Before you file

Use the information in the tax package, along with your information slips, receipts and supporting documents, to complete your return.

Who has to file a return

File a 2023 return if:

• You have to pay tax for the year

• You want to claim a refund

• You want to claim the Canada workers benefit (CWB) and receive advanced Canada workers benefit (ACWB) payments in the year

• You or your spouse or common-law partner want to begin or continue receiving credits and benefits such as:

  • the Canada child benefit (CCB) and related provincial and territorial benefits

  • the goods and services tax/harmonized sales tax (GST/HST) credit and related provincial and territorial credits and benefits

  • the climate action incentive payment (CAIP) (depending on your province or territory of residence)

  • the guaranteed income supplement (GIS)

• The CRA sent you a request to file a return

• You and your spouse or common-law partner are jointly electing to split pension income (see line 11600 on page 12)

• You disposed of capital property (which could be a principal residence) or realized a taxable capital gain in the year

• You have to repay all or part of your old age security (OAS) benefits or employment insurance (EI) benefits

• You have not repaid all of the amounts you withdrew from your registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) or Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP)

• You have to contribute to the Canada Pension Plan (CPP) for 2023 (this can apply if your total net self-employment income and pensionable employment income is more than $3,500)

• You are paying EI premiums on self-employment income or other eligible earnings

• You have incurred a non-capital loss in the year that you want to be able to apply to other years

• You want to transfer unused tuition fees or carry forward unused tuition, education and textbook amounts to a future year

• You want to report income that would allow you to contribute to an RRSP, a pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) or a specified pension plan (SPP) to keep your RRSP deduction limit for future years up to date (see Schedule 7)

• You opened a first home savings account (FHSA) in 2023 and want to keep your FHSA participation room up to date (see Schedule 15)

• You want to carry forward the unused investment tax credit on expenditures you incurred during the current year to a future year

• You want to report income that will allow you to increase your Canada training credit limit

Deceased persons

If you are the legal representative (executor, administrator or liquidator) for the estate of a person who died in 2023, you may have to file a 2023 return for that person.

Send the legal document that names you as the legal representative, such as a complete copy of the will, grant of probate or letters of administration, to the CRA.

If there is no legal document naming a legal representative, you may request to be the representative by completing Form RC552, Register as Representative for a Deceased Person.

Send the document to the CRA online using Represent a Client or by mail to the tax centre of the person who died.

For more information, see Guide T4011, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons, and Information Sheet RC4111, What to do Following a Death (includes "Request for the Canada Revenue Agency to Update Records").

Residential ties

To determine an individual's residency status, all of the relevant facts in each case must be considered, including residential ties with Canada and the length of time, purpose, intent and continuity of the stay while living inside and outside Canada.

Significant residential ties to Canada include:

• a home in Canada

• a spouse or common-law partner in Canada

• dependants in Canada Secondary residential ties that may be relevant include:

• personal property in Canada, such as a car or furniture

• social ties in Canada, such as memberships in Canadian recreational or religious organizations

• economic ties in Canada, such as Canadian bank accounts or credit cards

• a Canadian driver's licence

• a Canadian passport

• health insurance with a Canadian province or territory

For more information, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1, Determining an Individual's Residence Status.

Deemed residents

You may be a deemed resident of Canada for tax purposes if one of the following applies:

• On December 31, 2023, you were living outside Canada, you were not considered to be a factual resident of Canada because you did not have significant residential ties in Canada, and you were a government employee, a member of the Canadian Forces including their overseas school staff, or working under a Global Affairs Canada assistance program. This can also apply to the family members of an individual who was in one of these situations

• You stayed in Canada for 183 days or more in the tax year, do not have significant residential ties with Canada, and are not considered a resident of another country under the terms of a tax treaty between Canada and that country

Non-residents

You are a non-resident for tax purposes if one of the following applies:

• You normally live in another country and are not considered to be a factual resident of Canada

• You do not have significant residential ties in Canada and one of the following applies:

  • You live outside Canada throughout the tax year

  • You stay in Canada for less than 183 days in the tax year

Deemed non-residents of Canada

You were a deemed non-resident of Canada in 2023 if you would have been considered a resident of Canada (or a deemed resident of Canada) but, under a tax treaty between Canada and another country, you were considered a resident of the other country.

You become a deemed non-resident of Canada when your ties with the other country are such that, under the tax treaty, you would be considered a resident of that other country and not of Canada. In this case, the same rules that apply to non-residents of Canada will apply to you as a deemed non-resident (including the way you complete your return).

Which tax package is for you

Generally, you should use the income tax package for the province or territory where you resided on December 31, 2023. However, if any of the following situations apply to you, use the income tax package specified:

• If you resided in Quebec on December 31, 2023, use the income tax package for residents of Quebec to calculate your federal tax only. You must also file a Revenu Québec Income Tax Return

• If you are filing a return for a person who died in 2023, use the income tax package for the province or territory where that person resided at the time of death

• If you emigrated from Canada in 2023, use the income tax package for the province or territory where you resided on the day you left Canada

• If you had residential ties in more than one province or territory on December 31, 2023, use the income tax package for the province or territory where you had your most important residential ties (for example, if you usually reside in Ontario but were going to school in Alberta or Quebec, use the income tax package for Ontario)

• If you resided outside Canada on December 31, 2023, but kept significant residential ties with Canada, you may be considered a factual resident of Canada. Use the income tax package for the province or territory where you kept your residential ties

• If you resided outside Canada on December 31, 2023, and were considered a deemed resident or non-resident of Canada, use the Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada

• If you were a deemed resident of Canada on December 31, 2023, reporting only income from a business with a permanent establishment in a province or territory, use the income tax package for that province or territory

• If you were a non-resident of Canada throughout 2023 reporting only income from employment in Canada or from a business or partnership with a permanent establishment in Canada, use the income tax package for the province or territory where you earned the income (see Guide T4058, Non-Residents and Income Tax, for the special rules that apply)

Other publications you may need

You may need one or more of the following publications if you did not live in Canada all year:

• If you were a factual resident of Canada in 2023, complete Form T1248, Schedule D - Information about your Residency Status

• If you were a non-resident employed in Canada or carrying on business in Canada, or you disposed of a taxable Canadian property, see Guide T4058, Non-Residents and Income Tax

• If you were a non-resident while receiving rental income from real or immovable property in Canada, see Guide T4144, Income Tax Guide for Electing under Section 216

• If you were a non-resident while receiving certain other types of income from Canada (including pensions and annuities), see Guide T4145, Electing under Section 217 of the Income Tax Act

• If you were a newcomer to Canada in 2023, see Pamphlet T4055, Newcomers to Canada, for the special rules that apply

• If you emigrated from Canada during 2023, go to canada.ca/taxes-international for the special rules that apply

• If you were a non-resident of Canada at any time in 2023 receiving an OAS pension from Canada, see Guide T4155, Old Age Security Return of Income (OASRI) Guide for Non-Residents

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