Welcome to Canada
International Students
International Tax Services Office
Revised January 2009
Session objective
 To give you important information on how to
file an income tax return as a newcomer to
Canada.
 Brief overview of residency and how it affects
tax.
 To tell you about the tools and resources
offered by the Canada Revenue Agency
(CRA) that are available to help you file your
tax returns.
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Canada’s tax system
 Based on residency not on citizenship.
 Self-assessment system means you are
responsible for reporting your income
and paying the correct amount of income
tax.
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Resident of Canada
Am I a resident of Canada for tax and
credit purposes?
 At the Canada Revenue Agency, we
consider you to be a resident of Canada
for tax and credit purposes when you
establish residential ties in Canada.
 You usually establish these ties on the
date you arrive in Canada.
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Residential Ties in Canada
 Dwelling place available
 Spouse and/or dependents
 Personal property
 Memberships
 Economic ties
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Residency
Why is residency important?
 A resident of Canada pays tax in Canada
on his or her world income.
 You must be a resident of Canada to be
eligible for social benefits (GSTC and
CCTB).
 A resident of Canada can claim all
deductions and credits that apply to them
to reduce their tax.
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Residency Status
 Resident
 Non-Resident
 Deemed Resident
 Deemed Non-Resident
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Resident of Canada
 An individual who enters Canada and
who has established significant
residential ties with Canada.
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Deemed Resident
 A deemed resident is a resident of
another country who has sojourned in
Canada for 183 days or more in a
calendar year and has not established
significant residential ties with Canada.
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Non-Resident
 A non-resident is a resident of another
country who has not established significant
residential ties with Canada.
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Deemed Non-Resident
 A deemed non-resident is an individual
who under a tax treaty is considered a
resident of another country.
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More information
Where can I get more information?
Publication T4055, Newcomers to Canada
Publication T4133, Are you a Newcomer
to Canada?
Form NR74, Determination of Residency
Status (Entering Canada)
Interpretation Bulletin IT221R3,
Determination of an Individual’s Residence
Status
CRA Web site:
www.cra.gc.ca/internationalstudents
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Do you have to file?
 You owe taxes
 We sent you a request to file
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Should you file?
 You want to claim a refund of tax that has
been withheld
 Tuition and education amounts
 Goods & Services Tax Credit / Harmonized
Sales Tax Credit (if eligible)
 Canada Child Tax Benefit (if eligible)
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Tax Package
 The Canadian tax return comes in two
booklets – one is a Guide and the other a
Forms booklet. The Forms booklet is for a
province or territory.
 Resident
File under the province where you normally
resided on December 31st 2008
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How to complete a return ?
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Income tax return –
“Identification” area
No social insurance number (SIN)?
 Contact a Service Canada (SC) office for
information about applying for a SIN or visit their
website for more information.
www.servicecanada.gc.ca
Can I use my expired 900 SIN to file my
income tax return?
 Yes—you can use your expired 900 SIN to file
your income tax return.
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No Social Insurance Number
(SIN)?
Not allowed to get a SIN?
 File Form T1261,
Application for a Canada Revenue
Agency Individual Tax Number (ITN)
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Information about your
residence
Date of entry
 Newcomers—enter the date you arrived
in Canada.
 We need this information to calculate any
benefits that you may be entitled to.
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How long in Canada?
Did you become a resident of Canada before
last year?
 If you became a resident before last year, you
should file an income tax return for each year
you lived in Canada.
 You should put your date of entry only on the
tax return for your first year in Canada.
 You can get tax returns for previous years on
our website at www.cra.gc.ca, or by calling
1-800-959-2221.
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Be sure this is an
address where you
can be reached
between May and
August
21
If you are a resident who
entered Canada for the first
time in 2008, put in your date
of entry
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GST/HST Credit and Foreign
Property Reporting
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Total Income
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World Income
 This is taxable from your date of entry.
 Report world income in Canadian dollars.
 Exchange rates are available from the
Bank of Canada at:
www.bankofcanada.ca
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Information Slips
T4
Employment Income
T4A
Other Income
T5
Statement of Investment
Income
T2202A Tuition, Education and
Textbook Amounts
Certificate
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Teacher – Research Assistants
 Report employment income at line 101
 See your T4 slip
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T4 Information Slip
2008
L. 101
QC
28
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2008
10,391 58
ON
116
310
00
00
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You can always refer to the reverse side
of a slip for more information
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T4A Other Income
Scholarships and
research grants
Footnote Code
04= Research Grant
05= Scholarship
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Research Grants (line 104)
Report your net research grant
 Subtract your expenses from your
grant;
 Your expenses cannot be more than
your grant;
 Attach to your return a list of your
expenses.
 For more information see IT-75
“Scholarships, Fellowships, Bursaries,
Prizes, and Research Grants”
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Other Income (line 130)
 Scholarship
 Bursaries
 Fellowship
 Artist Project Grant
 Prize for Achievement in field of study
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Scholarship Income 2006
and future years

The full amount of scholarships,
fellowships, or bursaries that are received
by you as a student if you are entitled to
the education amount (see line 323) are no
longer reported as income on your tax
return.
 If you are not eligible for the education
amount, report on line 130 only the
amount that is more than $500.
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Deductions
 You may be entitled to deductions which
may reduce your taxable income, for
example:
Moving expenses
Child Care expenses
Other expenses
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Net and Taxable Income
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International students and
moving expenses
An international student can deduct
moving expenses if he or she is:
 Attending post-secondary courses in
Canada as a full-time student and;
 Receiving taxable-award income (e.g.,
scholarship) after the move. You cannot
deduct moving expenses against nontaxable scholarship, fellowship, and
bursary income.
 See Form T1-M for more information.
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Foreign income
Are there exemptions under a tax treaty?
 Call the International Tax Services Office at:
1-800-267-5177
 Do I have to pay tax in both countries?
See “Federal foreign tax credit,” line 405, on
Schedule 1.
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Tax Credits
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Tax Credits Help Reduce the
Amount of Tax You Pay –
 Non-refundable tax credits can only be
used to reduce the amount of tax you
pay to zero and any excess cannot be
refunded
 Refundable tax credits can be used to
reduce the amount of tax you pay to
zero and any excess may be refunded
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Credits
Non-Refundable
Tax Credits
Refundable
Tax Credits
 Personal amounts  Provincial
property tax credit
 Tuition fees
 Education amount  Sales tax credit
 Medical expenses
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Schedule 1
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Calculating federal
non-refundable tax credits
You may have to prorate your
non-refundable tax credits based on the
number of days you are resident in Canada.
The rules are the same for calculating
provincial or territorial non-refundable tax
credits.
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Example
Jane arrived in Canada from Australia on
May 6, 2008.
She entered “05-06” in the Identification area of
her return. She calculated that from May 6 to
December 31 there were 240 days.
Jane claims the basic personal amount
calculated as follows:
240 days in Canada x $9,600.00 = $6,312.33
365 days in 2008
Jane will enter $6,312.33 on line 300 of her
Schedule 1.
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Claim full non-refundable tax
credits?
 Yes—if you have no income for the part
of the year that you were not a resident
of Canada.
 Yes—if you meet the 90% rule for the
part of the year you were not resident in
Canada.
 You must attach a note to your return
showing your world income for the part of
the year you were not resident in Canada.
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Tuition, education, and textbook
amount
 Use Schedule 11
 Take the information from T2202A
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T2202A
Months full-time
Months part-time
Tuition Fees
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Schedule 11
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Textbook amount
2006 and future years
You are eligible to claim an amount for
textbooks only if you are entitled to claim
the education amount.
The amount is:
 $65 for each month you qualify for the
full-time education amount; and
 $20 for each month you qualify for the
part-time education amount.
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Public Transit Passes Amount
For transit after June 30, 2006, you can claim the
cost of monthly public transit passes if you had
Canadian source income during the year.
Public transit includes transit by local bus,
streetcar, subway, commuter train or bus, and
local ferry.
Receipts – Keep all your receipts and passes in
case we ask to see them.
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Canada Employment Amount
All employees are eligible to claim an
employment tax credit.
Claim the lesser of:
 $1,000; and
 the amount reported at line 101 of your
return.
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Refund or Balance Owing?
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Goods and Services
Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax Credit
As a newcomer, you should:
 complete Form RC151, GST/HST Credit
Application for Individuals Who Become
Residents of Canada; and
 send the completed Form RC151 to the
tax centre that serves your area.
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Canada Child Tax Benefit
As a newcomer, you:
Need to complete Form RC66, Canada
Child Tax Benefit Application; and
May have to complete Schedule
RC66SCH, Status in Canada/Statement of
Income
Send your completed forms to the tax
centre that serves your area.
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Filing Date
 On or before April 30th
 On or before June 15th for self-employed
individual
 In all cases, any outstanding balance is
due on or before April 30th
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More information
Newcomers should send their tax
return to:
International Tax Services Office
2204 Walkley Road
Ottawa ON K1A 1A8
For more information, you can call toll
free1-800-267-5177, or go to our Web
site at
www.cra.gc.ca/internationalstudents
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Thank you
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