hey all

so ive left doing my taxes pretty late, well i have them almost done but one thing is stopping me from sending them off.

so i came out here in january 09 as a visitor, i have a common law canadian partner, and in may i got a bunac visa and started work the same month, ive been working ever since and it runs out next month.i didnt leave the country from january to may, actually i haven't ever since but thats beside the point!

anyways so im just wondering what to put for the box, when did you become a resident?

it says its normally when you first entered canada, and if you had strong ties to the country i.e bank account, partner etc which i had in january however i didnt start work until 5 months later, so do i put that date instead?

the return i get is massively different and thats why im asking. its 700 less if i put may.

thanks in advance for any help, you guys are always so helpful! i just want to get this filed off soon so i dont miss the april 30th deadline!

I would say January.

Yes you become a resident as soon as you get any form of permit to be in Canada. From what I understand, the BUNAC is basically like any other work permit except it's open, as soon as you arrived you started "working" in Canada.

Anyone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong about this of course.

I didn't think that was the case. For many people there is a significant amount of time between landing to activate their PR and becoming resident. I took the common sense approach and stated that I became resident when I moved over here to live.

That is correct. Status for immigration is not the same as status for tax. You can be tax resident even if you are on a visitor's visa if you have moved here to established your home.

exactly, your a tax resident if you were in canada for six months or more,you could still go home and never return but be a tax resident for that period...right?

i didnt know if it had to be time working or not though as previously when i did bunac i was a resident as worked for just over six months.

i guess ill put january then.

thankyou for the help.

and i guess i did move over in january to live with my canadian boyfriend to set up home together, i just couldn't work then.

The six month rule is for deemed residency. It doesn't apply to you as you were a factual resident in 2009.

Exactly. January it is.

ok great, thanks so much!!