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A non resident tax return in Canada is due on 30 April for most people, and on 15 June if you’re self-employed, but any balance is still due on 30 April. Those were the dates for the 2025 return (30 April 2026 and 15 June 2026). For the 2026 return the usual dates are 30 April 2027 and 15 June 2027, though the CRA hasn’t printed the 2027 dates on a page yet. Two elections for rent and pensions have their own, later dates, shown in the table below.
Who has to file a Canadian return as a non-resident?
You don’t file just because you own something here. The CRA lists the situations. You must file if the CRA sent you a request, if you have tax to pay, or if you want a refund. You also file if you sold taxable Canadian property and made a capital gain, if you worked in Canada or ran a business here, or if you have to repay OAS or EI benefits.
There’s one exception worth knowing. If every dollar of the gain on a property sale is exempt under a tax treaty, or you hold a certificate of compliance, you may not need to file for it.
What is Part XIII tax, and can you get it back?
Most passive income paid to a non-resident is hit by withholding tax under Part XIII. The usual rate is 25%, and it covers rent, dividends, pensions, RRSP withdrawals and annuities. A tax treaty with your home country can lower the rate. The payer takes it off before you see the money, and reports it to you on a slip, usually an NR4.
The non-resident tax withheld is your final tax obligation to Canada on this income.
Non-Residents and Income Tax (T4058), Canada Revenue Agency, canada.ca
Here’s the catch. Filing a return doesn’t make Part XIII tax refundable by itself. Two elections are the exception, and a third covers film and media work. If a payer simply withheld too much, there’s also a request form, NR7-R, which has to reach the CRA within two years after the end of the calendar year.
| Election | Covers | Due date for 2025 (all past) |
|---|---|---|
| Section 216 | Rent from real property, timber royalties | 30 June 2026 if the CRA approved your Form NR6 (30 April if you report a recapture on a property sale; otherwise within two years of the end of the year) |
| Section 217 | Certain pension income | 30 June 2026 (payment still due 30 April) |
| Section 216.1 | Film and media work | 30 April 2026, or 15 June if self-employed |
For the 2026 year the same rules apply, so each of these dates moves a year later. File one of these late and the election may not be valid, so don’t let the date slide. Why bother with section 216? Because 25% is taken from gross rent, before any costs. Take $24,000 of rent a year. Withholding is 25% of that, or $6,000. But your real profit after property tax, repairs and interest could be much smaller, and the election lets you file on the net figure and claim back the excess. We can’t say what the result would be for you, because the costs and the CRA’s treatment of each item decide it.
Canadian rental income and the T1 non-resident return
Rent from Canadian real estate is the most common reason a non-resident files. The payer, usually a tenant or a property manager, withholds 25% of the gross rent under Part XIII, with no deduction for expenses. That withholding is final unless you file a section 216 return, which lets you report the rent after expenses.
The section 216 return is a non-resident T1 return, not a regular resident one, and it follows the dates in the table above. Form NR6 is the form a non-resident landlord can use to ask the CRA to approve a lower amount of withholding. For example, with $20,000 of rent and $14,000 of rental expenses, the 25% withheld on gross rent is $5,000, while the return would report a net $6,000. Whether the election saves money depends on the numbers, so work it out before the due date.
Where do you send it, and how do you pay?
You mail a non-resident return to your designated tax centre. Section 216.1 returns go to the Film Services Unit for the province or territory. Use the non-resident package for the year, not the regular T1 guide.
Pay by the due date. If you owe tax, the CRA charges interest that compounds daily from the day after the balance is due. A late return with a balance also draws the usual late-filing penalty, 5% of the balance plus 1% for every full month late, up to 12 months.
How does a non-resident return differ from a resident one?
Mostly in what you report. The CRA’s list is about Canadian sources: work or a business in Canada, gains on taxable Canadian property, and the elections above. We haven’t confirmed which credits carry over, so check the guide. That matters when you reach for a calculator. Our income tax calculator and rental income tax calculator assume a resident with the full basic personal amount, so they don’t give a non-resident answer. Use them for a rough sense of scale, not for a filing.
Buying a home is a different question. Ontario’s non-resident speculation tax is 25% of the price for a foreign buyer, so on $900,000 the non-resident buyer tax calculator shows $225,000, and the ontario.ca page says some buyers can claim it back. That’s a tax on the purchase, and it has nothing to do with your annual return. A federal ban on foreign buyers is in force to 1 January 2027, and we found no official page on an extension.
What should you do if you’re not sure you’re a non-resident?
If you can’t tell if you count as a non-resident at all, that’s a separate residency question, and only the CRA can rule on it. Don’t file as a non-resident until you’ve settled it. Gather the facts first: where your home is, where your spouse or partner and dependants live, and how long you were in Canada during the year. Those ties are what the CRA weighs.
How do you match withholding to your slips?
Collect every NR4 slip you received for the year and list the gross amount and the tax withheld on each. For rent, the usual 25% means $24,000 of rent should show $6,000 withheld. If the slip shows something different, ask the payer why, since a treaty may lower the rate. Keep the slips with your lease and your bank records.
Add up the amounts and compare them with what actually reached your account. A gap should have an explanation. If a payer withheld too much, the NR7-R request mentioned above has to reach the CRA within two years after the end of the calendar year, so do not leave it sitting in a drawer.
Which dates should you put on your calendar?
Start from the return itself. For the 2026 year the usual dates are 30 April 2027, or 15 June 2027 if you are self-employed, and any balance is still due on 30 April. Then look at which elections apply to you. A section 216 or 217 election has its own later date in the table, and the page says those dates move a year later for 2026. Confirm each one on the CRA page before you rely on it.
Add a mailing date as well. Post from abroad can take weeks, so choose a date well before the due date and keep proof of when the envelope left. That small step costs nothing and protects the election.
Mistakes that cost non-residents money
The big one is assuming withholding settles everything. It can, but on rent it’s taken from gross, so it can take more than your real tax. Another is missing the 30 June date for a section 217 election, because the payment date doesn’t move with it. A third is mailing the return late because the post from abroad takes weeks, so send it early and keep proof of when it left.
Where we got these figures
Filing situations, due dates, mailing and payment rules come from the Canada Revenue Agency‘s 2025 guide for non-residents and its guides on the section 216 and 217 elections, read in September 2026. Late-filing penalties come from its penalty page. The Ontario tax comes from ontario.ca via our data files. The rent example is simple arithmetic. We’re an independent site, and no government body is behind it.
Frequently asked questions
When is a non-resident return due?
For the 2025 return it was 30 April 2026, or 15 June 2026 if you're self-employed, with any balance due 30 April. For the 2026 return the usual dates are 30 April 2027, or 15 June 2027 if you're self-employed, with any balance due 30 April 2027.
What is the usual withholding rate on rent paid to a non-resident?
The usual Part XIII rate is 25% unless a tax treaty lowers it.
Can I get Part XIII tax refunded by filing?
Not by filing alone. The CRA says it's refundable only through a section 216 or section 217 election.
Who has to file?
Anyone the CRA asks, anyone with tax to pay or a refund to claim, and people who sold taxable Canadian property at a gain or worked or ran a business in Canada.
Where do I mail the return?
To your designated tax centre. Film and media returns under section 216.1 go to the Film Services Unit.
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