Temporary Residence Filing Tax Return?

Are you a Temporary Residence such as Student/Working Permit Holder and looking to file your personal tax return? We have provided individual tax return service to people with different residential/citizenship statuses including International Students, Foreign workers, Foreign Residences, Refugees etc. Therefore, we decided to prepare this article with the intention of providing Temporary Residence with the guidance of individual tax return.

Are you eligible to file your individual tax return as Temporary Residence?

Only “Canadian Residence” are eligible to fill tax return, however, the “Canadian Residence” for tax purpose is uniquely defined by Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA) which is not based on Citizenship. This means even if your current citizenship status is under the study permit, work permit or refuges, you are still eligible to file the personal tax return.  Generally, you are deemed to be a Canadian Residence for tax purpose if you stayed in Canada for more than 183 days.

First thing first, apply for a temporary Social Insurance Number (SIN)

Temporary residence is eligible to apply for a temporary SIN starting from 9 for the purposes of tax return and investment. If you are a temporary residence of Canada, you can visit any of the Service Canada offices to check your eligibility. If you are eligible(in most cases), Service Canada will give you SIN onsite. The entire application process will only take 20-30 minutes, however, the queue could belong.

After receiving your SIN, start your First-Year Filling

Once you received your SIN, you can start filling your first Canadian tax return! Set up an appointment with us for a free initial consultation and let us make sure your first tax return is starting without any trouble.

What Happen if Service Canada said you can’t get a temporary SIN?

If Service Canada determines that you are not eligible for applying for your SIN number, we can STILL file your tax return without the SIN number. After we file your tax return, CRA will get back to us and ask why you don’t have a SIN number. We will explain to the CRA that you don’t get SIN from Service Canada and the CRA will determine whether they can offer you a temporary SIN solely for the purpose of claiming individual tax return. There are a lot of other factors that needs to take into consideration before using this option, we recommend you to contact us for a free initial consultation before choosing this option.

This site provides general information on various tax issues and other matters. The information is not intended to constitute professional advice and may not be appropriate for a specific individual or fact situation. It is written by the author solely in their personal capacity and cannot be attributed to the accounting firm with which they are affiliated. It is not intended to constitute professional advice, and neither the author nor the firm with which the author is associated shall accept any liability in respect of any reliance on the information contained herein. Readers should always consult with their professional advisors in respect of their particular situation.

—Andrew Chen
November 6, 2017