Living in another country and the hustle and bustle of everyday life leaves little time to think about the importance of staying on top of your Canadian tax filings. Yet properly exiting the Canadian tax system and keeping up-to-date on any required tax filings is essential in preventing hefty penalties, tax owing and other potential issues in the future.
With the busy tax season fast approaching, now is the time to take a few minutes and assess your "tax health" by completing the checklist below to verify you are prepared.
Answer YES OR NO to the following questions:
Departure From Canada
Have you filed a "departure" return indicating your change of residency from Canada? This will help exit you from the Canadian tax system and there are also various disclosures and elections that may need to submitted based on your Canadian assets.
Earning Rental Income
If you own a Canadian property where you are earning rental income, have you:
Remitted non-resident tax withholdings
Submitted form NR6
Submitted a T1159 Income Tax Return for Filing under Section 216
Received an NR4 slip
Other Income
This may include items such as dividends, annuity payments, retiring allowances, interest income, employment income, sale of property income and other types of income from Canada where there are tax implications.
Have you notified your Canadian payers of your non-resident status?
Depending on the type of interest being earned, is the payer withholding the appropriate amount of tax?
Sale of a Canadian Property
As a non-resident disposing of Canadian property, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has outlined specific tax withholding and filing requirements for non-residents. Are you aware of the following items?
Withholdings on gross proceeds
Certificate of Compliance Application
Sale of Property Return
GST/HST New Residential Rental Property Rebates
If you’ve paid GST/HST on a new property, you may be eligible:
Construction of the property must be completed
Must be occupied by a tenant
Stay Informed
To help you get prepared and stay on top of your tax obligations, we have put together a handy planner of important dates (Canada and US). View the planner here.
Other Tax Concerns?
Our International Tax Experts at Trowbridge can guide you through your tax obligations and help mitigate any future tax risks.
