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You’re a non-resident of Canada for tax when you’ve cut your significant residential ties and spent fewer than 183 days here in the calendar year. That’s the CRA’s test in short. Get it wrong and the cost can be large, since a resident pays Canadian tax on income from anywhere, while a non-resident pays only on income from Canadian sources.
How does the CRA decide if you’re a non-resident of Canada?
Residence isn’t a box you tick. The CRA looks at your ties, your stay and your intentions together. The strongest ties are a home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner here, and dependants here. Keep any of those and you’re likely to be treated as a resident, even if you live abroad. The CRA’s page on determining your residency status lists them.
Weaker ties count too, and they add up. Here’s the split the CRA uses.
| Type of tie | Examples |
|---|---|
| Significant | A home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada, dependants in Canada |
| Secondary | A car or furniture in Canada, social ties, Canadian bank accounts or credit cards, Canadian ID documents |
Two more rules can change the answer. If you don’t have significant ties but spend 183 days or more in Canada in a calendar year, you’re a deemed resident for the whole year. And if you keep ties but are also a resident of a treaty country, the treaty’s tie-breaker rules may make you a deemed non-resident. You can also ask the CRA for its opinion with form NR74 when entering Canada or NR73 when leaving.
Picture Priya, who takes a two-year job in Dubai. She sells her condo in Mississauga, but her husband and kids stay put in Ontario. Because a spouse and dependants are significant ties, she’d likely still be treated as a resident, whatever her plane ticket says. If the whole family had moved, the answer could flip.
What does a non-resident pay tax on?
Only Canadian-source income. How it’s taxed depends on the type. Dividends, rent, pension payments, RRSP withdrawals and annuities usually face Part XIII tax at 25%, withheld before the money reaches you, unless a tax treaty gives a lower rate. When the right amount has been withheld, that’s normally your final Canadian tax on that income.
Canadian employment or business income, a gain on selling Canadian property, and some taxable scholarships or research grants are different. Those go on a return. Non-residents file by April 30, or June 15 if you or your spouse ran a business in Canada, and any balance is still due April 30.
A worked example with a withdrawal
Suppose you left Canada and take $15,000 out of an RRSP. As a resident, the RRSP withdrawal tax calculator shows the bank withholding 20%, or $3,000, and a real tax bill of $4,597.50 once your return is filed, so you’d owe another $1,597.50. As a non-resident, the bank withholds the Part XIII rate instead, 25% unless a treaty lowers it, and in the normal case that ends the matter. Same money, very different paperwork.
At 25% the withholding on that $15,000 is $3,750, so you’d receive $11,250 and owe nothing more in Canada on it. At a treaty rate of, say, 15%, it would be $2,250 withheld. The 15% there is only an illustration, so look up the real rate in your country’s treaty.
Some people use a section 217 election to file a return on certain pension income and recover part of the tax withheld. Whether that helps depends on your other income, so check it before you file.
Buying a home in Canada as a non-resident
Residency for income tax and the rules for foreign buyers are separate questions. Ontario charges a 25% non-resident speculation tax on homes with one to six units, and the non-resident buyer tax calculator shows $225,000 of extra tax on a $900,000 purchase. British Columbia charges 20% in five regional districts. Nova Scotia charges 10%. The federal ban on foreign buyers is in force to January 1, 2027, and we couldn’t find an official page confirming any extension. Check that before you sign.
How do you count the 183 days?
By calendar year, from January 1 to December 31, not from the day you arrived. The CRA’s wording is about staying in Canada for 183 or more days in the year, and it applies when you don’t have significant ties. Keep a simple log of dates in and out, such as boarding passes and border stamps. If you spent 100 days here in spring and 90 in fall, that’s 190 days, and a deemed-resident problem you didn’t see coming.
Mistakes and limits
- Assuming that leaving on a plane ends your residence. It doesn’t if your home, spouse or children stay.
- Filing a return only to report income where Part XIII tax was already withheld. The CRA says not to, unless you’re making a special election.
- Forgetting that time counts by calendar year. Two long visits can push you past 183 days.
- Using an income tax tool for a non-resident. The income tax calculator is a resident tool and doesn’t model the non-resident rules.
This page gives the general rules. Your treaty and your facts decide the result, and a cross-border tax adviser is worth paying if you have a home or family in both countries.
Where we got these figures
Residency tests and Part XIII rules are from Canada Revenue Agency pages on determining residency status and on non-residents of Canada, read in September 2026. Property tax rates are from the Ontario, British Columbia and Nova Scotia government pages. No government body has reviewed or endorsed what you read here.
Frequently asked questions
How many days makes me a deemed resident of Canada?
If you have no significant residential ties but spend 183 days or more in Canada in a calendar year, the CRA treats you as a resident for the whole year.
What are significant residential ties?
A home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner in Canada, and dependants in Canada.
What is Part XIII tax?
A tax withheld at source at 25% on Canadian income such as dividends, rent, pensions and RRSP withdrawals, unless a treaty lowers it.
Does a non-resident need to file a Canadian return?
Yes for Canadian employment or business income, gains on Canadian property and certain other income. Not for income that only had Part XIII tax withheld, unless you make an election.
Can the CRA tell me my status?
Yes. Send form NR74 when entering Canada or NR73 when leaving.
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