How do taxes work for non-resident citizens?
August 19, 2015 6:05 PM   Subscribe

How do (Canadian) taxes work for non-resident citizens, if they work for a short time in Canada?

I'm definitely a non-resident citizen. I've been living in Germany for the past year, and I will be living in Copenhagen next year. However, for two weeks, I'm working in Canada to make a little bit of money. It will be on the order of 3--5 thousand dollars, which if I were a resident, would be below the personal exemption.

I had heard that if you were only in Canada for a short time, then you don't have to pay taxes on Canadian income.

So how does this work? Should I get the company to take of taxes as usual, or should I tell them not to?
posted by vernondalhart to Work & Money (1 answer total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
I'm a Canadian citizen living in the U.S., so I've pored over the CRA instructions many times. That said, I'm not a professional tax preparer, and if you want it done right it might be worth consulting one.

First: As a non-resident of Canada, you pay tax on income you receive from sources in Canada. The type of tax you pay and the requirement to file an income tax return depend on the type of income you receive.

Also, if you are a non-resident of Canada who receives less than 90% of your world income from Canadian sources, you are not normally allowed to claim most non-refundable tax credits, including the basic personal amount. (The exceptions are disability amounts, student loan interest, tuition, and charitable donations.) See the instructions for Schedule B here.

That said, there is this whole "Section 217" business that I've never really understood, but which might be worth looking into in your case. (I've never bothered with it myself, since I've never had any tax liability during the years I've filed as a non-resident.)
posted by Johnny Assay at 8:28 PM on August 19, 2015


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