Notice of Assessment and living abroad.

[livingabroad]

Hey all. I have a question regarding the notice of assessment. I've been living abroad for 9 years and haven't filed a income tax return during this time. I'm currently trying to sponsor my wife and i'm not sure what to do about the notice of assessment. Do I need to include one in our application? Should I have some sort of tax paperwork from the country I've been living/working in? Or do I get one from CRA even though the last time I worked in Canada was 2007. I've phoned CRA and they've deemed me a non-resident, and are mailing me my last notice of assessment anyway. Thank you for your time.

--livingabroad.

 

[CDNPR2014]

no, you do not need to submit a tax return if you have not paid taxes in canada and were not a resident for tax purposes the last tax year. the application suggests sending a letter of explanation if you can not provide a Canadian tax record, so you will want to do that explaining you have been living outside of canada for 9 years and are not a resident for tax purposes. it is not required to send tax information from other countries.

 

[livingabroad]

Thank you for your quick reply.

 

[cheng9999]

Hey all. I have a question regarding the notice of assessment. I've been living abroad for 9 years and haven't filed a income tax return during this time. I'm currently trying to sponsor my wife and i'm not sure what to do about the notice of assessment. Do I need to include one in our application? Should I have some sort of tax paperwork from the country I've been living/working in? Or do I get one from CRA even though the last time I worked in Canada was 2007. I've phoned CRA and they've deemed me a non-resident, and are mailing me my last notice of assessment anyway. Thank you for your time.

--livingabroad.

I assume you are a Canadian citizen. You may not have to do anything besides explaining in a letter why you don't have the Printout C, as you are non-resident tax-wise. You may want to include more than that, including pay stubs (if you do not want to send a tax filing in the other country) to support what you have written as your own profile in your sponsorship application. CIC may ask for more information, who knows how much they want. There are others in this forum who sponsor their spouses while still living abroad, and CIC wanted very detailed "proof" about the sponsor's relocating back to Canada, including whether the sponsor has quit the job, sold his apartment, etc. My own interpretation is that a complete and plausible story matters to CIC, in this case where a Canadian citizen still residing abroad shows CIC, as the validity hinges on the single point that the sponsor will move back to Canada with the applicant.

How CRA sees residency though, is quite another story, even after the sponsor has returned physically.