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chilkootcee

Champion Member
Mar 3, 2015
1,096
64
Visa Office......
Abu Dhabi
App. Filed.......
03-Jun-2015
Interview........
None required
LANDED..........
01-Apr-2016
Hey all,

My husband landed last year and then we both came back to UAE to finish up our contracts and to look for work (while we have work) before moving to Canada (insha'allah by June this year).

My question is...when does he have to start paying tax on his income from the UAE? I file forms every year and I notice the forms ask for spouses net income as declared on tax form if one is married. If my husband hasn't filed what do I put?

I read on the CRA website that he could be a "deemed resident for tax purposes" if there are significant ties to Canada, one of them being a spouse....but I also received some advice saying he doesn't have to pay tax until he moves there to live....he has a SIN and that's it...no bank account, no memberships, no ownership in property etc...just me :)

of course, we were planning to file for him (2017) after we moved back

Any insight would be greatly appreciated.

C.
 
I just read the info again....it says on page http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html

Step 1: Determine if you have residential ties with Canada
The most important thing to consider when determining your residency status in Canada for income tax purposes is whether or not you maintain, or you establish, residential ties with Canada.

Significant residential ties to Canada include:

  • a home in Canada;
  • a spouse or common-law partner in Canada; and
  • dependants in Canada;

Secondary residential ties that may be relevant include:

  • personal property in Canada, such as a car or furniture;
  • social ties in Canada, such as memberships in Canadian recreational or religious organizations;
  • economic ties in Canada, such as Canadian bank accounts or credit cards;
  • a Canadian driver's licence;
  • a Canadian passport; and
  • health insurance with a Canadian province or territory.

To determine residence status, all of the relevant facts in each case must be considered, including residential ties with Canada and length of time, object, intent, and continuity while living inside and outside Canada.

The information above is general in nature. For more information on your residential ties, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual's Residence Status.

Step 2: Determine your residency status and its tax implications

Your residency status if you left Canada

If you are working temporarily outside Canada, vacationing outside Canada, commuting (going back and forth daily or weekly) from Canada to your place of work in the United States, or attending school in another country, and you maintain residential ties with Canada, you may be considered a factual resident of Canada.

If you left Canada and established a permanent home in another country and you severed your residential ties with Canada ceasing to be a resident of Canada in the tax year, you may be considered an emigrant.

If you established ties in a country that Canada has a tax treaty with and you are considered a resident of that country, but you are otherwise a factual resident of Canada, meaning you maintain significant residential ties with Canada, you may be considered a deemed non-resident of Canada. The same rules apply to deemed non-residents as non-residents of Canada.

If you left Canada and you are a government employee outside Canada, which includes members of the Canadian Forces posted abroad, you are usually considered a factual resident or a deemed resident of Canada. For more information, see Government employees outside Canada.

Your residency status if you entered Canada

If you left another country to settle in Canada and you established significant residential ties with Canada becoming a resident of Canada in the tax year, you may be considered an immigrant.
If you have ties in a country that Canada has a tax treaty with and you are considered to be a resident of that country, but you are also a factual resident of Canada because you established significant residential ties with Canada, you may be considered a deemed non-resident of Canada. The same rules apply to deemed non-residents as non-residents of Canada.
If you have not established significant residential ties with Canada to be considered a factual resident, but you stayed in Canada for 183 or more days in the year, you may be considered a deemed resident of Canada.

Your residency status if you normally, customarily, or routinely live in another country

If you did not have significant residential ties with Canada and you lived outside Canada throughout the year (except if you were a deemed resident of Canada), you may be considered a non-resident of Canada.
If you did not have significant residential ties with Canada and you stayed in Canada for less than 183 days in the tax year, you may be considered a non-resident of Canada.

If you want the Canada Revenue Agency's opinion on your residency status, complete either Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (Entering Canada) or Form NR73, Determination of Residency Status (Leaving Canada), whichever applies, and send it to the International and Ottawa Tax Services Office. To get the most accurate opinion, provide as many details as possible on your form.
 
Having a spouse in Canada is a "significant residential tie". I think he'd be considered a new immigrant for tax purposes.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html

Newcomers to Canada:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nwcmr-eng.html#nwc

Just my interpretation from the CRA site. I am not a tax person. For the record, I did my taxes incorrectly for about 8 years and they didn't say anything about it. I'm curious what others say myself.


Edit: Looks like you found the information. It seems there is wiggle room here and not a hard and fast rule. Kind of confusing like all tax information, lol.
 
Thanks Aquakitty...

Good insight...but I will have to put on the form that he is not filing until we move back this year...so I guess at that point they can decide whether they want to "investigate"...hopefully not!

C.