ARCHIVED - General Income Tax and Benefit Guide - 2001

5000-G Rev. 01

General information

Before you start

Do you have to file a return?

• You have to file a return for 2001 if any of the following applies:

• You have to pay tax for 2001.
• We sent you a request to file a return.
• You have a taxable capital gain or disposed of capital property (such as real estate or shares) in 2001, or you claimed a capital gains reserve on your 2000 return.
• You have to pay back any of your Old Age Security or Employment Insurance benefits. See line 235 for details.
• You have not repaid all of the amounts you withdrew from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) under the Home Buyers' Plan or the Lifelong Learning Plan. For details, see the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) guide or the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP) guide.
• You have to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP). This can apply if, for 2001, the total of your net self-employment income and pensionable employment income is more than $3,500. See line 222 for details.

• Even if none of these requirements applies, you may still want to file a return if any of the following applies:

• You want to claim a refund.
• You want to apply for the GST/HST credit (see page 12).
• You or your spouse or common-law partner wants to begin or continue receiving Canada Child Tax Benefit payments (see later on this page).
• You have incurred a non-capital loss (see line 236) in 2001 that you want to be able to apply in other years.
• You want to carry forward the unused portion of your tuition and education amounts (see line 323).
• You received income for which you could contribute to an RRSP. To keep your RRSP deduction limit (see page 24) up to date, you would have to file a return.

Social insurance number (SIN)

Your SIN is used under certain federal programs. You have to give it to anyone who prepares an information slip (such as a T3, T4, or T5 slip) for you. Each time you do not give it when you are supposed to, you may have to pay a $100 penalty. You also have to give it to us when you ask us for personal tax information. Check your slips. If your SIN is missing or is incorrect, advise the slip preparer.

Your SIN card is not a piece of identification, and it should be kept in a safe place. For more information, or to get an application for a SIN, contact your Human Resources Development Canada office, or visit www.hrdc.gc.ca/sin/ on the Internet. You will find the address and telephone number of your office in the government section of your telephone book, and on the above-mentioned Web page.

Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)

If you are responsible for the care of a child who is under 18, you can apply for the CCTB for that child. To do so, submit a completed Form RC66, Canada Child Tax Benefit Application, along with any other documents required, as soon as possible after the child is born or begins to live with you. This application also is used to apply for payments from related provincial or territorial programs. If you are a landed immigrant or Convention refugee, you should apply as soon as possible after you and your child arrive in Canada.

The CCTB is based on the net income (line 236) shown on your return and your spouse or common-law partner's (if applicable) return. Therefore, to qualify for the benefit, you both have to file a return every year, even if there is no income to report.

Once you have applied for the CCTB, you have to advise us immediately of any of the following changes (as well as the date it happened or will happen):

• the child is no longer in your care, stops living with you, or dies;
• you move (or your payments may stop, whether you receive them by direct deposit or by cheque);
• your marital status changes;
• you receive your payments by direct deposit and your banking information changes; or
• your or your spouse or common-law partner's immigration or residency status changes.

For more information about the CCTB, get the Your Canada Child Tax Benefit pamphlet, or call us at 1-800-387-1193.

Which tax and benefit package should you use?

Generally, you have to use the package for the province or territory where you resided on December 31, 2001.

If you resided in Quebec on December 31, 2001, use the package for residents of Quebec to calculate your federal tax only. You will also need to file a Quebec provincial return.

You may have to consider factors other than where you resided on December 31, 2001, to determine which package you should use:

• If, on December 31, 2001, you were living in a province or territory other than the one you usually reside in, use the package for your usual province or territory of residence. For example, a student who goes to school in Alberta but usually lives in Ontario would use an Ontario package.
• If you are filing a return for a person who died in 2001, use the package for the province or territory where that person lived at the time of death.
• If you emigrated from Canada in 2001, use the package for the province or territory in which you lived on the date you left.
• If you lived outside Canada on December 31, 2001, but maintained residential ties (as defined on this page) with Canada, you may be considered a factual resident of a province or territory. Use the package for the province or territory where you kept your residential ties. However, this may not apply if you were a factual resident who became a resident of another country after February 24, 1998. For more information, contact us.
• You may have been a non-resident (as defined on this page) of Canada on December 31, 2001. If you were a non-resident and you earned income from employment in a province or territory, or received income from a business with a permanent establishment in a province or territory, use the package for that province or territory. Otherwise, use the package for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada.
• You may have been a deemed resident (as defined on this page) of Canada on December 31, 2001. If you were a deemed resident and you are reporting only Canadian-source income from a business with a permanent establishment in a province or territory, use the package for that province or territory. Otherwise, use the package for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada.

Non-resident  - You were a non-resident for tax purposes if you did not have residential ties (as defined on this page) in Canada, and you temporarily stayed here for less than 183 days during 2001 (including the days you arrived and left) or you lived outside Canada throughout 2001. Contact us to find out the special rules that apply to you.

Deemed resident  - Generally, you were a deemed resident for tax purposes if you did not establish residential ties (as defined below) in Canada, but you stayed here for 183 days or more in 2001.

Generally, you were also a deemed resident if you lived outside Canada during 2001, you did not maintain residential ties (as defined below) in Canada, and you were a government employee, a member of the Canadian Forces or their overseas school staff, or working under a Canadian International Development Agency program. This also may apply to your dependent children and other family members.

Residential ties - Residential ties include a home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner or dependants who stayed in Canada while you were living outside Canada, and personal property in Canada. Other ties that may be relevant include social ties in Canada, a Canadian driver's licence, Canadian bank accounts or credit cards, and provincial or territorial hospitalization insurance. For more details, see Interpretation Bulletin IT-221, Determination of an Individual's Residence Status.

Other publications you may need

Unless you resided in Canada all year, you may also need one of the following publications:

• If you were a non-resident, and you earned income from employment or a business with a permanent establishment in Canada, get the Non-Residents and Income Tax guide.
• If you were a non-resident, and you received rental income from real property in Canada, get the Income Tax Guide for Electing Under Section 216 guide.
• If you were a non-resident, and you received certain other kinds of income from Canada (including pensions and annuities) get the Electing Under Section 217 of the Income Tax Act pamphlet.
• If you were a newcomer to Canada in 2001, get the Newcomers to Canada pamphlet.
• If you emigrated from Canada during 2001, get the Emigrants and Income Tax pamphlet.
• If you will be outside Canada for an extended period, get the Canadian Residents Abroad pamphlet.

Where can you get the tax and benefit package you need?

• You should have received the package you need based on our records. However, if after reading the preceding information, you cannot use this package, you can get the one you need from us. You can also get a package for a particular province or territory from any postal outlet in that province or territory. In addition, you can get the package for non-residents and deemed residents of Canada from any Canadian embassy, high commission, or consulate.