Roberto3000

Hello,

I am planning to leave Canada at the end of next month, after 10 months here. Returning to Europe. I already filed my tax return for 2020.

All I own is a cheap car and mostly the belongings I brought with me. I also have a chequing account with some cash in it. I am working for a UK organisation remotely and know that I will have to file a 2021 Canadian tax return to cover the time I have been resident this year, and pay the required taxes.

What I would like to know is whether I have to do anything else before departing in terms of tax? Will I get to the airport and find I cannot board my flight because I owe departure tax, or need to complete paperwork?

Many thanks

JamesM

Nope you're good you have filed.

You may want to file again next year if you are owed money- you could have it deposited to your checking account if it is still open.

Safe travels!

Roberto3000

Thanks James - much appreciated!

I will have to file for next year as I will owe income tax to CRA (this isn't being paid through any payroll at the moment as I'm working for a UK based organisation who pay taxes etc to HMRC and I get a credit). Does this information change your response? I'm not sure how CRA could make somebody in my situation pay the taxes they owe after they have left (I would do so, since I'm honest) - but don't CRA have a mechanism for preventing evasion when people leave?

Also, would I be affected by the departure tax?

I just want to make sure I don't get a nasty surprise at the airport as I have enough stress and hoops to jump through as it is just to try and get home during this time.

Twitcher1958

When my daughter left Canada three years ago, she completed a NR73 form and submitted to the CRA. This seemed to be the mechanism for them to formally be advised of her departure and we used the same date in her final tax return. Her situation was simpler than yours as she had no assets to dispose of. They then confirmed back that she was no longer tax resident in Canada.

Roberto3000

Thanks, I know about that form.

Would the government really be owed tax from me selling a cheap, used car (no capital gains)?

JamesM

You won't get any surprises at the airport.

They're pretty lapse on tax in Canada. I know many people who are behind on filing.

Unless you're a payer of large amounts of tax I don't see them caring much about any tax owed for a few months. That's just my opinion though.

JamesM

Where are you based?

In Ontario when you sell a vehicle you need to order a used vehicle information pack and the new owner will pay the licensing amount on that.

The cash is yours to go.

Roberto3000

I'm in BC. We don't have to do that pack thing here; just have to go to broker and fill a bunch of forms out, and then the buyer pays tax and gets insurance.

My flight has just been cancelled so I think the proverbial is starting to hit the fan. They seem to be breaking direct flights down into smaller chunks for some reason. They offered an alternative that would take 24 hours rather than 9, and involve 3 different flights.

Siouxie

Information about what you need to declare and what you don't... tax return / tax forms / departure taxes where applicable..
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...emigrants.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...-property.html
Resident / non resident for tax purposes (for 2021 income)
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-age...ts-canada.html

Roberto3000

You are a star! Thanks

That didn't come up in my google searches for some reason.

So what I'm getting from this is that:

- I will be deemed, as an emigrant, to have disposed of property and other items for which there may be capital gains;
- I report the capital gains from this on my next tax return; in my case, it will be zero since I only have a crap car to sell;
- I do not complete any forms before I leave;
- I complete a tax return for 2021 for the income earned whilst I was resident.

I will report the leaving date and, it seems, all other matters, through the tax return process. The only thing I'm not sure about, based on how this is all worded, is if I have to to do the tax return before I leave, or if I can do it once I'm abroad in accordance with the usual deadlines.

Any thoughts? And does this all otherwise seem correct?

What seems odd if this is correct is that I cannot figure out how the CRA could get the money owed to them from people who leave and then 'disappear' and don't report or pay. What is the enforcement mechanism for that? I only ask because I want to be absolutely sure I'm not missing an important step that I need to follow before leaving.