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When am I a resident for Tax purposes?

perrickd

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Feb 10, 2020
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I live in the US. My Spouse lives in Canada. I applied for PR through Spousal Sponsorship and got approved.

I did a soft landing last week (Feb 2019).

I won't move until July/August of this year. I am still currently working in the US.

CRA says I establish significant residential ties if I have a Spouse in Canada. (Well she's always lived there). I haven't even moved yet.

When am I taxed on Worldwide income?

Throwing in another factor-- We are looking to buy a house before I move there, probably in May/June.

Thanks for the help!
 

BC4life

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Considering that your spouse has been living in Canada throughout the whole period, it is possible you have become a tax resident since your landing date, despite this being a "soft landing"
 
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Alex54321

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I live in the US. My Spouse lives in Canada. I applied for PR through Spousal Sponsorship and got approved.

I did a soft landing last week (Feb 2019).

I won't move until July/August of this year. I am still currently working in the US.

CRA says I establish significant residential ties if I have a Spouse in Canada. (Well she's always lived there). I haven't even moved yet.

When am I taxed on Worldwide income?

Throwing in another factor-- We are looking to buy a house before I move there, probably in May/June.

Thanks for the help!
I assume that you are not US citizen and will stop working in US after your permanent move to Canada in summer 2020. So, as far as US taxation you are going to be non-resident USA on Dec 31 , 2020 and are to pay taxes to US only for earnings in US.

As far as Canada, soft landing or not soft landing, in my personal opinion, today you are still US resident from taxation point of view (living, working and with vital interests in USA).

At maximum I would consider yourself as a Deemed non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes and you will required to pay taxes only on income from Canadian sources from the date of your actual move to Canada.

Again, that’s my personal opinion only.

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/taxation
 

canuck78

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Jun 18, 2017
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I assume that you are not US citizen and will stop working in US after your permanent move to Canada in summer 2020. So, as far as US taxation you are going to be non-resident USA on Dec 31 , 2020 and are to pay taxes to US only for earnings in US.

As far as Canada, soft landing or not soft landing, in my personal opinion, today you are still US resident from taxation point of view (living, working and with vital interests in USA).

At maximum I would consider yourself as a Deemed non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes and you will required to pay taxes only on income from Canadian sources from the date of your actual move to Canada.

Again, that’s my personal opinion only.

https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/living-abroad/taxation
This is incorrect. When your spouse lives in Canada it creates strong ties to Canada and you become resident for tax purposes. There is a tax treaty with the US so you won’t be taxed twice. Your international income will be taxed. Would consider getting an accountant who is familiar with the US and Canadian systems. They are relatively easy to find in Canada.
 
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harirajmohan

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I live in the US. My Spouse lives in Canada. I applied for PR through Spousal Sponsorship and got approved.

I did a soft landing last week (Feb 2019).

I won't move until July/August of this year. I am still currently working in the US.

CRA says I establish significant residential ties if I have a Spouse in Canada. (Well she's always lived there). I haven't even moved yet.

When am I taxed on Worldwide income?

Throwing in another factor-- We are looking to buy a house before I move there, probably in May/June.

Thanks for the help!
When i moved in Dec last week of 2016 and i had US income that year. When i filed, online tax site/software asked about the income during the period of non resident(and resident i think - one/both was asked). So once i gave most income while i was in US, my tax was 0. And another tax software was asking me to pay ontario medical tax. It looks like they dont tax you for nonresident income where tax agreement in place.
So dont worry too much about taxes during the first year as you might not even have to pay taxes in Canada during first year.
 

Alex54321

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This is incorrect. When your spouse lives in Canada it creates strong ties to Canada and you become resident for tax purposes. There is a tax treaty with the US so you won’t be taxed twice. Your international income will be taxed. Would consider getting an accountant who is familiar with the US and Canadian systems. They are relatively easy to find in Canada.
At the end there is official procedure to obtain a determination of residence status.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/technical-information/income-tax/income-tax-folios-index/series-5-international-residency/folio-1-residency/income-tax-folio-s5-f1-c1-determining-individual-s-residence-status.html#p1.37

1.53 Taxpayers requiring further general information about how residence status is determined for purposes of Canadian income tax should contact International tax and non-resident enquiries at 1-800-959-8281 (toll free in Canada and the United States), or 613-940-8495 (for service in English)
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/nr74.html
 

canuck78

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When i moved in Dec last week of 2016 and i had US income that year. When i filed, online tax site/software asked about the income during the period of non resident(and resident i think - one/both was asked). So once i gave most income while i was in US, my tax was 0. And another tax software was asking me to pay ontario medical tax. It looks like they dont tax you for nonresident income where tax agreement in place.
So dont worry too much about taxes during the first year as you might not even have to pay taxes in Canada during first year.
You also did your soft landing in a July not earlier in the year like OP who landed in February.
 

canuck78

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Jun 18, 2017
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At the end there is official procedure to obtain a determination of residence status.

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/technical-information/income-tax/income-tax-folios-index/series-5-international-residency/folio-1-residency/income-tax-folio-s5-f1-c1-determining-individual-s-residence-status.html#p1.37

1.53 Taxpayers requiring further general information about how residence status is determined for purposes of Canadian income tax should contact International tax and non-resident enquiries at 1-800-959-8281 (toll free in Canada and the United States), or 613-940-8495 (for service in English)
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/forms-publications/forms/nr74.html
Encourage OP to determine their residency status for tax purposes. Having spouse and/or dependent children living in Canada does usually lead to you being a resident for tax purposes. Makes sense given the family in Canada has access to things like healthcare, infrastructure, education, etc. For example if one spouse was not working in Canada and the other was being supported by a spouse working abroad should they pay no taxes yet have access to the services? I am not naive enough to know that this doesn’t happen but it isn’t legal.
 
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moga_PB29

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vermas

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My parents are currently in Canada on Visitor Visas. Their PR has been approved and we expect to get their passports back within a week.
They have movable and immovable assets in India (including rental and pension income). Their plan is to return to India when Covid19 situation is controlled and it's safe for them to travel. They will return to Canada after about 1.5 years after winding up things there.
Their current travel insurance will expire in Aug 20.
If they open a bank account and apply for OHIP card (coverage starts immediately during current Covid19 situation), will they be considered Tax Resident of Canada or not?
 

Copingwithlife

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Jul 29, 2018
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My parents are currently in Canada on Visitor Visas. Their PR has been approved and we expect to get their passports back within a week.
They have movable and immovable assets in India (including rental and pension income). Their plan is to return to India when Covid19 situation is controlled and it's safe for them to travel. They will return to Canada after about 1.5 years after winding up things there.
Their current travel insurance will expire in Aug 20.
If they open a bank account and apply for OHIP card (coverage starts immediately during current Covid19 situation), will they be considered Tax Resident of Canada or not?
Why even bother to apply for OHIP, there's residential requirements for it