Significant ties
- A home in Canada
- A spouse or common-law partner in Canada
- Dependants in Canada
Non-Resident Tax Return Help
Non-Resident Tax Return Help for Canadian Income and Property
Living outside Canada does not end your Canadian tax obligations. Rent, a property sale, work done here or a pension from here can each mean a different return, a different deadline and a different Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) form. We work out which apply, prepare the return and deal with the CRA for you wherever you live.
- Rent, property sales, work in Canada, pensions and departure year
- Clients in any country, by phone, video and secure upload
- Confidential first call, with no obligation
Tap what applies to you
Pick as many as you need. Nothing you pick is saved.
Are you a non-resident for tax purposes?
Where you live is not the test. The CRA looks at your ties to Canada and how long you spend here. Get this wrong and everything after it is wrong.
Secondary ties
- Personal property in Canada
- Social ties
- Economic ties
- A Canadian driver’s licence or passport
- Provincial health insurance
Time in Canada
- Fewer than 183 days in the year, and no significant ties, points to non-resident
- Commuting days from the U.S. are not counted
A tax treaty can also treat a resident of Canada as a non-resident. If you are unsure, the CRA will give a written opinion on Form NR73 (leaving Canada) or NR74 (entering Canada), and we can prepare it.
How does Canada tax a non-resident?
Two ways, and one person can have both in the same year. Which one applies depends on the kind of income.
Tax withheld at source
The payer takes 25% before you are paid.
- Applies to rent, pensions, OAS, CPP/QPP, RRSP and RRIF payments, dividends, royalties and similar income
- A tax treaty may lower the 25%
- Arm’s-length interest is generally exempt
- The tax withheld is normally your final tax, and the payer reports it on an NR4 slip
- You file only if you choose to elect, for example to pay tax on net rent
A return on taxable income
You file a return and pay the usual graduated tax.
- Applies to work done in Canada, a business carried on in Canada and gains on taxable Canadian property
- Uses the Income Tax Package for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada
- Which credits you can claim depends on the 90% rule
- Due April 30, or June 15 if self-employed, with any balance still due April 30
- Usually filed when you sell taxable Canadian property
Not sure which one your income falls under? The matrix below lists each type, and we confirm it against your slips.
Do you have to file a Canadian return as a non-resident?
Often yes, and sometimes only if you want something back. The CRA lists these situations.
You file if
- The CRA asked you for a return
- You owe tax, or you want a refund
- You had a taxable capital gain or sold taxable Canadian property
- You want to carry forward or transfer tuition
- You want to build RRSP room
- The CRA approved your Form NR5, NR6 or T1287 and an elective return follows
You may not need to file if
- Your only Canadian income had non-resident tax withheld and you are not electing
- You sold taxable Canadian property, and all the CRA’s listed conditions are met, including no tax payable and nothing owing for earlier years
How is each kind of Canadian income taxed for a non-resident?
One row per type of income. These are the usual rules, and a tax treaty can change them.
| Type of income | How it is usually taxed | What you file or elect |
|---|---|---|
| Rent from Canadian real property | 25% withheld on the gross rent, normally final tax. | Optional section 216 return to pay tax on net rent. Form NR6 can reduce withholding during the year. |
| Pensions, OAS, CPP/QPP, RRSP and RRIF payments | 25% withheld, which a treaty may lower. | Optional section 217 election on the non-resident package. |
| Dividends and royalties | 25% withheld, which a treaty may lower. | Nothing, unless you elect. |
| Interest | Generally exempt when paid at arm’s length. Other interest is 25%. | Nothing, unless you elect. |
| Fees for services done in Canada | 15% withheld, claimed as a credit on your return. | A non-resident return. |
| Employment in Canada | Taxed on taxable income at graduated rates. | A non-resident return, due April 30. |
| A business carried on in Canada | Taxed on taxable income at graduated rates. | A non-resident return, due June 15 with any balance due April 30. |
| Selling taxable Canadian property | A gain is taxed on your return, with tax paid up front through the section 116 process. | Form T2062 at the sale, then a return with Schedule 3. |
A tax treaty between Canada and your country of residence can change a rate, so we check it for every client.
What happens when a non-resident sells Canadian property?
The CRA wants to be paid, or secured, around the sale and not after it. This is the order it sets.
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File Form T2062
Before or at the sale, with payment or acceptable security.
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The CRA issues a certificate
Form T2068 for a completed sale, or T2064 for a proposed one.
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Notify within 10 days
Tell the CRA about the sale no later than 10 days after it, or a daily penalty applies.
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Watch the buyer’s withholding
If the certificate limit is exceeded, the buyer may withhold 25%, or 50% for certain property.
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File your return
Report the sale on Schedule 3. The payments are interim, and the return settles the final tax.
The daily penalty for late notice is 25 dollars a day, up to 2,500 dollars, with a 100 dollar minimum. A home you want to claim as a principal residence still needs a return, and the years you were a non-resident can reduce the exemption.
Should you elect to pay tax on net rent under section 216?
Gross rent is taxed at 25% with nothing deducted. Net rent lets your expenses count.
Without the election
- 25% on the gross rent
- Withheld by your agent or tenant
- Normally final tax
- No return needed
With the election
- Tax on rent minus your expenses
- A separate return, using Guide T4144
- Any excess withholding is refunded
- A missed due date makes the election invalid
When is the section 216 return due?
- Two years after the end of the year the rent was paid or credited, in general
- June 30 of the following year if the CRA approved Form NR6 for that year
- April 30, if you also have to report a recapture of capital cost allowance after a sale
With an approved NR6, missing June 30 means tax on the gross rent. File the return, even with a loss, by the date.
What are the deadlines for a non-resident tax return?
The CRA’s published dates. A date that falls on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day.
| What | The rule |
|---|---|
| Most non-resident returns | April 30 of the year after the tax year. The return and any balance are due then. |
| Self-employed non-residents | Return due June 15. Any balance owing is still due April 30. |
| Section 216 return (rent) | Two years after the end of the year, or June 30 of the following year if Form NR6 was approved. |
| Notifying the CRA of a sale of Canadian property | No later than 10 days after the sale. |
| Refund of excess non-resident tax (Form NR7-R) | No later than two years after the end of the calendar year the payer remitted the tax. |
| Form T1161 for the year you leave Canada | With your return, if the property you owned was worth more than 25,000 dollars. If you do not have to file, by the return’s due date. |
The CRA also tells you where to send a paper return: the Winnipeg Tax Centre for Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States, and the Sudbury Tax Centre for every other country.
Looking for other CRA dates? See the key filing and payment deadlines →
What credits and deductions can a non-resident claim?
Fewer than a resident, and one number decides how many: the share of your world income that is Canadian.
90% or more is Canadian income
- You can claim all federal and provincial non-refundable credits
- A schedule showing your world income is required
Under 90% is Canadian income
- CPP/QPP and similar contributions
- EI premiums
- The disability amount for yourself
- Canadian student loan interest
- The tuition amount for yourself
-
Child care
Must be paid to a Canadian resident for services in Canada.
-
Moving expenses
Generally not allowed, except for some full-time students.
-
RRSP room
Limited by the Canadian-source income you reported.
-
Provincial tax
Employment or a business with a permanent establishment uses the province’s form. Other Canadian income carries the non-resident surtax.
What do you file in the year you leave Canada?
Leaving is its own event for the CRA, and it comes with a tax of its own.
Your departure date
You become a non-resident on the latest of the day you leave, the day your spouse or common-law partner and dependants leave, and the day you become a resident of your new country.
A return for the year you leave
File one if you owe tax or want a refund, and put your departure date on it.
Departure tax
You are treated as having sold certain property at fair market value on the day you left, and any gain is reported.
Form T1161
Needed when the property you owned was worth more than 25,000 dollars in total.
Tell the people who pay you
Banks and payers of Canadian income should know you are no longer a resident, so the right tax is withheld.
Benefits and your TFSA
You can keep a TFSA but not add to it, and you are generally not eligible for the Canada child benefit.
What happens if a non-resident return is late or missed?
The same rules as for residents, plus a few that only apply to non-residents.
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A late-filing penalty
Applies if you owe tax and file late, and it can be higher if the CRA demanded the return.
-
Interest from the day after
Interest on a balance owing compounds daily from the day after the due date.
-
A lost election
A section 216 return filed after its due date makes the election invalid, and the 25% on gross rent stands.
-
Relief can still be possible
The CRA can cancel penalties and interest for periods ending in the last 10 calendar years when something outside your control caused them.
What mistakes do non-residents make with Canadian tax?
These come up again and again, and each one is avoidable.
-
1
Assuming you are a non-resident because you moved
A home, a spouse or dependants left in Canada can keep you a resident for tax, whatever country you live in.
-
2
Accepting the 25% on gross rent without checking the election
Paying tax on rent with no expenses deducted can cost far more than tax on net rent.
-
3
Missing the Form NR6 and section 216 dates
An election filed late is invalid, and an approved NR6 turns a missed date into tax on gross rent.
-
4
Selling without filing Form T2062
The CRA expects notice and payment or security around the sale, and a daily penalty follows late notice.
-
5
Forgetting the return for the year you left
Departure tax and Form T1161 are easy to miss, and both are tied to that year.
-
6
Posting a paper return to the wrong tax centre
Five countries go to Winnipeg and every other country goes to Sudbury.
What’s included in our non-resident tax return help
-
Residency check
A plain answer on whether you are a non-resident, and a CRA opinion request if it is unclear.
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Income sorted
Each source of Canadian income matched to the right rule, form and deadline, with your treaty checked.
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Return prepared
The non-resident return, or the section 216 or 217 elective return, built from your slips and records.
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Property sales handled
Form T2062 and the certificate filed around the sale, and the return that follows.
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Filed and followed up
Sent to the CRA, tracked, and answered if it writes back.
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Past years caught up
Missed non-resident years filed, and refunds of excess withholding claimed where they apply.
What stays with the CRA
The CRA decides how a return is assessed and whether a certificate is issued. No one can promise a refund. What we promise is an accurate return, filed correctly and on time, and honest advice about which choice costs you least.
How much does a non-resident tax return cost?
Every case is different, so we quote each one individually, and you will know what we charge before we start. Here is what shapes the quote.
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Kinds of incomeOne source, or several.
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Rental propertiesNone, one or many.
-
A property saleA section 116 filing and a return, or neither.
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Years to fileThis year, or several missed ones.
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Where you liveThe treaty and the paperwork that follow.
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TimingPlenty of time, or a date close.
- Free, no-obligation consultation
- Clear quote agreed before we start
- No hidden fees or surprise billing
Prefer to talk it through first? Call us, or send a quote request.
Call (437) 421-7171 Request a QuoteNon-resident tax help across Canada and abroad
Get directionsMost non-resident clients never visit an office. We work by phone, video and secure upload with people in any country, and you are always welcome at one of our four offices when you are in Canada.
Living outside Canada? We can still help.
Ask about your return
We prepare Canadian returns for people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Asia, the Middle East and everywhere else, by phone and video.
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Non-resident tax return FAQs: rent, property sales, deadlines and leaving Canada
Straight answers to what people ask us when they live outside Canada and still have Canadian tax to deal with.
Someone who normally lived outside Canada and did not have significant residential ties to Canada, such as a home, a spouse or common-law partner or dependants here, and who either lived abroad all year or spent fewer than 183 days in Canada. Secondary ties, such as a Canadian driver’s licence or health insurance, are weighed too. A tax treaty can also treat a resident as a non-resident.
Sometimes. You file if the CRA asks, if you owe tax or want a refund, if you sold taxable Canadian property or had a taxable capital gain, or if you are making an elective return. If your only Canadian income had non-resident tax withheld and you are not electing, you generally do not report it.
It is the 25% tax that payers withhold from certain Canadian income paid to non-residents, such as rent, pensions, OAS, CPP, RRSP and RRIF payments, dividends and royalties. A tax treaty may reduce the rate, and arm’s-length interest is generally exempt. The withheld tax is normally your final tax on that income.
Yes. You can elect under section 216 and file a separate return, which taxes your rent minus your expenses instead of the gross amount. Any excess tax withheld is refunded. The election is invalid if the return is late.
In general two years after the end of the year the rent was paid or credited. If the CRA approved your Form NR6 for that year, the return is due June 30 of the following year, and missing it means tax on the gross rent.
You file Form T2062 with the CRA before or at the sale, with payment or acceptable security, and the CRA issues a certificate. You notify the CRA within 10 days of the sale, and you file a Canadian return reporting the sale. If the certificate limit is exceeded, the buyer may have to withhold 25% of the amount.
Yes. A penalty of 25 dollars a day applies, up to 2,500 dollars, with a minimum of 100 dollars. Telling the CRA within 10 days of the sale avoids it.
April 30 for most people. If you or your business were self-employed, the return is due June 15, but any balance owing is still due April 30. A date that falls on a weekend or holiday moves to the next business day.
To the Winnipeg Tax Centre if you live in Denmark, France, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom or the United States, and to the Sudbury Tax Centre if you live anywhere else. The CRA encourages filing electronically.
Only in part. If 90% or more of your world income is Canadian, you can claim the usual non-refundable credits. If less than 90% is Canadian, you are limited to credits such as CPP and EI contributions, your own disability and tuition amounts and student loan interest.
If you worked in Canada or ran a business with a permanent establishment, you complete the form for that province. Other Canadian-source income carries the non-resident surtax.
A Canadian return for that year if you owe tax or want a refund, showing your departure date. You are treated as having sold certain property at fair market value, which can create a capital gain, and Form T1161 lists your property if it was worth more than 25,000 dollars in total.
Often, yes. File Form NR7-R no later than two years after the end of the calendar year the payer remitted the tax. A section 216 or 217 return can also produce a refund.
Yes. We work with clients in any country by phone, video and secure upload, and we deal with the CRA for you once you authorize us.
We quote each case after a free consultation, because a single rental and a sale with several years to file are very different. You will know the cost before we start.
Official sources we check
We confirm the rules on the CRA’s own pages. You can read them too:
- Non-Residents and Income Tax (T4058)canada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- Electing under section 216canada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- When to file a section 216 returncanada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- Income Tax Guide for Electing Under Section 216 (T4144)canada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- Leaving Canada (emigrants)canada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- Dispositions of property for emigrants of Canadacanada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- Procedures for non-residents selling taxable Canadian property (IC72-17R6)canada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
- Personal income tax: due dates and payment datescanada.ca (opens the official site in a new tab)
Checked against these pages in October 2026. Rules, forms and tax treaties change, so we confirm the current position for your situation before we start. This page is general information, not legal advice.
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