Keeping a home in Canada while abroad — do I need an adviser, or can I do it alone?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: residency is decided on facts, and a dwelling kept available ranks with a spouse and dependants at the top of the list.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
Can I keep my house in Canada and still be non-resident?
It is possible, but the house is a difficult tie to argue around. Residency is decided on the facts of your ties, and a dwelling kept available for your own use sits with a spouse and dependants at the top of the list. What usually decides the question is not whether you own the property but whether it remains available to you. A property let on a real lease at a market rent, to a tenant at arm's length, for a term covering your absence, is a far lighter tie than the same house sitting empty with your furniture in it.
Does renting my house to my brother count as renting it out?
It can, but it is examined closely and it often fails on the facts. What matters is whether the arrangement is one you could have made with a stranger: a written lease, a rent at the going rate, paid on time and actually banked, with the tenant in occupation and you with no right to walk in. A family member paying a token amount, or a sibling keeping a room ready for you, does not lighten the tie at all, and can make the position worse by suggesting the dwelling stayed available to you throughout.
What if I keep a room or my furniture in the house?
It cuts against you. A locked room, a garage full of belongings, or a basement held back from the tenancy all suggest the dwelling remained available for your use, which is the fact that makes it a heavy tie. So does a lease with a clause letting you return for part of the year. If the intention is to break the tie, the lease should give the tenant exclusive possession and the belongings should be stored somewhere that is not the property. Document the arrangement when you make it, not when you are asked about it.
Who withholds tax on my rent while I am living abroad?
The payer does. Where rent is paid to a non-resident landlord, the tenant or the agent collecting the rent must withhold tax and remit it, and the obligation sits with them rather than with you. By default the withholding applies to the gross rent as it is paid, which takes no account of mortgage interest, property tax, insurance or repairs, and so routinely exceeds the tax actually due. An arrangement can be applied for in advance to have the withholding calculated on the net rental income instead, with a return then settling the year.
Does leaving a car and bank accounts in Canada matter for residency?
They count, but not equally. Residency is weighed rather than scored, and the ties carrying real weight are a dwelling available to you, a spouse and dependants. Bank accounts, a driving licence, a vehicle, health cover and club memberships are secondary ties; a handful of them will rarely decide the question on their own, but a long list alongside a house you could move back into paints a picture of a life that never left. Deal with the house first, then tidy the secondary ties in a way you can evidence.
Can I stay in my own house when I visit Canada?
If it is genuinely let, you cannot, and that is rather the point. A tenant with exclusive possession has the property, and a landlord who moves in for the summer either has no real tenancy or has a lease that gives the game away. Visits are not fatal in themselves; where you stay during them is evidence. Staying with family or in a hotel while the tenancy runs is consistent with the position you are taking. Returning to your own bedroom for part of every year is not.
Do I pay Canadian tax if I live abroad?
Only if you remain a Canadian tax resident. Residency follows your ties rather than your address, so leaving while your home and family stay usually does not end it. Non-residents remain taxable on Canadian-source income — employment or business income earned in Canada, dispositions of taxable Canadian property, and passive amounts subject to withholding. The year you leave is its own exercise, with a deemed disposition and its own schedules. See leaving Canada.
Does foreign employment income create RRSP room?
Only where it is earned income reported on a Canadian return. RRSP room is built from earned income that Canada sees, so a non-resident year of foreign salary generally builds none, and foreign tax paid does not create room of its own. This is why people returning to Canada after years abroad find their contribution room much smaller than the years elapsed suggest, and why the notice of assessment is the only reliable statement of it. See returning to Canada after years abroad.
