Questions on filing previous years' tax returns TODAY

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JackDlop
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:01 pm

Questions on filing previous years' tax returns TODAY

Post by JackDlop »

Hi, I am a Canadian citizen living in Toronto, Ontario. Basically, I want to file tax returns for the years 2008 up to now. I don't owe money to the Canadian Revenue Agency, and I haven't had any income so these will basically be "blank" tax returns with "zeroes" everywhere.
The reason I want to do that now, is because another country's revenue authority is asking from me to prove to them that I have been "taxed" (i.e. filed tax returns) elsewhere (in my case in Canada) in order for that other country not to tax me for the years 2008 onwards.

So my questions are the following:

1) Is it possible for me to do the above i.e. file tax returns today for the each year from 2008 onwards? Again those will be "zeroes-everywhere" tax returns as I don't have some income to report.
2) Will I receive a penalty or fine for filing previous years' tax returns today? My guess is No since I believe I am not obligated to file tax returns when I have no income. Please confirm. If the answer is "Yes you will receive a penalty" please advise what that penalty could amount to for each year.
3) What process should I follow to do the above? Since I am now in Europe (and I can't visit a Toronto office in person) I would like to do the process online or worst case through the mail.
4) How long would the whole process take?
5) Would I need any documents other than my birth certificate and Social Insurance Number?

Any further info you may have in mind would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance,

Jack
nelsona
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Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
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Post by nelsona »

1. Sure. You can file for 10 years
2. In canada, if you do not owe any taxes, you are only obligated to file if certain activity has taken place. So, there will be o penalties for late filing if you owe no tax.
3. Since you still have a Cdn address, you can file 2013 online, but other will require paper.
4. They will asses your returns over the next few months.
5. WHy your birth certificate. You have an SIN, that is all you need.

may I ask why you worry about being taxed in this "other country" if you have no income? Do you really have no income anywhere? Are you sure you are not resident of this other country and not canada?
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
nelsona
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Post by nelsona »

And, of course, you need the specifc tax return for resident of Ontario for each tax year.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
JackDlop
Posts: 2
Joined: Thu Sep 11, 2014 12:01 pm

Post by JackDlop »

[quote="nelsona"]1. Sure. You can file for 10 years
2. In canada, if you do not owe any taxes, you are only obligated to file if certain activity has taken place. So, there will be o penalties for late filing if you owe no tax.
3. Since you still have a Cdn address, you can file 2013 online, but other will require paper.
4. They will asses your returns over the next few months.
5. WHy your birth certificate. You have an SIN, that is all you need.

may I ask why you worry about being taxed in this "other country" if you have no income? Do you really have no income anywhere? Are you sure you are not resident of this other country and not canada?[/quote]

Nelsona thank you very much for your reply. It was very helpful. :D
Excuse my question, I mean no disrespect, but are you 100% sure about the information you gave me? Are a tax expert in Canada?

Regarding the "other country" question, it's a long story but they may issue me a fine if I don't prove I have been filing tax returns in Canada.

In your answer number 3, when you say "they will need paper" does that mean I would need to go an office in Canada to file them? I guess that would be a much faster process than doing it through the mail, right?

Regarding your answer number 4, I am a bit worried because I would like to be able to file all the tax returns 2008-14 quickly. You say "a few months". Is there a process whereby I would be able to do the whole thing much quicker - say 1-2 weeks? What if I travel over to Canada to do it in person?

One more question that just came to mind: Basically what I am looking for is to ultimately receive a certificate of residency (which will prove that I have filed returns as a resident of Canada). Will I be able to receive that easily and quickly (within a few days) after I have filed all the tax returns from 2008 onwards?

Thanks again. :)

Jack
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Plaese don't use the quoute feature, it doesn't work and clutters up the thread.

You have waited 7 years to file your taxes. This issue will not be solved in a week or a month. maybne by the end of the year. Maybe.

You can mail the paper forms for each year by downloading from the internet. No need to show up in canad -- and that would not expedite matters. They would simply take your returns and put them on thepile, and then begin their investigation.

There is no such thing as a certificate of residency. the best you could do is file an NR73 or NR74 asking CRA to determine whether you are Cdn tax resident or not.

it sounds more and more like you do not really live in canada at all. And it is highly questionable that you have had no income for 8 years. and if this country has a tax treaty with Canada, you probably ARE a tax resident of that country. I don't know of any country that fines people for not filing tax returns with no income, but your reticence to even mention the country, makes me suspicious.


I could understnd if this was a two year issue, while you wre deciding whether or not to live abroad or not. But since they are asking for eight years, it is obvious to them that you probably live in Europe.

Inany event, You have my answer, you have been told how to file. I will leave it at that. I'll let you decide if my advice is worth following or not, but it is 100% accurate:
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
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