The International Schools Review Forum

Quick question. Do Canadians in Singapore have to pay taxes in both Canada and Singapore?

You have to pay taxes in Singapore, what agreements there are with Canada, Im really unsure of. Several of our Canadian teachers say they dont have to pay taxes back in Canada, but as far as specifics Id suggest contacting a tax professional.

If I find anything else out I'll let you know.

Thanks, PsyGuy. By the way, I know you get a lot of heat on some of these threads, but I actually appreciate the fact that you're so active on here. Many of your posts have been helpful to me! :)

Crossing my fingers for NOT having to pay taxes in both countries!

As a Canadian citizen you will have to be declared a non Resident by Revenue Canada. They have a list of criteria, 3 primary and 10-12 secondary criteria, that they use to determine whether you are in fact non resident. I believe the three primary criteria are a)do you have a job to return to b)do you have dependents remaining in Canada and c)do you maintain a year around residence in Canada. Answer those three questions with a no and you are on your way. The secondary criteria include bank accounts, magazine subscriptions, oddly enough a Cdn passport, credit cards etc. Any or all of these could influence whether or not you are still considered a resident.

I have received varying pieces of advice from Revenue Canada staffers and Canadian tax specialists to fellow Canadian expats on what it takes to be non resident, and its very frustrating. I know people who own homes in Canada that are not rented out at arms length, I know people that have other significant ties to Canada and they don't have any problems entering or leaving Canada or thoughts about their future, but personally I don't want to take a chance that when I return to Canada at some point in the future the taxman will come knocking at my door and wonder where all my taxes from the past two decades are. We have cut all our ties, with the exception of some RRSPs that don't seem to carry much weight, or value at this point in time : ).

From my understanding, while you can hold previously contributed to RRSPS, you can not actively contribute to them while you are a non-resident. I have to say Quebec operates under some slightly different rules but I was assume they aren't that different.