Wooba Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 To any of the Canadians who have moved to Australia, do you knows what the implications and/or obligations are for taxes? What happens to investments, RRSP, TFSA, company pensions, etc? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marisawright Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 Once you are legally resident in Australia, then you are liable for tax on your income from ALL sources worldwide, like any other Australian resident. You get the same allowances etc as any other Australian resident. As for Canadian tax, that depends on Canada. Once you've left Canada you are no longer legally a resident, and in most countries that means you'll be taxed differently to a resident. In some countries non-residents are taxed more harshly, in others less harshly. This article may help. https://turbotax.intuit.ca/tax-resources/tax-compliance/5-tax-tips-for-nonresidents-of-canada.jsp Finally, Australia and Canada have a double tax agreement. That means you won't be taxed twice on the same income. When you submit your Australian tax return you would declare your Canadian income, and then also declare the Canadian tax you paid on it, and the Australian tax man would take that into account. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MARYROSE02 Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 Find a tax agent/accountant to do your tax returns. It's much easier, they know their way through all the red tape, and their fees are tax-deductible. I assume that Canada and Australia have an agreement so that you don't pay (complete) tax in both countries. If you have income in both countries, then you are liable for tax in both too. If you spend more than, I think, 183 days per financial year in Australia, then you are considered resident for tax purposes. In your first year in Australia, depending when the Canadian financial year is, and your date of arrival in Australia, you could be resident in both countries? After that first year, you will probably become resident in Australia. If you retain a permanent home in Canada and you are intending to return to Canada, then you could remain "domiciled" in Canada. I was domiciled in Australia despite living for twelve years in the UK because I both owned a home in Australia, and I intended to return there, and I was living in my parents' house in the UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianaK Posted February 20, 2016 Share Posted February 20, 2016 I will be filing my Canadian taxes for 2015 pretty soon and I will let you know how it went. We moved here in October and I am going to claim Canadian income until October. Also, for RRSP, first time home buyer and life long learning you owe taxes on the full amount as soon as you become non resident for tax purpose in Canada. I will still have to find out what is best for the first year - to declare myself non resident as of certain date this year or to extended it for the next year when I will be deemed to be a non resident due to no longer having ties with Canada. I am thinking for engaging a tax agent in Canada but I might look for an agent here in Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooba Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 (edited) I'm looking forward to hearing how it goes DianaK. I've done a little bit of research and it seems that CRA will look for any reason to still consider you a tax resident. You pretty much have to sever all ties, including having a phone number or even having a golf membership. I think there are a couple of exceptions such as a rental property and your RRSP. This concerns me as I wanted to keep a few things active such as a bank account, possibly my telephone number but more than anything, I want to keep my union membership active and my electrical license valid. I wonder what the implications are of staying as a resident. If I'm living, working and being taxed in Australia, what will I owe to the CRA other than a yearly tax return? Edited March 7, 2016 by Wooba Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianaK Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I am still waiting for my T4 and soon I will be able to let you know. My concerns are more around paying as little as possible to CRA for the Life long learning plan and First time home buyer plan when I become non resident and mainly when is best to become non resident in this case. In your case, if you stay a resident in Canada you will be charged on worldwide income, meaning that you will pay taxes in Australia and Canada on the same income. If CRA calculates that your taxes in Canada are $10,000 and ATO calculates your Australian taxes to be 7,000, you will get a relieve on the 7,000 in Canada based on the treaty between the 2 countries but you will still owe 3,000 to CRA in Canada. If you are non-resident you can choose not to file and you will pay 3,000 less. I just picked random numbers for the example, I am still not sure if there is such a difference between the tax rates in the 2 countries. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooba Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Interesting.. thanks for that. Sounds like it may well be worth getting rid of residency if I can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianaK Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 I suspect that this is the better option as based on what I get deducted as tax from my pay cheque here is 10% less than my Canadian deductions, although I am earning 30% more in Australia and I am in a comparable tax bracket. I still have to see what is the bottom line after my taxes are done here for the first year but with the new tax rate for my bracket, introduced by Trudeau I will most probably be still better off in Australia. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooba Posted April 8, 2016 Author Share Posted April 8, 2016 Any updates Diana? I've been doing some research and it appears that if you're living in a country with a tax treaty, you CAN keep ties to Canada such as bank accounts, investments, etc. Just a case of convincing them that you have actually moved for good I guess. This is good news because I want to keep my bank account, credit cards, RRSP and TFSA (if this is OK with ATO, I don't know yet). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DianaK Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 A friend of mine is currently working on my taxes in Canada. We decided to file as Canadian residents till the the end of 2015 and declare non-residency in 2016. Meanwhile I found a tax agent in Canada who can give you an advise before you leave. If you live in Toronto, you can schedule an appointment with them and have a chat to give you an idea which will be your best options. This is their web site: http://www.trowbridge.ca Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooba Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 Great. I was planning to talk to someone but wasn't sure of who. I'll look into it. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wooba Posted June 18, 2016 Author Share Posted June 18, 2016 How are things coming along Diana? I contacted the place you gave me. It was $1500 which I thought was a bit steep. Still considering it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kabrau Posted February 28, 2019 Share Posted February 28, 2019 I lived in Canada quite a few years ago for about 6 years and I have been living in Australia for the last 10 years. I wonder if any of you could share with me what you know about the process and options, or maybe could recommend a tax accountant who could help me, about bringing the money on that RRSP account over here to Australia with minimum tax implications. The ideal for me would be to bring it into my super over here, if at all possible. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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