Before you start

Social Insurance Number
T4 slips from employers and T5 slips for investment income
Records of foreign income and foreign property
A determination of the date you became a tax resident

Step-by-step

1
Establish the date you became a tax resident
Canadian tax residency turns on residential ties — a home, a spouse, dependants, and secondary ties like bank accounts and a driving licence — rather than on a day count. Your first return covers only the part of the year after that date, and getting the date right shapes everything else.
OnlineWho: You
2
File one return for federal and provincial tax together
Unlike Quebec, British Columbia's provincial tax is calculated on the same federal return and filed with the Canada Revenue Agency. The deadline is 30 April for most people, and 15 June if you or your spouse are self-employed, though any balance owing is still due 30 April.
OnlineWho: YouBy 30 April
3
Report foreign property above the threshold on form T1135
Residents holding specified foreign property costing more than CAD 100,000 in total must file this form annually. It captures foreign bank accounts, shares and rental property but not personal-use property. Penalties for not filing are severe and applied per year.
OnlineWho: You
4
Make the Empty Homes Tax and Speculation Tax declarations if you own property
Both require an annual declaration from every owner even when the property is your principal residence and nothing is owed. Missing the declaration is what generates a bill — the tax is charged by default and removed by declaring.
OnlineWho: YouAnnually
5
Understand that your first year gives you no RRSP room
RRSP contribution room is based on the previous year's Canadian earned income, so a newcomer has none in year one. TFSA room starts from the year you became a resident. Both catch people who arrive planning to shelter income immediately.
OnlineWho: You
6
Keep records for a departure tax if you ever leave
Ceasing Canadian tax residency triggers a deemed disposition of most assets at fair market value, with tax on the accrued gain. It is one of the more significant things about the Canadian system and is far easier to plan for with records kept from the beginning.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Social Insurance Number
T4, T4A and T5 slips
Records of foreign income, accounts and property
Rent or property tax records, for provincial credits
Receipts for deductible expenses, medical costs and childcare

Things most newcomers don’t know

Canadian tax residency is decided by ties, not by counting days.

People arrive expecting a 183-day rule and there is one, but it is a secondary test. The primary test is residential ties: where your home is, where your spouse and dependants are, and then secondary ties like bank accounts, a driving licence and provincial health cover. You can become a Canadian tax resident well before spending 183 days here, and the date matters because worldwide income is taxable from it.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Three different governments tax empty and foreign-owned housing in Vancouver, and two need a declaration even when you owe nothing.

The City of Vancouver's Empty Homes Tax and British Columbia's Speculation and Vacancy Tax both work by charging the tax by default and requiring an annual declaration to be exempted — including for an ordinary principal residence. A homeowner who simply ignores the letter receives a bill. The federal Underused Housing Tax adds a third layer for non-resident owners. This is the most common expensive administrative mistake property owners make here.

Source: City of Vancouver

You have no RRSP contribution room in your first year, whatever you earned abroad.

RRSP room is generated by the previous year's Canadian earned income. Someone arriving in January with a substantial salary has zero room for that entire first tax year and only starts accruing it for the next one. Newcomers who plan to shelter their first Canadian income discover this at filing time. TFSA room, by contrast, starts accruing in the year you become resident, so it is usually the right first account.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Leaving Canada triggers a deemed disposition, and it is not a small thing.

When you cease to be a Canadian tax resident, most assets are treated as sold at fair market value on that date and the accrued gain is taxable, even though nothing was actually sold. Certain property is excluded and deferral is possible with security posted. Anyone who might not stay permanently should know this exists from the start, because the cost base you establish on arrival is what the eventual calculation runs against.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Assuming a 183-day rule determines when you became a tax resident.
Ignoring the Empty Homes Tax or Speculation Tax declaration on a principal residence.
Missing the T1135 foreign property filing and incurring per-year penalties.
Planning to contribute to an RRSP in your first year, when you have no room.
Leaving Canada without accounting for the deemed disposition on departure.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.