Canadian Expat "Non-Resident for Tax Purpose" according to CRA

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

Simple answer - no, where you are deemed as being resident for tax purposes is determined by where you live for more than 183 days in any single tax year.  Some countries take that even further and regardless of how long you have lived there, the fact that you have obtained somewhere to live and are living there, is enough for them to assess you for taxes.  You cannot be deemed as being "resident" in more than one country at any one time.

Canada has a double taxation agreement with Ireland; this link will take you straight to an on-line version of the current agreement; these generally go to more detail on identifying specific items of interest, i.e. pensions and rights to taxation.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

Thanks a lot for quick reply.
In fact, I m planning to move to Bulgaria, but I asked the question here, because I assumed big number of Canadian expats love in Ireland (a country I want to visit anyway); and obviously I don't expect to see many Canadians in Bulgaria.
So, my CPP and OAS - when/if I reach age of 65 - will be taxed 25 percent. Is there anything wrong if I rely on my account with Royal Bank Canada to be depository for my pension, and transfer funds regularly to European bank? Obviously difficult question.
Now I have to dig into the double taxation agreement that Bulgaria has with Canada . . . But I am not optimistic.
Thanks again.

Hi again.

Many people do what you are planning, the only thing in recent times is that International tax avoidance has become a big problem for Governments all over the world and many will not permit non-residents to have bank accounts.  Probably worthwhile speaking to a Canadian tax specialist; just to make sure you have done all you can to reduce the tax impact on your pension.  One other thing to watch out for is that while you may well be retired in Canada, does Bulgaria have the same retirement age?  If not, what are the implications.

You can find the Canada/Bulgaria tax agreement at this link.

Hope this helps.

Cynic
Expat Team