Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Mar 9th 2019, 2:31 am
#1
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Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Hi all,
New member here! Okay, so I have some questions about tax that are really worrying me right now.
In a nutshell, I am currently on a 2 year working holiday visa here in Canada and it's coming up on my first time filing Canadian taxes.
I am going to pay an accountant to file my Canadian taxes however I am really unsure of if I have to file anything to the UK government?
I know that Canada and the UK has a tax treaty so you aren't double taxed so I assume if I pay the Canadian taxes then I don't have to pay the UK anything, but I have no idea about taxes if i'm honest. What i'm terrified of is owing the UK government tax that I don't know about and having a huge bill land on my door in a few years time!
Before I left the UK for canada I had never had a job before so I don't see why I would owe anything to the UK in that way either.
My first job ever has been here in canada, so 100% of my earnings have been made here.
Any help from anyone would be vastly appreciated!
Best Wishes,
Paul
New member here! Okay, so I have some questions about tax that are really worrying me right now.
In a nutshell, I am currently on a 2 year working holiday visa here in Canada and it's coming up on my first time filing Canadian taxes.
I am going to pay an accountant to file my Canadian taxes however I am really unsure of if I have to file anything to the UK government?
I know that Canada and the UK has a tax treaty so you aren't double taxed so I assume if I pay the Canadian taxes then I don't have to pay the UK anything, but I have no idea about taxes if i'm honest. What i'm terrified of is owing the UK government tax that I don't know about and having a huge bill land on my door in a few years time!
Before I left the UK for canada I had never had a job before so I don't see why I would owe anything to the UK in that way either.
My first job ever has been here in canada, so 100% of my earnings have been made here.
Any help from anyone would be vastly appreciated!
Best Wishes,
Paul
Mar 9th 2019, 5:07 am
#2
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Location: Calgary, AB
Posts: 327
Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Hey!
I honestly wouldn’t worry.
Paying an accountant as far as I’m concerned is super worth it- see if you can get any recommendations for any accountants that are good with people who’ve moved over from the U.K. Word of mouth is always the best way as far as I’m concerned.
We were recommended an accountant here in Calgary who has worked with friends of ours who’re from the U.K. too.
He basically comes to our house, he takes no longer than an hour to take the info from our T4’s, we transfer him $100 for the privilege and we end up getting pretty decent refunds.
And he also advised us of stuff in the U.K the first year we were here.
I worked full time in the U.K. up until the October of the year I left. And I was also self-employed (artist so making no £) so I did that part myself online for my final tax return and I got some money back because of when I finished working.
And that was it.
Super simple. If you haven’t worked in the U.K. before and don’t own any property etc etc in the UK it will be simple (like it is for my husband and I)
It will only be different if you own property, business or have investments in the U.K. but even then a good accountant can advice you on that.
Time to chill and look forward to your tax rebate! :-p
oh- also to add- if you have any student loans presumably you know to be paying those still- which is a pain in the butt (major eye role here!) with how the student loads company operates if you’re abroad. But it’s not that difficult to organise.
I honestly wouldn’t worry.
Paying an accountant as far as I’m concerned is super worth it- see if you can get any recommendations for any accountants that are good with people who’ve moved over from the U.K. Word of mouth is always the best way as far as I’m concerned.
We were recommended an accountant here in Calgary who has worked with friends of ours who’re from the U.K. too.
He basically comes to our house, he takes no longer than an hour to take the info from our T4’s, we transfer him $100 for the privilege and we end up getting pretty decent refunds.
And he also advised us of stuff in the U.K the first year we were here.
I worked full time in the U.K. up until the October of the year I left. And I was also self-employed (artist so making no £) so I did that part myself online for my final tax return and I got some money back because of when I finished working.
And that was it.
Super simple. If you haven’t worked in the U.K. before and don’t own any property etc etc in the UK it will be simple (like it is for my husband and I)
It will only be different if you own property, business or have investments in the U.K. but even then a good accountant can advice you on that.
Time to chill and look forward to your tax rebate! :-p
oh- also to add- if you have any student loans presumably you know to be paying those still- which is a pain in the butt (major eye role here!) with how the student loads company operates if you’re abroad. But it’s not that difficult to organise.
Mar 9th 2019, 7:58 am
#3
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Location: SW Ontario
Posts: 19,879
Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
studiotax free is approved by Canada Revenue and super easy to use... and you can net-file and still get a refund if you are due one!
https://www.studiotax.com/en/?page=1
You will need your T4's before you can file your taxes... but once you have it/them with Studio tax it's follow the guide step by step, fill in the info and it produces your tax return for you - and tells you of things you might have missed So easy.
https://www.studiotax.com/en/?page=1
You will need your T4's before you can file your taxes... but once you have it/them with Studio tax it's follow the guide step by step, fill in the info and it produces your tax return for you - and tells you of things you might have missed
So easy.
Last edited by Siouxie; Mar 9th 2019 at 8:01 am.
Mar 9th 2019, 11:01 am
#4
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Joined: Jul 2016
Posts: 448
Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
studiotax free is approved by Canada Revenue and super easy to use... and you can net-file and still get a refund if you are due one!
https://www.studiotax.com/en/?page=1
You will need your T4's before you can file your taxes... but once you have it/them with Studio tax it's follow the guide step by step, fill in the info and it produces your tax return for you - and tells you of things you might have missed So easy.
https://www.studiotax.com/en/?page=1
You will need your T4's before you can file your taxes... but once you have it/them with Studio tax it's follow the guide step by step, fill in the info and it produces your tax return for you - and tells you of things you might have missed
So easy.
I completely agree with Siouxie, don't pay someone to do something you can very easily do for free! We have had fairly complicated tax situations over the past few years, and its still dead easy to do yourself. Turbo Tax and Ufile are also very easy to use, though have a small charge depending on which version you buy.
For example, if you have rental properties then I've tended to use one of the upgraded ones, just to babysit myself a bit! If you use the online version rather than buying the software its cheaper still, and free for basic returns.
You can't go wrong, it asks you simple yes/no questions (such as are you married, did you buy a house this year,) and you can click a button to import your employment info from the CRA directly, so you don't even have to enter anything from your T4.
Mar 9th 2019, 11:24 am
#5
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Joined: Mar 2019
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Super simple. If you haven’t worked in the U.K. before and don’t own any property etc etc in the UK it will be simple (like it is for my husband and I)
It will only be different if you own property, business or have investments in the U.K. but even then a good accountant can advice you on that.
Time to chill and look forward to your tax rebate! :-p
oh- also to add- if you have any student loans presumably you know to be paying those still- which is a pain in the butt (major eye role here!) with how the student loads company operates if you’re abroad. But it’s not that difficult to organise.
It will only be different if you own property, business or have investments in the U.K. but even then a good accountant can advice you on that.
Time to chill and look forward to your tax rebate! :-p
oh- also to add- if you have any student loans presumably you know to be paying those still- which is a pain in the butt (major eye role here!) with how the student loads company operates if you’re abroad. But it’s not that difficult to organise.
Thank you for the reply! If I had nothing in the uk in terms of a job, houses etc do I still need to file anything even if it’s just a formality? I’m guessing this all means that I don’t need to file on what I’ve earnt here in Canada, to the uk?
As for student loans thankfully I don’t have any, otherwise I can imagine that would be a real pain!
Mar 9th 2019, 11:58 am
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
studiotax free is approved by Canada Revenue and super easy to use... and you can net-file and still get a refund if you are due one!
You will need your T4's before you can file your taxes... but once you have it/them with Studio tax it's follow the guide step by step, fill in the info and it produces your tax return for you - and tells you of things you might have missed So easy.
You will need your T4's before you can file your taxes... but once you have it/them with Studio tax it's follow the guide step by step, fill in the info and it produces your tax return for you - and tells you of things you might have missed
So easy.I have considered doing it online as I’d like to be in a position to do them myself however my situation is kind of complicated and I don’t want to mess it up. It’s complicated because I’m only on a two year visa so it’s unclear if I’m a resident of Canada for tax purposes or a non resident. At this point I have also been here for less than a year having arrived on the 7th April 2018.
Another complication is that I’m living with my girlfriend here who is a Canadian resident. its hard to know wether or not to file as a common law partner or single as Ontario seems to think you must be living together for 3 years to be considered common law from what I’ve read, however I’m obviously not single.
Just some tricky details I don’t want to get reprimanded for unnecessarily
Mar 9th 2019, 12:03 pm
#7
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
thank you for your message!
I have considered doing it online as I’d like to be in a position to do them myself however my situation is kind of complicated and I don’t want to mess it up. It’s complicated because I’m only on a two year visa so it’s unclear if I’m a resident of Canada for tax purposes or a non resident. At this point I have also been here for less than a year having arrived on the 7th April 2018.
Another complication is that I’m living with my girlfriend here who is a Canadian resident. its hard to know wether or not to file as a common law partner or single as Ontario seems to think you must be living together for 3 years to be considered common law from what I’ve read, however I’m obviously not single.
Just some tricky details I don’t want to get reprimanded for unnecessarily
Mar 9th 2019, 12:21 pm
#8
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
You're resident in Canada, so that's where you'll pay tax. No idea on the common-law aspect of it, although that would be very odd, given she can sponsor you for PR as her common-law partner after just one year. 3 years seems a bit excessive! But hopefully somebody will know the answer to that side of things for you.
1. You’re considered a resident in Canada for tax purposes if you have substantial ties there like a car, bank account, Canadian drivers license etc all which I am.
However
2. You’re considered a non resident for tax purposes if you’re a citizen of a country that has a tax treaty with Canada and the UK does.
In terms of the common law aspect of it all yes it’s pretty confusing haha. Not really sure what to make of it. I met her through her cousin as I was friends with him first back in 2014. We started seeing each other back in 2015 while I was on holiday in Canada, but then I had to go back to the uk so she applied for a 2 year youth mobility visa to stay with me in London so was with me all the way up to the moment I left the uk last April when I moved to Canada on my own 2 year working holiday visa.
Technically we’ve been together since 2015 but I have no idea if that’s considered common law since we were together all over the place not just in Canada!
Mar 9th 2019, 12:28 pm
#9
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Mar 9th 2019, 12:43 pm
#10
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
It says this:
“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.”
Im not really sure what are considered ties to the UK? I don’t have a house or any property like a car but I mean My one and only passport is British. I have family in the UK? Not sure if those things are considered ties?
Mar 9th 2019, 1:01 pm
#11
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Not, they're not ties for tax purposes. You can be a citizen of a country but have never set foot there, a passport or citizenship isn't any indication of residency. There's no doubt that you are resident in Canada, you have a job there, a home, you are eligible for healthcare there, your common-law spouse is there, etc, etc.
Mar 9th 2019, 3:07 pm
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Not, they're not ties for tax purposes. You can be a citizen of a country but have never set foot there, a passport or citizenship isn't any indication of residency. There's no doubt that you are resident in Canada, you have a job there, a home, you are eligible for healthcare there, your common-law spouse is there, etc, etc.
I don’t think I’m currently eligible for healthcare on the visa that I’m on bevause I was required to take out a 2 year health insurance for the duration of my stay. I don’t have a healthcard or anything.
Currently we’re staying with my partners parents which they’ve kindly allowed us to do. I’d assume that would still be considered a home even though we aren’t contractually renting a property?
but id say I have more ties to Canada at the moment than. I have a job, car, drivers license, my partner like you said etc.
I have just remembered that I have a bank account back in the uk actually with a small amount of money in it (like we’re talking hundreds not millions or anything). Apart from that and what I previously mentioned there’s nothing.
This has definitely calmed me down a little bit now though! I have a clearer picture about the whole thing.
Mar 9th 2019, 4:53 pm
#13
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
Another complication is that I’m living with my girlfriend here who is a Canadian resident. its hard to know wether or not to file as a common law partner or single as Ontario seems to think you must be living together for 3 years to be considered common law from what I’ve read, however I’m obviously not single.
Just some tricky details I don’t want to get reprimanded for unnecessarily
Just some tricky details I don’t want to get reprimanded for unnecessarily
So if you've been living together as a couple for eg 18 months, live in any of those Provinces, and have no children and have filed no forms, you would be in a common law r/s for Federal forms, and single for Provincial forms.
Mar 9th 2019, 4:57 pm
#14
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
This is separate from the IRCC requirement for insurance that you have to cover your stay, as you might not qualify for insurance (eg people rarely do on arrival, and people going to Quebec on working holiday never would as QC only allows insurance for temporary workers on closed permits).
Mar 9th 2019, 5:06 pm
#15
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Re: Help with my Tax situation in Canada
thank you for your message!
I have considered doing it online as I’d like to be in a position to do them myself however my situation is kind of complicated and I don’t want to mess it up. It’s complicated because I’m only on a two year visa so it’s unclear if I’m a resident of Canada for tax purposes or a non resident. At this point I have also been here for less than a year having arrived on the 7th April 2018.
Another complication is that I’m living with my girlfriend here who is a Canadian resident. its hard to know wether or not to file as a common law partner or single as Ontario seems to think you must be living together for 3 years to be considered common law from what I’ve read, however I’m obviously not single.
Just some tricky details I don’t want to get reprimanded for unnecessarily
Don't confuse
a) Immigration Common Law
b) Canada Revenue Taxes Common Law and
c) Family Law in Ontario Common Law (as in what happens in the event of a break up!)
... they are not the same. Family Law in Ontario is Provincial... Canada Revenue and Immigration is Federal.
For Immigration and Canada Revenue Common Law is established once you have been living together 'as if married' for 12 months in a committed (provable) relationship.
Simple!
The OFFICIAL Canada Revenue:
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...ue-agency.html
Definitions
Common-law partner – this applies to a person who is not your spouse, with whom you are in a conjugal relationship, and to whom one of the following situations applies. They:
have been living with you for at least 12 continuous months
Common-law partner – this applies to a person who is not your spouse, with whom you are in a conjugal relationship, and to whom one of the following situations applies. They:
have been living with you for at least 12 continuous months
Thanks for all your help!
I don’t think I’m currently eligible for healthcare on the visa that I’m on bevause I was required to take out a 2 year health insurance for the duration of my stay. I don’t have a healthcard or anything.
Currently we’re staying with my partners parents which they’ve kindly allowed us to do. I’d assume that would still be considered a home even though we aren’t contractually renting a property?
but id say I have more ties to Canada at the moment than. I have a job, car, drivers license, my partner like you said etc.
I have just remembered that I have a bank account back in the uk actually with a small amount of money in it (like we’re talking hundreds not millions or anything). Apart from that and what I previously mentioned there’s nothing.
This has definitely calmed me down a little bit now though! I have a clearer picture about the whole thing.
Temporary Foreign Workers - Ontario Health Insurance (OHIP) - Publications - Public Information - MOHLTC - please note that you just need your work permit and an employment contract for 6+ months, rather than having already worked for 6+ months..
If it's your intention to remain in Canada with your common-law partner I would strongly suggest you start the application for Spousal Sponsorship without delay!
Back to taxes...
I believe you are overthinking all this.. and overcomplicating matters. You are resident for TAX purposes, you are a temporary worker with a work permit and ties to Canada.. the UK bank account doesn't affect that (keep it though, it's almost impossible to open a new one once you have left the UK)
The "new and improved" Canada.ca website I find is not particularly helpful when compared to the Canada Revenue website which they have now integrated - it's irritating - but this might help... https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...nada-2016.html
Last edited by Siouxie; Mar 9th 2019 at 5:09 pm.
