening,

I am planning to apply for Canadian Citizenship. while looking at the application form, I learnt that I have to list all the income taxes of the last five years that fall within the eligibility period. my eligibility period is from January 2016 to January 2021. I filled the income taxes of 2017,2018,2019 and I am planning to file the 2020 income tax, but I didn't file the 2016 income tax as I was outside Canada. I was in Dubai since 2012. I went back to Canada in September 2017. Do I have to file the 2016 income tax though I was not a resident of Canada at That time? What should I write in the citizenship application under section 12/b:
Tax year: 2016.................Required to file (yes/no)........Tax filed (no). Should write no as I was outside Canada?
Please advise.
Many thanks

Your 5 years for tax purposes should be 2015, 2016 2017 2018 and 2019... This applies if you are planning to file your citizenship app before may 31 2021...

 

[trk1]

Your 5 years for tax purposes should be 2015, 2016 2017 2018 and 2019... This applies if you are planning to file your citizenship app before may 31 2021...

EUK is right ..some fine tuning. Incase you have filed your 2020 and have an NOA, then you will have to include that as well.

All the best!

 

[dpenabill]

Clarification:

For most individuals, almost all individuals, making an application between January 1 and December 31, 2020, the relevant tax years are 2015, 2016 2017 2018 and 2019

For an application made on or after January 1, 2021, any time during 2021, including between January 1 and May 31, 2021, the relevant tax year are 2016 2017 2018 2019 and 2020.

While things are currently a bit askew due to Covid-19, in all other years the individual filing a grant citizenship application before APRIL 30th of the year can list No/No for the previous year; that is [No] not required to file and [No] did not file, and that counts as a year in compliance with the tax filing obligations. That is because the individual is NOT yet required to file a return for the previous year, having up to April 30 to file (and for many, like me, actually the date, in years other than this Covid-19 year, is later in June). That is, even though the individual WILL BE required to file a return by the deadline for filing, if the grant citizenship application is made before the tax filing deadline, as of the date of making the application the applicant can report that he or she is not required to file a return for the previous year. And, again, that counts as one of the years in compliance with tax filing obligations.

 

[hitesh0414]

It is not about the time of the year when you apply for citizenship, it is about whether you actually required to file tax return for the previous year or not. The scenario you are talking about, I would say one should mark the option yes for tax return required to file and tax return filed should be marked No and attach a letter of explanation with application. Later on when the individual file the taxes then the person can inform IRCC through webform.