Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI)
Non-resident seniors who receive Canadian old age security (OAS) payments may have to pay recovery tax on those payments.
As a non-resident senior who receives OAS payments, you must submit an Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI) so that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) can determine if you have to pay recovery tax and also to ensure that your OAS payments are not suspended.
If you are a resident of a country that has a tax treaty with Canada, you may not have to file this return. For more information on this exception, see tax-treaty countries.
Temporary extension of 2019 OAS payments
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, OAS payments to non-resident seniors have been temporarily extended if their 2019 OASRI has not been assessed. This will ensure that the most vulnerable seniors continue to receive their benefits when they need them the most. To avoid an interruption in your benefits, you are encouraged to submit your 2019 OASRI as soon as possible and no later than October 1, 2020.
Note
The CRA does not issue OAS payments. Contact Service Canada with any questions about the amount of your cheque, or to report a lost or stolen cheque, etc.
What is the purpose of the Old Age Security Return of Income?
The information on your annual OASRI lets The CRA determine if your net world income is more than the threshold. If your net world income is higher than the threshold for the tax year, recovery tax will be deducted from your monthly OAS payments.
Note
Information on the OASRI return is only used to calculate your recovery tax. The CRA does not calculate any other Canadian income tax from this return.
Recovery tax
Recovery tax:
- is an additional tax that is used to repay all or part of the OAS payments received by higher-income pensioners
- applies only if your net world income is more than the threshold for the tax year
Thresholds (in Canadian funds) are:
- $77,580 for the 2019 tax year
- $75,910 for the 2018 tax year
- $74,788 for the 2017 tax year
- $73,756 for the 2016 tax year
- $72,809 for the 2015 tax year
- $71,592 for the 2014 tax year
- $70,954 for the 2013 tax year
- $69,562 for the 2012 tax year
- $67,668 for the 2011 tax year
- $66,733 for the 2010 tax year
- $66,335 for the 2009 tax year
- $64,718 for the 2008 tax year
- $63,511 for the 2007 tax year
- $62,144 for the 2006 tax year
- $60,806 for the 2005 tax year
How is recovery tax calculated?
The recovery tax rate is 15% and applies only to the income that is above the threshold for the applicable year ($77,580 for 2019). The threshold for each year is provided above.
Notes
The recovery tax cannot be more than the amount of old age pension income, including supplements, received in the year.
Under no circumstances will the non-resident tax and the recovery tax add up to more than the total OAS pension income, including supplements, received in the year.
To calculate your recovery tax, complete the chart below; however, if any of the following situations applies to you, do not complete this chart and, instead, contact the CRA for the special rules and calculation to apply in these situations:
- You immigrated to Canada or emigrated from Canada in 2019 and you received OAS payments during the part of the year that you were a non-resident.
- You received OAS payments throughout 2019, and you were a resident of one of the tax-treaty countries listed below for part of 2019 and for the other part of that year you were resident in a non-listed country.
- You were a resident of the Philippines in 2019.
Note
The CRA offers a printer-friendly version of this chart.
| Line description | Amount | Line number |
|---|---|---|
| Net world income from line 24200 of your return | $ | Line 1 |
| Threshold amount for the applicable year | - | Line 2 |
| Line 1 minus line 2 (if negative, enter "0") | $ | Line 3 |
| × 15% | Line 4 | |
| Line 3 multiplied by 15% and enter the result on this line. | $ | Line 5 |
| OAS pension and net federal supplements from line 11300 | $ | Line 6 |
| OAS pension you paid back in 2019 (see line 23200) | - | Line 7 |
| Line 6 minus line 7 (if negative, enter "0") | $ | Line 8 |
| Enter the amount from line 5 or line 8, whichever is less. | $ | Line 9 |
| × 75% | Line 10 | |
Old Age Security recovery tax. Line 9 multiplied by 75% |
$ |
Line 11 |
Enter the amount from line 11 on line 23500 on the back of your return.
Here is an example of how recovery tax is calculated:
Example
Emilio, a non-resident senior, received Canadian old age security pension income of $5,000 during the 2019 tax year. His net world income for that year was $78,170.
He would calculate his recovery tax as follows:
| Line description | Amount | Line number |
|---|---|---|
| Net world income from line 24200 of his return | $78,170 | Line 1 |
| Threshold amount for the applicable year | $77,580 | Line 2 |
| Line 1 minus line 2 (if negative, enter "0") | $590 | Line 3 |
| × 15% | Line 4 | |
| Line 3 multiplied by 15%. Enter the result on this line. | $88.50 | Line 5 |
| OAS pension and net federal supplements from line 11300 | $5,000 | Line 6 |
| OAS pension you paid back in 2019 (see line 23200) | - 0 | Line 7 |
| Line 6 minus line 7 (if negative, enter "0") | $5,000 | Line 8 |
| Enter the amount from line 5 or line 8, whichever is less. | $88.50 | Line 9 |
| × 75% | Line 10 | |
| Old age security recovery tax. Line 9 multiplied by 75% | $66.37 | Line 11 |
The amount from line 11 is Emilio's Old Age Security recovery tax for 2019.
If you are subject to the OAS recovery tax for 2019, your future monthly OAS pension payments, starting with the one for July 2020, might have recovery tax deducted from them.
Tax-treaty countries
Because of the terms of the tax treaty between Canada and each country listed below, non-resident seniors living in these countries do not have to file an OASRI or pay recovery tax unless they plan to move before July 1, 2021, to a country that is not listed.
- Argentina
- Australia
- Azerbaijan
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Bulgaria
- Colombia
- Cyprus
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Finland
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Ireland
- Israel
- Ivory Coast
- Kenya
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mexico
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Papua New Guinea
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Senegal
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tanzania
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkey
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
If you were a resident of Brazil in 2019 and you are a Brazilian national, you do not have to file this return.
If you were a resident of the Philippines in 2019 and your 2019 Canadian pensions totalled $5,000 or less, you do not have to file this return.
Notes
If you were a resident of a non-listed country at any time in 2019 and you received OAS payments during that period, you have to file an OASRI.
If the tax treaty your country of residence has with Canada is amended, you may no longer have to file this return.
Net world income
Your net world income is the total of all the income you are paid or credited in a year from Canadian or foreign sources minus allowable deductions. You must include in the calculation the following types of income:
- pensions
- social security
- interest
- dividends
- rental property
- capital gains
- business
- employment
When calculating your net world income, do not reduce the income by any tax that has already been withheld.
Filing due date
Generally, your Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI) must be filed on or before April 30 of the year after the tax year.
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, OAS payments to non-resident seniors have been temporarily extended if their 2019 OASRI has not been assessed. To avoid an interruption in your benefits, you are encouraged to submit your 2019 OASRI as soon as possible and no later than October 1, 2020.
Note
Filing your annual OASRI on time also helps ensure that your old age security pension is not suspended by Service Canada.
Other Canadian tax returns
You may have to file a separate 2019 Canadian income tax return if any of the following apply to you:
- You filed Form NR5, Application for a Reduction in the Amount of Non-Resident Tax Required to be Withheld, for the year with the intention of making a section 217 election and The CRA approved it. In this case, you must file a section 217 tax return.
- You filed Form NR6, Undertaking to File an Income Tax Return by a Non-Resident Receiving Rent or Timber Royalties, and it was approved for the tax year in question. In this case, you must file a section 216 tax return.
- You received Canadian-source employment or business income.
- You received taxable Canadian-source scholarships, fellowships, bursaries, or research grants.
- You received a capital gain from disposing of taxable Canadian property.
For more information about filing a Canadian income tax return, see Filing your income tax return.
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