Do I HAVE TO declare myself as a non-resident(Cdn purposes)?

[winglet]

Thanks Steven,

Sorry if I didn't make it clear, I'm a Canadian overseas in Dubai, not the US. But for now I will probably try and open an account with HSBC in Canada, since that's who I bank with here in the UAE.

I can tell you it was a bit of a shock to receive a T5 when I know I made it clear that I was non-resident. And now they are saying "there's nothing we can do" so it's pretty infuriating. And I am a bit stuck, because to move the money OUT of the country again would entail a large foreign exchange loss and wouldn't reverse the T5 anyway.

Such are the joys of expat life.

Sorry to ask again, but how did you go about approaching CRA regarding your own situation with the T5? Just wondering if you had to go to the trouble of filing the NR73 to be deemed non-resident or what? Not to pry, feel free to pm if that works better.

Thanks,
Mike

[Totalnewbie]

You need to tell the bank you're non-resident.

Is it sufficient to write to the bank now and say I'm a non-resident, here's my new US address effective Jan 1, 2009. I didn't tell them in January. Is that going to cause problems for me with respect to the T5/NR4 situation for tax year 2009?

[Steven]

They have to issue T5s and NR4s by the end of February so it's too late now. Besides it covers last year, not this year, so if you were resident in 2008 then they should be issuing you a T5 anyway. If you tell them now it means they will issue an NR4 next year.

[Totalnewbie]

They have to issue T5s and NR4s by the end of February so it's too late now. Besides it covers last year, not this year, so if you were resident in 2008 then they should be issuing you a T5 anyway. If you tell them now it means they will issue an NR4 next year.

Right. But does it matter from the bank's point of view what time of the year I became a non-resident? They will still issue a NR4 if at ANY time during 2009 I became a non-resident? Thanks.

[Steven]

I think they're supposed to issue both, one for the period you were non-resident and one for when you were, but they certainly didn't do that for me, which is one of the reasons my Part XIII withholding was messed up.

They should be able to put in their system that you left on Jan. 1st if that's how you want to do it, depends on the bank obviously and how good (crap) their software is.

-- Thu Mar 26, 2009 11:49 pm --

Thought I'd pass this along.

I just found out that there have been changed to the tax laws. Banks and such are no longer required to withhold a non-resident's interest. Sorry, I can't post the link...but it's on the CRA website, non-resident section.

I've just been reading up on this, been a few years since I did and it looks as though departure tax has changed from how I remember it, now it's just a regular capital gains tax and you put it on Schedule 3, which is simpler than how I remember it working. Which basically means you pay more if you have a smaller capital gain and less if you have a bigger one. Anyway, it's ancient history now, it's certainly a lot simpler to calculate than it was.

[bluenoser2816]

Hi,
I'm struggling to understand the change to the Canadian tax law in 2008 with respect to Part XIII tax. I received a NR4 slip and a T5 slip (one bank obviously failed to mark my account as non-resident -- I will get this corrected for next year). No withholding tax was deducted from the NR4 (presumably due to the new law).
On the Canada Revenue agency website, it states that interest income is not subject to withholding tax. But does that mean that I don't have any Canadian tax obligation for that income?? That doesn't seem right...
I have to file a Non-Resident tax return because of the T5. So do I include my NR4 income on my return or not??
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Puzzled

[Steven]

You don't have to file a Canadian tax return merely for bank interest (usually - read the non-resident T1 guide for more info). You need to declare it wherever you live now because it's subject to income tax there. The problem comes up because the CRA gets a copy of the T5 and T5s are for residents. Just call the CRA and explain it.

[Totalnewbie]

Hi,
I'm struggling to understand the change to the Canadian tax law in 2008 with respect to Part XIII tax. I received a NR4 slip and a T5 slip (one bank obviously failed to mark my account as non-resident -- I will get this corrected for next year).

I haven't notified the bank yet that I am a non-resident. (I've only been away for half a year). If I do it now...

does anyone know if the bank will issue me a NR4 slip for the period of April onwards 2009) AS WELL AS a T5 for the period I didn't tell them (say January to April 2009)?

From other people's responses, it seems like if I do get a T5, I will have to call CRA next year to explain and I don't really want to do that. Thanks.