Hi guys
My client, Mrs.A has a spouse, Mr.B who lives in another country. Mrs.A lives in Canada with one of their child (The other lives with the spouse in their home country), and she has employment income in Canada for 2024. Regarding the residency status, is Mr.B likely or not be considered a resident since he has 2 out of 3 of the primary factors ( spouse, dependent live in Canada), but none of the secondary factors ( no bank account, no driver license, no employment nor business in Canada)
Canadian resident. Spouse and kid in Canada is enough to do it all by itself. Spouses are joined at the hip for residency purposes. Since she is resident he is too.
This is untrue. Please do not post misleading advice. Residence is determined by all the facts of a situation. There is no single thing that is determinative.
2 Likes
Residency is always a question of fact. One important thing to consider in your case is that if Mr. B used to be a resident of Canada but then left the country, the fact that he did not sever all significant residential ties (spouse, dependent) would mean he would most likely still be considered a resident.
If he has never been a resident of Canada in the past, then it is less likely, but still possible, that he would be considered resident.
You can request that CRA make a ruling on specific cases. Getting advice here is not the best way to go.
1 Like
Nope, he has never been to Canada. The Spouse and kid came here on Work Permit. So he has never established any ties with Canada beside the fact that his spouse and child just came to Canada in 2023 on Work Permit. So I am also leaning toward the Non-Residency Status option, but I would like to hear more opinions on this as this will significantly affect the amount of benefits Mrs.A could receive.
It is critical to receive proper advice. If you need the contact information for a tax lawyer that I use, please let me know.
This is a high risk situation.
On this sketchy information, the rest of the facts could be almost anything - Mrs A may well be reporting world-wide income as tax-resident in her original country.
A Tax lawyer and RC66SCH are probably in this deck of cards.
1 Like
I have clients in such a situation. I haven’t claimed the husband as a Canadian resident in years (and he is the one actually born here). You can never tell if you’re correct unless/until CRA asks about it but I think I’m on pretty good ground.
1 Like