Residency - Individuals

Under Canada's tax system, your liability for income tax in Canada is based on your status as a resident or non-resident of Canada. Residency must be established before your tax liability to Canada can be determined.

A determination of residency can only be made after all the factors have been considered. Your circumstances have to be reviewed in their entirety to get an accurate picture of your residency.

The residential ties you have or establish in Canada are a major factor in determining residency. Residential ties to Canada include;

• a home in Canada
• a spouse or common-law partner and dependants who stay in Canada, while you are living abroad
• personal property in Canada, such as a car or furniture
• social ties in Canada
• economic ties in Canada

Other ties that may be relevant include:

• a Canadian driver's licence
• health insurance with a Canadian province or territory

Residential ties that you maintain or establish in another country may also be relevant to residency.

Special rules may apply in the following circumstances:

• If you do not have residential ties in Canada, you may be a deemed resident if you stayed in Canada for 183 days or more.
• You are a government employee outside Canada, or you are a member of the Canadian Forces serving outside of Canada.

The above information is of a general nature only. For more information on residency, please see Interpretation Bulletin IT221R3, Determination of an Individual's Residence Status.

We at the Canada Revenue Agency can give you an opinion on your status. To get this, please complete Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (Entering Canada) or Form NR73, Determination of Residency Status (Leaving Canada). Send your completed form to the International Tax Services Office.

After your residency has been determined, you can get information on your Canadian tax liability and filing requirements on our International and non-resident Web pages.