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Taxes - Before & After Landing
Moving to a new country is stressful enough and you've likely got a lot on your plate already. As such, you definitely don't need more hassle from having to deal with the CRA (tax department in Canada) because you didn't plan ahead. So, do plan ahead, understand what tax issues you might need to deal with later and do it hassle-free when you actually need to do it later.
1. I own a property in my home country. Is there anything I need to do before/after I land in Canada?
There are different tax implications in this case.
a) Establish a new cost base for your properties before landing
Immediately before you become a resident of Canada, you will be deemed to have disposed of your home and have reacquired it at the fair market value. As such, you will pay tax in Canada upon the actual disposition of your house only on the gain which you earned after you became a resident of Canada. The rule applies to all the properties in the country you reside before moving; as well as the properties you already own in Canada. An evaluation of the value of the properties will be necessary to determine the fair market value (i.e. new cost base) at the time you became resident in Canada.
3. I have been contributing to the pension scheme in Hong Kong, namely MPF. Is that taxable in Canada when I withdraw my MPF pension?
a) Still a non-resident when MPF is withdrawn
If you are still a non-resident of Canada at the time of withdrawal of your MPF, it is NOT taxable in Canada. And for individuals who are immigrating to Canada, as well as for returning Canadians, the best option is to withdraw all your accrued benefits in your MPF account, if you can.
More details may be found "Early Withdrawal of MPF".
b) Resident status when MPF is withdrawn
If you are already a resident at the time your MPF is withdrawn or for some good reasons you could not withdraw your MPF before moving to Canada.
Note that Canadian residents are taxable, under subparagraph 56(1)(a)(i) of the Act, on pension benefits in the year of receipt. This applies to benefits from a foreign pension plan that are attributable to services rendered while the individual was not a resident of Canada. Therefore, the periodic amounts and the lump sum payment from the Hong Kong pension plan will be taxable in Canada. In this case, your MPF is taxable in the year it's withdrawn.
Reference: Canadian Tax Interpretation.
Nevertheless, foreign pension plans that meets the criteria from 60(j)(i) can be transferred into an RRSP. The mechanism is that the lump sum is included as taxable income in the year it’s withdrawn from the foreign pension but, by depositing it to an RRSP, the person receives a deduction against the income inclusion. If your foreign pension is eligible and everything is done correctly, tax is deferred until the year(s) your RRSP is withdrawn.
4. What about payments from annuities?
As mentioned above, benefits from a foreign pension plan is taxable in the year of receipt. Therefore, yes, any payment from foreign annuities is taxable.
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