Canadian tax or not with PR card

I just recently became a canadian resident but I am presently living and working in the USA.

Do I need to file tax in Canada (considering the fact that I do not earn any income there and that I will file tax in the USA)?

-------------------------------------------------------

I think what you mean to say is that you just became the holder of a Canadian PR (permanent residence) card but have not yet moved to Canada.  If you are single or married with your family in the US, there is no necessity to file a Canadian return although you might want to do so by reporting all the US income on line 104 and other relevent lines and then dedcuting it all on line 256 under Article IV of the US / Canada income tax treaty.

On the other hand, if you have a spouse and children and they are living in Canda and you are visiting them every weekend, you need to file a Canadian tax return and may or may not be taxable in Canada depending upon what else is going on in your life.  For instance, if you are also trying for a US green card and reaklly intend to live int eh US, even with the sopouse and children in Canada and a PR card, under US law you are a taxable resident of the US and although you would report the income to Caanda, you would then deduct it all on Line 256 of the Canadian return and pay no tax to Canada.

Under the PR card rules, to keep it alive, you must be able to prove that you have beenphysically present for 24 out of any 60 month period OR be living outside of Canadian citizen OR be working outside of Canada for a Canadian company.  For the record, you can NOT own or be a controlling shareholder of that Canadian company. �

Comments (2)


CEN-TA Cross Border Services - Tax, Visas, Immigration
http://www.centa.com/article.php/20071105021523348