Opinion regarding residency requirements not met

[fireluck]

Hi guys,

I arrived in Vancouver as landed immigrant in June 2010.
Worked from September 2010 - January 2011.
Left Canada February 2011 - status single.
Filed income tax April 2011.
Married on April 6, 2011.
Came back Vancouver on January 2012.
Moved to Toronto on January 2012.
Filed income tax April 2012 - change status to married.

When I came back January 2012, I received checks as I think rebate for GST/HSTC, BCCATC, & BCHSTC in different payment schedules from July 2011 to June 2012 for base year 2010.

Then I started receiving notices that after reassessment: "We have established that you are not eligible for the GST/HSTC for July 2011 to April 2012 for the following reason: - residency requirements not met" They want me to give back all the 4 checks they gave me including BCCATC, & BCHSTC based on the base year 2010.

When I called CRA the agent told me its because they just recently found out through my recent filed income tax (2011) that I am married and should not be receiving those checks because there is a different computation for it.

My spouse's world income is zero as declared in my 2011 income tax and he is not a resident nor has ever been to Canada.

I am quite confused now.. does it mean i have no refund at all for the year i worked in 2010? And why is it said residency requirements not met?

Please enlighten me.

 

[fireluck]

Is this a "PR status" or a "tax status" question?

Being resident for tax purposes is different from a resident for immigration purposes.

im already a landed immigrant by 2010... so i don't understand why thats what they said in the gst credit notice they sent

 

[SenoritaBella]

Here are the requirements for BC residency: http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/msp/infoben/eligible.html
Who is Eligible?

An individual must be a resident of B.C. in order to qualify for medical coverage under MSP. A resident is a person who meets all of the following conditions:
•must be a citizen of Canada or be lawfully admitted to Canada for permanent residence;
•must make his or her home in B.C.;
•must be physically present in B.C. at least six months in a calendar year; and
•dependents of MSP beneficiaries are eligible for coverage if they are residents of B.C.

It's clear from your post that you do not meet #2, 3 and 4(for your spouse). You did not live in BC for 6 months in 2010, left Canada in Feb 2011, returned in Jan 2012 and moved to another province. So CRA is correct in that you do not meet residency requirements for BC. It's not possible yet to file 2012 taxes until next year.

CRA made a mistake and now want to correct it. You have to return the money to CRA. They will re-calculate based on the computation for married people and send you any amount owed. Note that CRA has authority to garnish your wages or take it from your bank account. I know people who work all year, pay taxes but still owe because they made "too much" money.

 

[fireluck]

thank you for the explanation senoritabella