ARCHIVED - General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada - 2001

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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 were a deemed resident of Canada at any time in 2001 and 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 were a non-resident of Canada throughout 2001 and you have a taxable capital gain or disposed of taxable Canadian property in 2001.
• You have to pay back any of your Old Age Security or Employment Insurance benefits. See line 235 for details. If you were a non-resident in 2001, you will use the Old Age Security Return of Income to pay back all or part of your Old Age Security.
• 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.
• You filed Form NR5, Application by a Non-Resident of Canada for a Reduction in the Amount of Non-Resident Tax Required to Be Withheld , for 2001 and we approved it. If this is your situation, you have to file a return electing under section 217 of the Income Tax Act.
• You filed Form NR6, Undertaking to File an Income Tax Return by a Non-Resident Receiving Rent From Real Property or Receiving a Timber Royalty , for 2001 and we approved it. If this is your situation, you have to file a return electing under section 216 of the Income Tax Act.

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.
• You or your spouse or common-law partner wants to begin or continue receiving Canada Child Tax Benefit payments.
• 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 a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP). To keep your RRSP deduction limit up to date, you would have to file a return.

Is this tax and benefit package for you?

Use this package if any of the following applies to you:

• You were a deemed resident of Canada during 2001. For exceptions, see the following section "What if this tax and benefit package is not for you?"
• You were a non-resident for all of 2001 and you are filing a return to elect under section 217 of the Income Tax Act.
• You were a non-resident for all of 2001 and you are reporting Canadian-source income other than from employment in Canada or from a business with a permanent establishment in Canada.

What if this tax and benefit package is not for you?

• If you were a deemed resident in 2001 and you are reporting only income from a business with a permanent establishment in a province or territory of Canada, use the package for that province or territory.
• If you were a deemed resident and you returned to Canada to live during 2001, use the package for the province or territory where you lived on December 31, 2001.
• If you were a non-resident for all of 2001 and you are reporting only income from employment in Canada, or from a business with a permanent establishment in Canada, use the package for the province or territory where you earned the income. You should also get the guide called Non-Residents and Income Tax for the special rules that apply.
• you are also reporting other types of Canadian-source income (such as scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, research grants, or capital gains from disposing of taxable Canadian property), you will need Form T2203, Provincial and Territorial Taxes for 2001 - Multiple Jurisdictions , to calculate your tax payable.
• If you were a non-resident during 2001 and you received rental income from real property located in Canada or timber royalties on a timber resource property or a timber limit in Canada, and you are filing a return only to pay tax on this income using an alternative taxing method, use the package called Income Tax Guide for Electing Under Section 216 .
• If you lived outside Canada during 2001, but you maintained residential ties in Canada, generally we consider you to be a factual resident of Canada. Use the package for the province or territory where you kept your residential ties. However, this may not apply to a factual resident who became a resident of another county after February 24, 1998. For details, contact the International Tax Services Office.
• If you were a newcomer to Canada in 2001, use the package for the province or territory where you lived on December 31, 2001. You should also get the pamphlet Newcomers to Canada for the special rules that apply.
• If you emigrated from Canada during 2001, use the package for the province or territory where you lived on the day you left Canada. You should also get the pamphlet called Emigrants and Income Tax for the special rules that apply.

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 above information, you cannot use this package, you can get the one you need from the International Tax Services Office. You will find the address and the telephone number later on in this guide.

Regardless of which tax package you use, send your return to the International Tax Services Office. Use the envelope included in this guide.

Social insurance number (SIN)

Your SIN is used under certain federal programs. You have to give your SIN to anyone who prepares an information slip (such as a T3, T4, or T5) 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 information slips. If your SIN is missing or is incorrect, advise the slip preparer.

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.

If you are outside of Canada, you can write to: 

Social Insurance Registration,
P.O. Box 7000, 
Bathurst NB E2A 4T1 
CANADA

or call (506) 548-7961.

If you have requested but not yet received a SIN or cannot get a SIN, and the filing deadline is near, file your return without your SIN to avoid the late-filing penalty and interest charges. Attach a note to your return to let us know. We will assign you a temporary taxation number (TTN). Please keep a record of your TTN in case we need to contact you.

Your SIN card is not a piece of identification, and you should keep it in a safe place.

Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB)

If you are a deemed resident or if you are the spouse or common-law partner of a deemed resident, and 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.

However, if you are the non-resident spouse or common-law partner of a deemed resident, you will have to file Form CTB9, Canada Child Tax Benefit - Statement of World Income , instead of filing a return for purposes of the Canada Child Tax Benefit.

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. If you are outside of Canada, call the International Tax Services Office.