Leaving Canada: the questions people actually ask

Yes. Under an agreed review engagement, our team reviews your residency file and supporting package, provides a written advisory opinion and recommends revisions. That is our opinion — not a CRA determination or an NR73 response.

No. NR73 is optional — it asks the CRA for its opinion on your residency status. The Folio says that opinion is not binding on the CRA and may be reviewed in more detail later. Many people simply self-assess, enter their departure date on the emigrant-year return and keep the evidence. If you do send it, send it with a complete, consistent file. Form NR73 ↗

Yes — a deemed disposition on emigration under subsection 128.1(4)(b). You are treated as having sold most property at fair market value the day you cease residency. Canadian real property, Canadian business property, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, RESPs, pensions and stock options are excepted, as is property you already held if you were resident 60 months or less in the last 10 years. You can elect on Form T1244 to defer the tax until you actually sell, with security if the federal tax deferred exceeds $16,500 ($13,777.50 for former Quebec residents). CRA guidance ↗

T1161, List of Properties by an Emigrant of Canada, is required if the fair market value of all property you owned on departure exceeded $25,000 — excluding cash and bank deposits, registered plans, personal-use items worth less than $10,000 each, and property short-term residents already held. It is filed with your return whether or not any tax is owing. Filing late costs $25 a day, minimum $100, maximum $2,500. CRA guidance ↗

Both can stay open. Neither is subject to the deemed disposition. RRSP and RRIF payments to a non-resident attract 25% Part XIII withholding, reduced where a treaty applies and reported on an NR4 slip; a section 217 election can sometimes lower it. A TFSA keeps its Canadian tax exemption, but you cannot contribute while non-resident and any non-resident contribution is taxed at 1% for each month it stays in the account. TFSA non-resident rules ↗

CPP is payable outside Canada. OAS normally requires 20 years of residence in Canada after age 18 to be paid abroad; with less, it may stop if you are away more than 6 months, unless a social security agreement lets you count time in the other country. Non-resident seniors receiving OAS must file the Old Age Security Return of Income each year, and both benefits are subject to 25% Part XIII tax unless a treaty reduces it. CPP and OAS outside Canada ↗

Canadian real property is excepted from the deemed disposition, so no departure tax on it — but rent paid to you is subject to 25% Part XIII withholding unless you file under section 216, and when you eventually sell you must notify the CRA within 10 days on Form T2062 for a section 116 certificate or the purchaser withholds 25% of the price. Late notification costs $25 a day, minimum $100, maximum $2,500. Section 116 rules ↗

You become resident again on the day you re-establish your ties, with a deemed acquisition of your property at fair market value. If you still hold taxable Canadian property you were deemed to dispose of on leaving, subsection 128.1(6) lets you elect to unwind that departure-tax gain — the election is due by your filing due date for the year you return. Watch the 183-day sojourner rule on long visits before you formally move back. Income Tax Act s. 128.1 ↗