Question on Option C printout: CDNs who resided abroad/didnt file for a while

[daijoeboo]

Hello there

I am a Canadian citizen sponsoring my Japanese wife.

I understand I need to include the Option C printout available from Revenue Canada in my sponsorship package.

I have lived outside Canada for the past 6 years or so in Japan. Obviously, I have not filed recently as I have not been home, although it was always my intention to file and clear up once I returned to Canada. Taxes are not my forte, I usually just go to H and R Block. So I simply did not have the resources or ability to file while living in Japan.

Anyhow, now I have to include an Option C form which sounds important.
Or, it says I can write a note explaining why I dont have one.

My question:

Is this one of these things, like, "Plans to re-establish in Canada", where you just plead your case and explain why you dont have something you couldnt possibly have? Like, "I live abroad so this is why I dont have a job or apartment waiting in Canada, but when I return I will apply for jobs such as these and live in this area etc". Likewise, I should just write "I have been out of the country so this is why I didnt file and dont have an Option C but when I return first thing I will do is go to CRA and pay up".

If I simply write a note such as this (and this is the truth, I fully intend to march into the CRA with my wallet open and sort things out once I return) will this be sufficient? I feel somehow despite my good intentions I am missing something big here. Or maybe I am over-thinking it.

Thank you for any help/advice.

Regards,

J

 

[daijoeboo]

bump

 

[091212]

Hello,
My husband and I lived in China for the year before we applied for PR. I wrote a letter saying that I wasn't living or working in Canada for the previous tax year and I showed them my work contract for proof and I was approved as a sponsor, so I'm sure if you write a letter and show proof that you were actually abroad it shouldn't be a big deal!

 

[daijoeboo]

Thanks for the response. Yes a letter of employment for the period you are out of Canada would help establish your non-residency and therefore alleviate you of the need to file and/or submit Option-C.

Update to this thread:

Found the answer myself, and there doesnt seem to be anyone else here with any info. so I will post it here for the records.

If you have been residing abroad for any length of time and do not have
-property
-significant investments
-a company

etc., in Canada that tie you to the country, you are considered a non-resident from the date of your departure.
Non-residents cannot get an Option-C which covers time spent abroad according to the CRA because there is nothing to print-out.
You would only in theory have info. to print-out to the last tax year you were in Canada, and after that being a non-resident, you would have had no obligation to file and thus there would be nothing on the Option-C.

That being said, if your account is in arrears (i.e. you had a small investment like a mutual fund or were making some minor interest somewhere) then you are still responsible for the taxes on this despite being a non-resident. You must call the CRA and inform them first of all you are a non-resident and update them with your current address/info.

You must also contact the non-filers non-resident office and they will do a background check of some sort and determine basically what you owe if anything. This is the quickest way to tie up loose ends tax-wise and make sure you dont get red-flagged.

I am in the midst of this process now and in lieu of an Option-C I am hoping to get a basic letter from the CRA which states my account is in good standing and there are no loose ends.
If they are kind enough to cut me a letter or receipt of this kind I will be including this in my application in place of the Option-C.

Processing time is anywhere from 1-6 months for this.

Best of luck to the other applicants.


J