canada106 said:
Hi everyone. I'm currently 17 years old and I am hoping to apply for citizenship when I turn 18 (summer of 2015). However, there was a recent implementation of new regulations, and I am required to fulfill tax obligations for 4 years of the 6 years prior to applying. The problem is that I will not have 4 years of tax filings prior to the application - would they take my young age into consideration?
Thanks
canada106 said:
I think I will do that when I apply this summer. On the CIC website here is what it says: "You must have met your personal income tax filing obligations in four taxation years that are fully or partially within the six years immediately before the date you apply." What does personal tax filing obligations refer to? Does that mean if I did not make any income I am exempt from filing taxes?
Helps to look at the application form and guide.
Item 6H in the new form is where the applicant provides "Income tax information." It is straight-forward, a place to enter your SIN (if you do not have one, get one) and then a box with three columns and six rows, the rows for each of the preceding six taxation years fully or partially in the six years preceding the date of application, and in the first column you list the respective taxation year.
Second column has yes/no boxes, so that for each year the applicant can identify whether he was "Required to file" or not.
Third column similarly has yes/no boxes to identify, for the respective year, whether taxes were filed.
If "no" is selected in the 'required to file' column, for that respective year it is OK if "no" is also selected for the taxes filed column.
Obviously, a "yes" answer in the column about being required to file, and a "no" response in the column about whether taxes were filed, means for that year the individual did
not comply with the obligation to file a tax return. Three or more of these and the individual is not eligible for a grant of citizenship.
DO NOT enter NA or N/A.
Do
NOT enter N/A or NA. The requirement applies to all adult applicants, so the item
must be answered. There is no circumstance in which "not applicable" is an appropriate answer.
(Note: "N/A" tends to be overused and often improperly used. For example, it means "Not Applicable" not "Not Available." If some information is unavailable, "not available" should be handwritten into the form (or typed if the form allows that for that item) and an explanation provided on a separate sheet/page, with a clear reference to the item. If some information is not known, then "not known" or "unknown" should be entered, and likewise an explanation provided. For "N/A," that is, "not applicable," usually this should be self-explanatory but if not, an explanation can similarly be included.)
Required to file tax return?
Most people know whether or not they are required to file an income tax return in any given year.
For someone who has never worked, has received no taxable income, particularly someone who has been a dependent reported on a parent's tax return, it may very well be that there was no requirement to file a return. Boxes checked "no" in both columns should not be a problem, as those are years in which the applicant has complied with CRA obligations (not being required to file a return makes it easy to comply
eh).
If there are years you have not filed a return because you did not think you were required to file one, but you are not certain, begin your research at the
CRA web page for newcomers, or otherwise go to the CRA web site and look for information about who has to file a return.
High odds that application form will change . . . The new form is brand new, just off the presses so to say, untested by real applicants. The likelihood adjustments will be needed and made is high. So be sure to use the latest version when the time comes to apply.
