Deemed residents

• Residency status
  • The 183-day rule
  • What are residential ties?
• Your tax obligations
  • Which tax package?
  • Filing due date
• For more information...
  • Income tax and benefit package (for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada)
  • IT-221, Determination of an Individual's Residence Status

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Residency status

You're a deemed resident of Canada for tax purposes if you:

• stay in Canada for 183 days or more (the 183-day rule) in the tax year;
• don't have residential ties with Canada; and
• aren't considered a resident of another country under the terms of a tax treaty between Canada and that country.

If you're considered a resident of a country with which Canada has a tax treaty, you may be considered a deemed non-resident for taxation purposes.

Note: If you lived outside Canada during the tax year and you're a government employee, a member of the Canadian Forces or their overseas school staff, or working under a Canadian International Development Agengy (CIDA) program, please see Government employees outside Canada for the rules that apply to you. These rules can also apply to your dependent children and other family members.

The 183-day rule

To calculate the number of days you stayed in Canada during the tax year, include each day or part of a day that you stayed in Canada, including:

• the days you attended a Canadian university or college;
• the days you worked in Canada; and
• any days or weekends you spent on vacation in Canada.

If you lived in the United States and commuted to work in Canada, do not include commuting days in the calculation.

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What are residential ties?

Residential ties include:

• a home in Canada
• a spouse or common-law partner (see the definition in the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide) and dependants in Canada
• personal property in Canada, such as a car or furniture
• social ties in Canada.

Other ties that may be relevant include:

• a Canadian driver's licence
• a Canadian bank account or credit cards
• health insurance with a Canadian province or territory.

For more information, please see IT-221, Determination of an Individual's Residence Status

If you would like an opinion about your residency status, please complete and submit Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (Entering Canada).

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Your tax obligations

If you're a deemed resident of Canada for the tax year, you:

• may have to file a Canadian income tax return for that tax year (for more information, please see "Do you have to file a return?" on page 8 of the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada
• must report "world income" (income from all sources, both inside and outside Canada) for the entire tax year
• can claim all deductions and non-refundable tax credits that apply to you
• are subject to federal tax and instead of paying provincial or territorial tax you'll pay a federal surtax
• are eligible to apply for all federal tax credits, but you cannot claim provincial or territorial tax credits.

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Which tax package?

For each tax year that you're a deemed resident of Canada for tax purposes:

• use the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada.

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Filing due date

Generally, your income tax return must be filed on or before:

• April 30 of the year after the tax year; or
• if you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in Canada (other than a business whose expenditures are mainly in connection with a tax shelter), the return must be filed on or before June 15 of the year after the tax year.