You're considered a factual resident of Canada for tax purposes if you keep residential ties with Canada while travelling or living abroad. The term factual resident means that although you're not in Canada, you're still considered a resident of Canada for income tax purposes.
You may be a factual resident for tax purposes if you:
- work temporarily outside Canada
- teach or attend school in another country
- commute daily or weekly to the United States to work
- vacation outside Canada.
If you're conducting missionary work in another country and you meet certain requirements, you may choose to be a factual resident even if you don't keep residential ties with Canada.
If you also establish residential ties in a country with which Canada has a tax treaty and you're considered to be a resident of that country for the purposes of that tax treaty, you may be considered a deemed non-resident of Canada for tax purposes.
In either of these cases, contact the International Tax Services Office for more information.
