Deemed residents of Canada
This page provides basic information about the tax rules that apply to you if you are a deemed resident of Canada for income tax purposes. It will also help you understand your tax obligations to Canada.
Topics
- Are you a deemed resident of Canada?
Government employees outside Canada and the 183-day rule - Your tax obligations
Filing your income tax return. Which income tax package should you use? Did you live in Quebec just before you left Canada? Filing due date. - Entitlements to benefits
Canada child benefit
Are you a deemed resident of Canada?
You are a deemed resident of Canada for income tax purposes if you are in one of the following situations:
- You lived outside Canada during the tax year, you are not considered a factual resident of Canada because you did not have significant residential ties in Canada, and you are a federal or provincial government employee, a member of the Canadian Forces including their overseas school staff, or a person working under a Global Affairs Canada assistance program. This could also apply to the family members of an individual who is in one of these situations. For more information, see Government employees outside Canada
- You stayed in Canada for 183 days or more (the 183-day rule) in the tax year, you do not have significant residential ties in Canada, and you are not considered a resident of another country under a tax treaty between Canada and that country
Notes
If you are a deemed resident of Canada, and also establish residential ties in a country with which Canada has a tax treaty and that you are considered to be a resident of that country for the purposes of that tax treaty, you may be considered a deemed non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes.
You become a deemed non-resident of Canada when your ties with the other country become such that, under the tax treaty with which Canada has with the other country, you would be considered a resident of that other country and not Canada.
As a deemed non-resident of Canada, the same rules apply to you as a non-resident of Canada.
The 183-day rule
When you calculate the number of days you stayed in Canada during the tax year, include each day or part of a day that you stayed in Canada. These include:
- the days you attended a Canadian university or college
- the days you worked in Canada
- the days you spent on vacation in Canada, including on weekend trips
If you lived in the United States and commuted to work in Canada, do not include commuting days in the calculation.
Your tax obligations
If you are a deemed resident of Canada for the tax year, you:
- must report your world income (income from all sources, both inside and outside Canada) for the entire tax year
- can claim all deductions and non-refundable tax credits that apply to you
- are subject to federal tax and instead of paying provincial or territorial tax, you'll pay a federal surtax
- can claim all federal tax credits, but you cannot claim provincial or territorial tax credits
- are eligible to apply for the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit
Example
You are a member of the Canadian Forces. During the year, you were posted to the U.S. for three years. Before leaving, you sold your house in Canada, cancelled your memberships in various organizations in Canada and severed all residential ties with Canada.
The CRA considers you to be a deemed resident of Canada for income tax purposes. When you file your income tax return for this year, you will report your income from all sources both inside and outside Canada and claim all deductions, federal non-refundable tax credits, and federal refundable tax credits that apply to you.
Filing your income tax return
If you are a deemed resident of Canada for the year, you may have to file a Canadian income tax return for that year. For more information, see Do you have to file a return?
Which income tax package should you use?
For each tax year that you are a deemed resident of Canada for income tax purposes, use the Income Tax Package for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada.
Did you live in Quebec just before you left Canada?
In addition to being considered a deemed resident of Canada, under Quebec law, you may also be considered a deemed resident of the province of Quebec. If so, you may have to pay Quebec income tax while you are serving abroad.
For example, if you are a deemed resident of Canada and were, at any time in the year, an agent-general, an officer or a servant of the Province of Quebec and you were a resident of that province just before your appointment or employment with that province, you must pay Quebec income tax.
To avoid double taxation (surtax for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada plus Quebec income tax), attach a note to your federal return stating the following:
- You are subject to Quebec income tax
- You are filing a Revenu Québec Income Tax Return
- You are asking for relief from the non-resident and deemed resident surtax
For more information, contact the Canada Revenue Agency.
The Province of Quebec also grants relief to certain taxpayers who were deemed residents of Canada and Quebec. This includes deemed residents of Canada who are members of the Canadian Forces or, at any time in the year, an ambassador, minister, high commissioner, officer, or servant of Canada, and who were also deemed residents of Quebec. For more information, contact Revenu Québec.
Filing due date
Generally, you must file your income tax return on or before:
- April 30 of the year after the tax year
- June 15 of the year after the tax year, if you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in Canada (other than a business whose expenditures are mainly in connection with a tax shelter)
Note
Any balance of tax owing must be paid on or before April 30 of the year after the tax year, regardless of the due date of the tax return.
Entitlements to benefits
Canada child benefit
If you are eligible to receive the Canada child benefit (CCB), you will continue to receive it, but you are not eligible for any related provincial or territorial benefits during your absence from Canada.
You will have to file a return each year so the CRA can calculate your CCB. If you have a spouse or common-law partner who is a deemed or factual resident, your spouse or common-law partner will also have to file a return each year.
If your spouse or common-law partner is a non-resident of Canada, they will have to file Form CTB9, Income of Non-Resident Spouse or Common-Law Partner for the Canada child benefit.
If you have a child while outside Canada, you can apply for the CCB for that child by sending the CRA a completed Form RC66, Canada Child Benefits Application includes federal, provincial, and territorial programs. For more information, see Booklet T4114, Canada Child Benefit and related provincial and territorial programs.
Forms and publications
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