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When is your foreign income taxable? even as scholarship?

sarahmd85

Newbie
Sep 20, 2016
3
0
Hello,
I have spent the last 3 days trying to figure my tax requirement with no luck. I called CRA and the person was not sure, and my accountant seems clueless as well, I could really appreciate your input.
I arrived to Canada as an international student:
2012 - 2018: I was on a work visa as I work in the medical field, but I was also on a scholarship, and basically my income and tuition were paid fully by my government. I received deposits in my Canadian's bank account ( scholarship allowance) , and my country's bank account ( my salary as I was sent from a company for training ) during that time. I was under the impression that i did not need to file tax back then.
in 2018, I got my PR while still on my scholarship. I went to H&R to file for my tax that year, and they said that my income should be 0 as I am here on a scholarship, and did not receive any income from Canada since my money came from my government.
in 2019, I got a job in Canada, and now i am preparing to submit my tax.
I hired an accountant this time, and he notified me that I need to file for taxes from 2012- 2018 and I may owe me as well.
During 2012-2018, I stayed in a rented apartment, I was single, no children. I did have a Canadian bank account, a Canadian driving license and OHIP.
My scholarship was generous, and I was able to save a huge amount of it, and I had more than 100K saved in my account after 5 years on that scholarship. My accountant said that I owe money because its more than 100K, even though I was on a scholarship.

I really will appreciate it your input and guidance
Thank you
 

k.h.p.

VIP Member
Mar 1, 2019
8,810
2,249
Canada
You really, really need an accountant. The CRA's website here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/personal-income/line-130-other-income/line-130-scholarships-fellowships-bursaries-study-grants-artists-project-grants-awards.html

That website suggests that only the amount of your scholarship "up to the total amount required to support you in the program" is non-taxable if it's a scholarship. The fact that you saved more than $100k means you should have been taxed on all of that.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,969
12,771
You really need to be speaking to the coordinator of the Saudi doctor training scheme. This program is very different than other students/workers because you are really being paid by the Saudi government and the Saudi governemt is paying Canada to train you. KSA is also giving you a living allowance I believe. There may be an agreement that you are not a tax resident. I surprised you got actually got OHIP during that time and the deal didn’t require that KSA supply private insurance. Somewhere like H&R block do very basic tax preparations and would not be qualified to do anything more complex.