Deposits and Canadian Taxes | ExpatWoman.com
 

Deposits and Canadian Taxes

127
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 July 2012 - 06:35

Hi again, just thought I would put this under a different thread . Great information received on moving costs.

Deposits - Just following up on what deposits are arequired besided rent? I have been advised that there is a deposit for electric of about 2000QAR & 1000 QAr for the Alcohol License. What about water delivery bottles, telephone, TV etc. ?

Canadian Taxes - are most Canadian there non-residents or residents & paying Cdn. tax? I think we are non-residents, but the Gov't's definition is very hard to determine. We haven't lived there in 15 yrs, or paid tax., accts there are Non-resident but we have always lived in a country where there has been a tax agreement. How do you manage this situation? Any good international tax accountants you can recommend?

Thanks again

228
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 12 August 2014 - 14:45
Hi Katcalls, I would like your accountant's details. Thnx!
59
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 July 2013 - 22:21
Just to add, in hindsight. We have been here 14 years and are just leaving Doha now. We were declared non-resident and haven't filed taxes since 1999 - great! But... we followed all the rules and disposed of everything. Only now finding out that many Canadians still keep accounts, credit cards, etc. For us, the credit card issue is huge as you have to cxl any here 45 days prior to leaving so the bank will sign-off with your company. If you don't have a credit card in Canada, good luck trying to get one from over here. Of course, then try to book hotels, rent cars or do anything without one. Needless to say, once we can obtain one again, we won't be so quick to cancel it. Most people told us recently, that if you don't use it for much of anything the tax folks don't mind. So, just passing some advice along...
1
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 02 July 2013 - 02:01
Hello, I currently live on Vancouver Island, and looking for information on a international tax accountant. I`m still in the planning stages of my relocation to Doha. I want non resident status - I will be leaving my home with a rental company, RRSP in a Canadian Bank, and plan to keep my Canadian DL. Thank you in advance for any information. Happy Canada Day!
1
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 14 July 2012 - 16:07
Hello, just went through all of this, but have a few different answers than katcalls gave, but this is revenue Canada and when you read the following it will help explain the differences perhaps. We have been overseas off and on for 12 years. Decided this time to go local hire and not get paid in Canada. We have always been considered factual residents in Canada. To be considered a non-resident in Canada is not clear online, or by phone for the most part. We visited a well practiced Int'l Tax Lawyer (Vancouver as well for us), Int'l Tax Accountant and numerous calls to Revenue Canada. The biggest thing they all said in common was, 1. close banks accounts/visas 2. DO NOT renew a drivers license 3. You can own property in Canada for rental purposes, (just like any other person can own property in Canada) BUT you have to pay tax on any income made on your rental. They all agreed it is wise to fill out the forms to claim non-residency and send it in BUT it is at the descretion of the person once you land back and canada and file your first taxes, even if you receive a letter saying that things look ok. "Many things can change over the years", I was told. We have lived in many countries and usually have always been paid in Canada, our last time in Qatar we were paid in Canada as well. When speaking with revenue Canada, I became quite chatty with the girl on the phone and to make a long story short this is what she said, It really is up the person who answers your call and takes your account on, upon your arrival back to Canada. We closed all accounts, loans, visas, memberships, even costco! Have letters from all of them to prove that we did as well. I have been through the opposite side of this as well, upon our return to Canada the last time they were telling us we were non-residents, meanwhile we had accounts, licenses, loans, visas, paid taxes and got paid in Canada == BUT i had to prove that I was a factual resident by providing statements of all kinds, storage locker bills... all sorts it took 6 months for me to prove that i was still a factual resident. I can only imagine how hard it will be to prove that I am not a resident! Sorry for the long note, but I just went through all of this in May and it's all VERY fresh ;o)
127
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 11 July 2012 - 08:36
Thanks Katcalls I have the info. Appreciate it. Will have DH organize a meeting while we are back in Vanc.
183
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 July 2012 - 17:09
Happy to help. It sounds like you are much in the same situation as I was. I kept residency for years when I was in countries that had reciprocal agreements. Transitioning from that to non-residency was pretty easy as the tax office can see that you have lived overseas for years and in many cases it just makes sense to declare non-residency. They are usually pretty cool about it as long as your ties to Canada aren't too complicated or seem "permanent." Good luck. <em>edited by katcalls on 11/07/2012</em>
127
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 July 2012 - 16:08
Again, more great info. thx Katcalls, it is nice to know we aren't the only ones confused. We just may give the tax line an anonymous call as you have suggested and do the online documents as non-residents and see what comes up. We don't own any property there, haven't stayed more than 3 wks at any time and we are both out of the country. We only have our RRSP's and life insurance, dr. lic, accounts , a credit card, & passports there. We send money to our family for gifts. It is very much appreciated if you were able to send your Accountant's contact information. We are from Vanc and are going back for a vacation in August. It would be great if we could possibly tee up a time them him. At least he has some experience with expats. DH is hoping to have all the job negotiations finished by the end of august as I think they were looking for the job to start in Sept. They mentioned working from Aus for the first 3 months then move to Doha. Maybe this will also give them time to get documentation organized.....
183
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 July 2012 - 10:59
HI there, Yes, the Canadian tax situation is a bit hard to define. It makes it hard in Doha as well as there are some places which employ Canadian employees yet pay all their salary into their accounts back home (this is College of the North Atlantic). Employees there are in a bit of a limbo about their non-resident status. The main points in deciding if you're a non-resident for tax purposes are: owning property in Canada which is not leased out officially through a real estate agent, having a spouse living in Canada, and being in Canada for more than 180 days per year. If you're any of these, you are are a resident. Issues like having drivers licenses, visa cards, bank accounts, etc are secondary for the most part. In my case, I am a non resident and have been for several years with the exception of a couple years working back in Canada on a project. I have found the tax office to be fairly reasonable if you're up front with them. Their International Tax office phone line is very useful and you can ring it anonymously. I know there are documents on line where you can declare yourself non resident and then you would get an official document back from them agreeing or disagreeing but in my case I just have filed as non resident after phone calls to the International tax office and the assumption I was a non resident was pretty well accepted no questions asked. Note: I file tax returns every year for my investments which I keep in Canada only. I don't declare any other international income. I have a tax accountant I have used for the last 15 years and I have put him through the wringer on the "am I a resident or non-resident now?" front. He's based in Vancouver. Let me know if you're interested in his name/number etc. <em>edited by katcalls on 09/07/2012</em>
198
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EW NEWBIE
Latest post on 09 July 2012 - 08:46
For water we bought the dispenser from C4 for around 200qr (I think) and had to pay 25 qr per bottle as a deposit. You can buy hala sim cards when you first arrive- pay as you go, around 50qr but you get some credit for that. Once you have RP you can get mobile and home phone/tv contracts, think you just pay a month up front and we got lots of free channels for first month.