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Question on withholding in Canada on pensions paid to a UK

 

Customer Question

Question on withholding in Canada on pensions paid to a UK resident.

I have been a UK resident since the beginning of October 2011. I will be receiving pension income in the UK paid from Canada.

My interpretation of the treaties between the UK and Canada is that pension income is taxable only in the country of residence. In my case, this will be the UK for future years.

The other interpretation is that the withholding taxes in Canada for pension income for UK residents should be 0%.

I am looking for a little guidance on the above understanding. And some advice on what I need to do to ensure the withholding tax is taken off in Canada correctly.

 



Already Tried:
Web searches on UK and Canada. Earlier dialogue with advisors in Canada who indicated the withholding rate was 15%. I also did a test run using the CRA forms for filing non-resident income tax returns. If this question is going to be more than the standard £11, please advise and I will increase it.

Submitted: 464 days and 7 hours ago.
Category: Canada Tax
Value: £11
Status: CLOSED
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Expert:  Danielle-Mod replied 463 days and 2 hours ago.

Hi, I’m a moderator for this topic and I wonder whether you’re still waiting for an answer. If you are, please let me know and I will do my best to find an Expert to assist you right away. If not, feel free to let me know and I will cancel this question for you. Thank you!

Customer replied 462 days and 19 hours ago.

Thanks Danielle. I am still waiting. Experts might come from two sources. The first is Canadian expert who knows something about UK taxes. The second is UK expert who knows something about Canadian taxes.

XXXXX XXXXXon

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Expert:  Danielle-Mod replied 462 days and 2 hours ago.

Sometimes, finding the right Expert can take a little longer than expected and we thank you greatly for your understanding. We’ll be in touch again shortly.

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Expert:  Debra Thal replied 461 days and 8 hours ago.

The question just appeared on the Canada law list now.

I am happy to help but I only know about Canadian laws.

There are not experts on our list that can anwer abou the UK aspects and there is are no UK experts that can answer about the Canadian issues.

Would you like for me to answer abou the Canadian part of your question?

Customer replied 461 days and 7 hours ago.

Sure Debra, the Canadian side is at least half of the equation.

 

Please do let me know your answer. I appreciate that it is not legally binding.

 

In replying, would you please refer to specifc guides, bulletins or treaties I could find on the CRA website? The numbers will be fine; I can do the actual search.

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Expert:  Debra Thal replied 461 days and 6 hours ago.

OK

I have one more question first.

Are you still considered to be a resident of Canada or did you sever all ties?

What type of pension is this? For example is this CPP or a private pension from a former employer?

Customer replied 461 days and 5 hours ago.

Answers on resident of Canada

  1. I left Canada at the beginning of October 2011, to retire with my wife in the UK.
  2. I have mailed in a NR73 form to check on status and am awaiting a reply.
  3. I have no residence in Canada nor dependents, but do have a bank account.
  4. I am assuming that I will be eventually be classified as non-resident. That was the assumption of the question.
  5. For 2011 tax year, I will file a Canadian tax return. The question is for future years after determining the residency status.

Type of Pension

  1. RIF income adminstered in Canada with quarterly payments. Quarterly seems to qualify as periodic. The RIF is the subject of the question.
  2. I also have CPP and OAS income. The literature on these points to 0% withholding. However, that is only what I read.

Accepted Answer

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Expert:  Debra Thal replied 460 days and 13 hours ago.

Sorry for the delay in replying. For some reason I didn't get a notice that you had replied to me.

The answer is that there will be a withholding tax on these periodic payments. This will apply to the RIF, OAS and CPP.

So once you are deemed to be a non-resident the withholding tax will be applied but there will not be any need to file a return anymore.

If there is just one bank account and you are not keeping up your health insurance coverage or having a cottage that is not being sold you should not have a problem being designated as a non-resident.

For 2011 you should prepare 2011 tax return including income up to date of departure and include a departure tax.

I hope that helps but let me know if there are any follow-up questions.

Thanks
Debra Thal40917.6328702546

Expert TypeLawyer
Category: Canada Tax
Pos. Feedback: 89.3 %
Accepts: 103
Answered: 1/9/2012

Experience: lawyer

Ask this Expert a Question >
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Expert:  Debra Thal replied 460 days and 12 hours ago.

I received your feedback.

Please do not hesitate to post back to this response when you have additional questions rather than just putting that into the feedback.

Here is a link that gives you the information that you need on the CRA website:

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/lvng-eng.html

The withholding tax is usually 25% unless your country has a treaty with Canada that reduces the amount.

This is discussed here:

http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/isp/pub/nontax.shtml
Debra Thal40917.6781453356

 
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