Taxes for International students studying in Canada

If you are an international student studying in Canada, you may have to file a Canadian income tax return. You must determine your residency status to know how you will be taxed in Canada.

Residency status

For income tax purposes, international students studying in Canada are considered to be one of the following types of residents:

Your residency status is based on the residential ties you have with Canada.

What are residential ties?

Significant residential ties to Canada include:

Secondary residential ties that may be relevant include:

The information above is general in nature. For more information on your residential ties, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual's Residence Status.

Determining your residency status?

In general, you probably have not established significant residential ties with Canada if you:

However, many international students who study or carry on research in Canada do establish significant residential ties with Canada.

Resident of Canada

You are a resident of Canada for income tax purposes if you establish significant residential ties with Canada.

Non-resident of Canada

You are a non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes if you do not establish significant residential ties with Canada and you stay in Canada for less than 183 days during the year.

Deemed resident of Canada

If you do not establish significant residential ties with Canada, you may be a deemed resident of Canada for income tax purposes if you meet all of the following conditions:

Deemed non-residents of Canada

If you establish significant residential ties with Canada and are considered a resident of another country that Canada has a tax treaty with, you may be considered a deemed non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes.

You are a deemed non-resident of Canada when your ties with the other country become such that, under the tax treaty, you are considered a resident of that other country.

As a deemed non-resident, the same rules apply to you as a non-resident of Canada.

For more information

For more information on residency status, see Determining your residency status or Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual's Residence Status.

If you would like an opinion about your residency status, complete and submit Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (entering Canada) to the CRA.

Your tax obligations

Your residency status determines your income tax return filing requirements in Canada:

Forms and publications

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