Don’t miss out on tax benefits for northern residents

If you lived in a northern or remote area for six months or more in 2023, you may qualify for the northern residents deductions. These deductions recognize the unique challenges northern residents face, such as higher living costs and limited access to services. Find out if you lived in a prescribed northern zone (Zone A) or a prescribed intermediate zone (Zone B) at canada.ca/cra-line-25500.

The deductions include a residency deduction and a travel deduction. These can provide relief for both your daily living expenses and eligible travel. If you are eligible, these deductions will reduce your taxable income.

Residency deduction

You may be able to claim up to $11 a day for Zone A and $5.50 a day for Zone B for the basic residency amount. You may also be able to claim an additional residency amount if you are the only person in the household claiming the basic residency amount for the period and you were responsible for maintaining the dwelling you live in.

Find out if you’re eligible at Calculate your residency deduction.

Travel deduction

You can claim the travel deduction for medical or personal trips originating from a prescribed zone, using various modes of transportation. You can claim up to two personal trips that you took and up to two personal trips taken by each eligible family member. It doesn’t matter who claims the trips, but only two personal trips for each individual can be claimed in a tax year. There is no limit on the number of claims for medical trips.

To claim, you must provide receipts or records for the total travel expenses. You also need to provide the lowest return airfare (LRA) available at the time of the trip between the airport closest to your residence and the nearest designated city.

Learn how to simply identify the LRA at canada.ca/lowest-return-airfare.

We heard you

Last year, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) launched the Simplified Northern Residents Travel Deduction as a pilot project to help northern residents claim the travel deduction. The main component of the pilot was the airfare tables. These tables give taxpayers the option to use an amount provided in the table as the LRA for their travel deduction claims.

To maintain our ongoing commitment to northern residents, we held a consultation process from July to September 2023. This gave them opportunities to provide input through in-person and virtual roundtables, email submissions, and an online questionnaire.

Thank you to all those who participated. We are carefully reviewing the feedback received in an effort to making it easier for you to claim the travel deduction. Read the full consultation report to find out what we heard.

Don't miss out on the support you’re entitled to. Explore canada.ca/taxes-northern-residents for comprehensive details on northern residents deductions today!

Key dates for this tax season

• February 19, 2024 – This is the first day you can start filing your 2023 tax return online. If you file on paper, you should receive your income tax package in the mail by this date.
• April 30, 2024 – This is the deadline for most Canadians to file a tax return. By filing your tax return on time, you’ll avoid delays to any refund, benefit, or credit payments you may be entitled to. If you owe money to the CRA, this is also the payment deadline. You’ll avoid late-filing penalties and interest by filing and paying on time.
• June 15, 2024 – If you or your spouse or common-law partner are self-employed, this is the deadline to file your tax returns. As this date falls on a Saturday, your return will be considered filed on time if the CRA receives it or it is postmarked on or before June 17, 2024. If you owe money to the CRA, you'll still need to pay by April 30, 2024, to avoid interest.

Contacts

Media Relations
Canada Revenue Agency
613-948-8366
cra-arc.media@cra-arc.gc.ca

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