Airline Pilot, determining Canadian Tax residency

[paymydues]

Hi everyone,

I’m trying to determine if there is any way around needing to file a CRA return for 2026.

I live in Canada, and rent an apartment, have an Ontario driver’s license, and a vehicle registered in my name. I’m a dual citizen, with both US and Canadian Passports.

I work for a major airline in the US, and am gone right around the threshold for tax residency purposes. (About 15 days per month). I have a second residency in the US, where I stay when I need to sit on-call for work.

I have no TFSA/RRSP in Canada, just have basic Checking and Savings that I use for bill payments in Canada, and have a company 401k and Checking/Savings in the US.

If I’m gone for 183 days or more, do I need to bother filing a Canadian return?

[nelsona]

To stop filing a Cdn return - since you have a residence in both countries. you must show that your centre of vital interest ie. your life, is "more" in US than in Canada. Until you can show this, you will continue to file in Canada as a tax resident (and in US of course due to your citizenship). This would be a "deemed non-resident{ of Canada, which is treated like a non-resident for tax filing purposes.

Number of days -- in either country -- isn't really the deciding factor. It is more your dependents, social ties, and the like that determine whether you are a US resident or a Cdn resident.

For your edification, you should look at CRA form NR73 (not to file with CRA, but to self-evaluate your ties in both countries.

[nelsona]

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency ... /nr73.html