Tax filing: Soft landing in the past and now came back

[reddevil666]

All

I did a soft landing in 2016 March and went back to US for work. I never opened any bank accounts, driving license or signed a lease when I did my soft landing. I just applied and got my SIN in March 2016 during the soft landing.

Now, after 2 years, I finally came back in Oct 2018 and opened an account and signed the lease and also got married on Dec 31. My spouse is also a Canadian PR.

1. As per my understanding, I was non resident for tax purposes for the year 2016 and 2017 and as such never filed any taxes in Canada.I filed my taxes in US where I was working. Am I correct that I didn't had to file taxes in Canada for 2016 and 2017 ?

2. For 2018, I worked in US until Oct and for rest of the year, I was not working in Canada and had no Canadian income. Will I be taxed in Canada on my 2018 US income ? Do I need to declare my US income as part of my Canadian tax return to get any HST/GST return ?

3. Does my wife also include my US income as part her tax return ?

 

[reddevil666]

Anyone with any expertise ?

 

[sappi]

All

I did a soft landing in 2016 March and went back to US for work. I never opened any bank accounts, driving license or signed a lease when I did my soft landing. I just applied and got my SIN in March 2016 during the soft landing.

Now, after 2 years, I finally came back in Oct 2018 and opened an account and signed the lease and also got married on Dec 31. My spouse is also a Canadian PR.

1. As per my understanding, I was non resident for tax purposes for the year 2016 and 2017 and as such never filed any taxes in Canada.I filed my taxes in US where I was working. Am I correct that I didn't had to file taxes in Canada for 2016 and 2017 ?

2. For 2018, I worked in US until Oct and for rest of the year, I was not working in Canada and had no Canadian income. Will I be taxed in Canada on my 2018 US income ? Do I need to declare my US income as part of my Canadian tax return to get any HST/GST return ?

3. Does my wife also include my US income as part her tax return ?

Hi,

Soft landing does not matter much for tax purposes. CRA will establish your residency based on "permanent establishment", which mainly consists of factors such as owning properties, family, bank accounts, and drivers license. You don't have to file taxes in Canada for 2016 and 2017 based on the fact that you did not have permanent establishment in Canada during that time (no property, bank account etc in Canada).

For 2018, you do have to report all your income, including US income. You can report taxes paid in the states if applicable and you will be given credits accordingly, lowering you taxes payable.

Hope that helps.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

All

I did a soft landing in 2016 March and went back to US for work. I never opened any bank accounts, driving license or signed a lease when I did my soft landing. I just applied and got my SIN in March 2016 during the soft landing.

Now, after 2 years, I finally came back in Oct 2018 and opened an account and signed the lease and also got married on Dec 31. My spouse is also a Canadian PR.

1. As per my understanding, I was non resident for tax purposes for the year 2016 and 2017 and as such never filed any taxes in Canada.I filed my taxes in US where I was working. Am I correct that I didn't had to file taxes in Canada for 2016 and 2017 ?

2. For 2018, I worked in US until Oct and for rest of the year, I was not working in Canada and had no Canadian income. Will I be taxed in Canada on my 2018 US income ? Do I need to declare my US income as part of my Canadian tax return to get any HST/GST return ?

3. Does my wife also include my US income as part her tax return ?

1. Correct.

2. You do not need to declare any foreign income earned before you moved to Canada.

3. What was her tax residency status for 2018?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi,

Soft landing does not matter much for tax purposes. CRA will establish your residency based on "permanent establishment", which mainly consists of factors such as owning properties, family, bank accounts, and drivers license. You don't have to file taxes in Canada for 2016 and 2017 based on the fact that you did not have permanent establishment in Canada during that time (no property, bank account etc in Canada).

For 2018, you do have to report all your income, including US income. You can report taxes paid in the states if applicable and you will be given credits accordingly, lowering you taxes payable.

Hope that helps.

Incorrect. Income earned outside of Canada before becoming a tax resident is not declared.

 

[sappi]

Incorrect. Income earned outside of Canada before becoming a tax resident is not declared.

Yes, I was mistaken about the last part. Only 3 things have to be reported as income before becoming a tax resident and none of the three incomes apply to OP.

 

[reddevil666]

1. Correct.

2. You do not need to declare any foreign income earned before you moved to Canada.

3. What was her tax residency status for 2018?

3. She was a Canadian Permanent Resident for 2018 and was a student and worked as a TA.

 

[reddevil666]

Incorrect. Income earned outside of Canada before becoming a tax resident is not declared.

I checked with CRA and here is the update from them:

1. You become resident for tax purposes in Canada when you come here to stay. NO need to declare world income before that time period for Income tax purposes.

2. For claiming any credits such as HST/GST, you need to declare your world income for present year and past year. This is not for Income tax, but for claiming any credits.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I checked with CRA and here is the update from them:

1. You become resident for tax purposes in Canada when you come here to stay. NO need to declare world income before that time period for Income tax purposes.

2. For claiming any credits such as HST/GST, you need to declare your world income for present year and past year. This is not for Income tax, but for claiming any credits.

As your wife was a tax resident for the year, she is required to declare the family income for the entire year for tax credit calculations.

 

[info4sourav]

Hi,

I also have a similar case as mentioned in the above posts.

My wife and I, did a soft landing in Canada in 2016 after getting the COPR and went back to India after staying here in Canada for 11-12 days. We finally shifted to Canada in the middle of 2018 with jobs and have been paying taxes since then.

While filing the return, don't I need to mention my income before middle of 2018 (when I was working in India) and do I only need to give the details pertaining to my income in Canada? Both of us got all our basic credentials like driving license, health card and bank accounts after shifting in 2018.

Also, in the IT return filing form, should I make mention of my soft landing date in 2016, as the date of arrival in Canada, which is the actual date?

Looking forward to your advice.

Regards,