Canadian Living Overseas Tax Question

[Calyptratus]

Hi all I’m hoping I can get some advice regarding my situation as I recently moved out of Canada (April 2020) to move back in my other country. I’m a dual citizen. Unfortunately I lost my Canadian job and I have no other choice to move back to my family overseas. I don't want to say I'm leaving for good, but for now, I have no immediate plans of coming back yet.

I only have a bank account earning interest and I was given a T5 from my bank this year, but after reading more about it online, weren’t they supposed to give me an NR4 form instead?

I’m now in this process of re-confirming with my bank again to list me as a non-resident. In fact, I actually did tell them that I will be moving out of the country before I left Canada but I’m not sure why that has not been reflected in my account yet. I didn’t specifically say that I will be a non-resident but I was under the assumption that they should have understood that. Maybe the agent didn’t quite understand and thought that I was just leaving and coming back. I actually had go through the trouble of asking the banker to send me the scan of the T5 only to find out that my old apartment address is still listed on the T5 form.


A bit of background info:

1. Before I left Canada, I called CRA and told them to change my address to my current international address. So any letters, notices would be forwarded to the correct place.

2. I’ve already filed and paid up all my taxes from the date I entered Canada up to the date I left. My business account has also been closed with the help of a CRA agent.

3. Other than a bank account with some savings, I have no other ties in Canada. No home, no properties, no dependents, no business or Canadian sourced income.


My concerns:

1. I have been reading about the NR73 form. I actually filled it out myself before leaving Canada, but CRA rejected it saying that I should only fill it out once I’ve left. Then after reading more about it, I’m finding out that it’s not mandatory and that you shouldn’t really fill it out unless CRA specifically asks you to do it. So I just left it as it is. Should I just move on and not worry about this unless CRA calls me and asks for it?

2. I’m not sure if I marked myself as leaving Canada in my last filing, as others have advised, since H&R block filed for me. I did tell the accountant that I am leaving Canada. Is there a way to check this?

3. I noticed that I have received 3 instalments of GST/HST credits. What should I do about this?

4. So is it correct that I don’t have to file and pay taxes for my T5 since I am not living in Canada? And the bank should send me the NR4 instead?

5. With personal tax returns, is it advisable to just file it as zero every year? Or just don’t file? I’ve heard other Canadians living overseas don’t file…..

6. And finally, regarding departure tax. I don’t have any properties. I just rented an apartment my whole time there. Is there anything I need to do about that?

I tried calling CRA today but the wait time is over 2 hours so the long distance call would be ridiculous. Hoping to get a hold of them again tomorrow so I figured I’d ask anyone who has similar experiences…


Thank you for making it this far!

 

[canuck78]

Hi all I’m hoping I can get some advice regarding my situation as I recently moved out of Canada (April 2020) to move back in my other country. I’m a dual citizen. Unfortunately I lost my Canadian job and I have no other choice to move back to my family overseas. I don't want to say I'm leaving for good, but for now, I have no immediate plans of coming back yet.

I only have a bank account earning interest and I was given a T5 from my bank this year, but after reading more about it online, weren’t they supposed to give me an NR4 form instead?

I’m now in this process of re-confirming with my bank again to list me as a non-resident. In fact, I actually did tell them that I will be moving out of the country before I left Canada but I’m not sure why that has not been reflected in my account yet. I didn’t specifically say that I will be a non-resident but I was under the assumption that they should have understood that. Maybe the agent didn’t quite understand and thought that I was just leaving and coming back. I actually had go through the trouble of asking the banker to send me the scan of the T5 only to find out that my old apartment address is still listed on the T5 form.


A bit of background info:

1. Before I left Canada, I called CRA and told them to change my address to my current international address. So any letters, notices would be forwarded to the correct place.

2. I’ve already filed and paid up all my taxes from the date I entered Canada up to the date I left. My business account has also been closed with the help of a CRA agent.

3. Other than a bank account with some savings, I have no other ties in Canada. No home, no properties, no dependents, no business or Canadian sourced income.


My concerns:

1. I have been reading about the NR73 form. I actually filled it out myself before leaving Canada, but CRA rejected it saying that I should only fill it out once I’ve left. Then after reading more about it, I’m finding out that it’s not mandatory and that you shouldn’t really fill it out unless CRA specifically asks you to do it. So I just left it as it is. Should I just move on and not worry about this unless CRA calls me and asks for it?

2. I’m not sure if I marked myself as leaving Canada in my last filing, as others have advised, since H&R block filed for me. I did tell the accountant that I am leaving Canada. Is there a way to check this?

3. I noticed that I have received 3 instalments of GST/HST credits. What should I do about this?

4. So is it correct that I don’t have to file and pay taxes for my T5 since I am not living in Canada? And the bank should send me the NR4 instead?

5. With personal tax returns, is it advisable to just file it as zero every year? Or just don’t file? I’ve heard other Canadians living overseas don’t file…..

6. And finally, regarding departure tax. I don’t have any properties. I just rented an apartment my whole time there. Is there anything I need to do about that?

I tried calling CRA today but the wait time is over 2 hours so the long distance call would be ridiculous. Hoping to get a hold of them again tomorrow so I figured I’d ask anyone who has similar experiences…


Thank you for making it this far!

H&R block are not accountants. You should have a file of your tax returns given to you by H&R block to review . You need to speak to CRA and determine your tax residency status. Only they can determine this. You can also verify any changes to your online CRA account.

 

[Calyptratus]

Thank you for the clarification. I finally managed to phone them yesterday and answered my questions. However I forgot one thing.... maybe someone can answer this instead of calling again and waiting 2 hours just to ask a fairly simple question. My phone already got cut off for spending too long on the line.

Regarding the T5 slip. On the How to File The T5 Return of Investment Income manual it says:

"If you make certain payments to a resident of Canada, or if you receive certain payments as a nominee or agent for a person resident in Canada, you have to file a T5 information return."

From the wording it sounds like this is addressed to my bank who is the payor since I'm receiving interest in the form of mutual funds and GIC's... my bank makes this interest payment to me, a resident of Canada.

"Send the recipients’ copies of the T5 slips to their last known address or deliver them in person. You must do this on or before the day you have to file the T5 information return. If you file your T5 information return late, or if you distribute slips to the recipients late, you are liable for each failure to a penalty of $25 per day, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500."


I'm the recipient...and the bank has to send one copy to me, and one copy to CRA. If my bank is late on that, then they are the ones getting penalized $25/day and not me, is this correct?

So does this mean that my deadline to file my 2020 income received from the T5 still falls on April 30 of this year? That means I'm okay and not penalized right?

Sorry this is all new to me and I couldn't find any information on the internet that explicitly states who files what, where, and who gets penalized regarding this T5. I'm just using my own deductions and reasoning based on how the manual is worded.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you for the clarification. I finally managed to phone them yesterday and answered my questions. However I forgot one thing.... maybe someone can answer this instead of calling again and waiting 2 hours just to ask a fairly simple question. My phone already got cut off for spending too long on the line.

Regarding the T5 slip. On the How to File The T5 Return of Investment Income manual it says:

"If you make certain payments to a resident of Canada, or if you receive certain payments as a nominee or agent for a person resident in Canada, you have to file a T5 information return."

From the wording it sounds like this is addressed to my bank who is the payor since I'm receiving interest in the form of mutual funds and GIC's... my bank makes this interest payment to me, a resident of Canada.

"Send the recipients’ copies of the T5 slips to their last known address or deliver them in person. You must do this on or before the day you have to file the T5 information return. If you file your T5 information return late, or if you distribute slips to the recipients late, you are liable for each failure to a penalty of $25 per day, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500."


I'm the recipient...and the bank has to send one copy to me, and one copy to CRA. If my bank is late on that, then they are the ones getting penalized $25/day and not me, is this correct?

So does this mean that my deadline to file my 2020 income received from the T5 still falls on April 30 of this year? That means I'm okay and not penalized right?

Sorry this is all new to me and I couldn't find any information on the internet that explicitly states who files what, where, and who gets penalized regarding this T5. I'm just using my own deductions and reasoning based on how the manual is worded.

Yes you have until April. If you have investments in Canada that could make you a tax resident this year and in subsequent years. I would make sure to clarify if keeping your investments in Canada will make you a tax resident.