Living in Canada: Deciphering Your Canadian Tax Residency
Your Canadian tax residency status is hugely important when it comes to being taxed in Canada.
So, if you’re not sure whether you fall into the category of resident or non-resident, here are some tips to help you figure that out!
An individual’s residency status is determined on a case-by-case basis, but some of the main factors that determine your Canadian residency status are:
- Your residential ties in Canada
- The purpose of your stay
- Your ties abroad
The average Canadian tax refund is $998
Non-Resident Vs Resident
You are generally a non-resident for tax purposes if:
You normally, customarily, or routinely reside in another country and are not considered a resident of Canada; or do not have significant residential ties in Canada, and you lived outside Canada throughout the tax year; or you stayed in Canada for less than 183 days in the tax year.
You are typically a resident in Canada for tax purposes if:
Canada is the place where you, in the settled routine of your life, regularly, normally or customarily live.
Ties taken into consideration:
- A spouse or common-law partner
- House or apartment (owned or renting)
- Dependents
Secondary ties:
- Personal property such as furniture or a vehicle
- Social ties (memberships of recreational, religious or professional organisations in Canada)
- Economic ties-bank accounts, credit cards, investments
- Canadian health insurance (BC Health, Alberta Health, etc.)
- Canadian driver’s license or passport
- You’re permanently employed in Canada
- You plan to stay in Canada past your working holiday visa and are applying for permanent residency
- Canada is the place where you customarily live
- You spent more than 183 days in Canada*
* Many people think this is the most important factor to consider, but that isn’t necessarily the case. Make sure that the majority of the other factors apply to you too.
Filing your tax return
If you haven’t filed a tax return in Canada before, you’re on a 1 or 2-year Working Holiday Visa, and you plan on staying for the duration and then leaving Canada, you should file as a NON-RESIDENT for tax purposes.
You can easily check how much tax you are due back, using our tax refund calculator for Canada.
If you're a student and need help with your Canadian taxes, we can help you claim your Canadian tax refund.
File your Canadian Tax Return easily online
What if you’re on a Working Holiday Visa?
If any of the residential ties mentioned above are unfamiliar and you’re on a working holiday visa, you should file a tax return as a non-resident.
You can also contact the Canada Revenue Agency to confirm your status, or email info@taxback.com and we can let you know!
We can also prepare and file your Canadian tax return for you! Feel free to use our free tool to calculate your tax return for Canada!