Who is a non-resident?
A non-resident is someone who:
- normally, customarily, or routinely lives in another country and is not considered a resident of Canada; or
- does not have significant residential ties in Canada;
and lives outside of Canada throughout the tax year; or- stays in Canada for less than 183 days in the fiscal year.
The most common types of income subject to non-resident tax are:
- Pension plan and Old Age Security (OAS) payments
- Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) and Registered Retirement Income Fund (RRIF) payments
- Rental and royalty payments
- Annuity payments
- Trust payments
- Dividend payments
What are your obligations?
You are responsible for deducting and remitting non-resident tax if you are:
- a Canadian resident who pays or credits certain types of income to a non-resident of Canada
- an agent or someone who receives certain types of income on behalf of a non-resident of Canada, from which tax was not withheld
- a non-resident of Canada who receives certain types of income from a Canadian source, from which tax was not withheld
Failing to deduct and remit non-resident tax on these payments may result in penalties and interest.
Open a non-resident tax account to take care of your obligations
It’s now easy and convenient to open a non-resident tax account.
You can access the new registration tool and open a non-resident tax account through any of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) online portals, including: