I have a client who is a Canadian Citizen who got married to a USA resident in 2018. She had a child in March 2020 and moved to the USA on May 21, 2020, as a resident but she still commutes to Canada to work daily.
According to the income tax guide, she is a non-resident if she did not have significant residential ties in Canada and stayed in Canada less than 183 days in the year. If the person lived in the USA, commuting days are not calculated.
The client was in Canada for 141 days but residential ties in Canada such as her family (Parents, brothers, and sisters) who she visits, has a bank account, a credit card, driver’s licence, health insurance from the school board and also OHIP.
Would she be considered a Canadian resident because of the residential ties?
Thanks in advance for your replies.
Your help would be greatly appreciated.
I think CRA would see a stronger connection to the spouse and child in the US than the parents and siblings in Canada. OHIP requires that Ontario be your primary place of residence so, although she may still have her OHIP card, she likely doesn’t qualify for OHIP or won’t qualify for long. For those reasons and CRA’s position on commuting, I don’t think she would be seen as a Cdn resident.
Thank you Kevin.
The Canada US Treaty is clear on this subject- once the client becomes resident of one country because of residency rules, they are automatically a non-resident of the other, regardless of the ties to their original country. Therefore, your client would be recognized by the U.S. IRS as a resident of the U.S. because she has a residence of more than 183 days in the U.S.
Thank you much.