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Hey guys, this was my first year as a Canadian nomad.
As far as I know of, Canadians donโt pay taxes if they do not live in the country for 6 months.
But Iโd like to talk to an accountant or someone who does Canadian taxes specifically for expats and nomads to get clear on the rules and for help on my return coming up.
Does anyone know someone who specializes in Canada who can help? Iโve seen plenty of US recommendations but none for us canucks.
Thanks guys!
@blueblueocean - I didnโt even know there was such a thing as a tax lawyer/that could be an option. Messaged you.
Hi Noam, I just came across this thread while searching for a Canadian accountant who can help me figure out a strategy that works for my current digital nomad lifestyle. Were you able to find someone knowledgable and reliable?
My experience is most accountants or lawyers know only Canadian system and so is only 50% of the picture. Also I believe a tax lawyer is more useful than an accountant. And thirdly, they all charge an arm and a leg for giving you an opinion, of which only a legal opinion might be useful to protect you in terms of what you ultimately do. Also lawyers protect your privacy.
Msg me and Iโll share some of my research links. I am not 100% sure on any of them but you have to trust your intuition I guess.
Good topic. Iโm in the same situation, Canadian nomad.
My own struggle is to figure out where to put my money (the whole financial aspect of nomadry makes me stick my head in the sand).
I also have a European citizenship, but not clear as to how to proceed, as I have no idea where I will be in 3 or 6 months, let alone where I want to retireโฆ
Quite the niche market for accountants.
Keep us posted on your developments!
Hey guys just wanted to update.
After taking to an accountant, the answer is โit dependsโ. You pretty much need to work with them and see if youโd be able to claim non-residency based on factors like time outside of country, spouse/kids there, etc.etc.
So Iโd say try to find someone who can help you but if youโre single and mostly living outside Canada, youโll most likely be able to be tax-free.
So how does one go about finding a Canadian accountant versed in this type of issues?
Hook-ups is one way (my friend sent me his, but wouldnโt be cool with me sharing everywhere so Iโm not posting public info).
I did a search for accountants + expat + canada on Google and e-mailed a bunch. I got 10 responses back. They want to help you (/take your money lol).
Try to find one that will give you at least some basic advice via e-mail for free. If they insist on charging $500 for a simple question or wonโt even give you the time of day, next them. Tons out there.
Just like us we have to be stringent on our time, but thereโs also being a ****.
Hey @noam_lightstone - fellow Canadian here - Iโm working in Malaysia for a company and am contacting an accountant back home in BC in the next couple months who may be useful - Iโll keep you posted 
Iโd love to know if you find one! Iโm from BC too and Iโve had a HARD time finding the right accountant.
Hey @sarahpeterson.
Like I said above a fellow Canadian nomad shared his with me, but told me explicitly not to give out contact informationโฆ hate to be a tease/that guy, but donโt want to piss them off.
Google search has lots of accountants for expats :).
Basically what I found out though was you need to declare you arenโt a resident for one tax return (e.g. when you start being a nomad), and from there, you just need to work with your accountant. I donโt think itโs worth the hassle to figure this out on our own, pay someone to deal with it.
Thanks @krysta! Iโm supposed to talk with my Canadian nomad friendโs accountant this or next week so Iโll post my findings too!
Itโs mostly complicated in Canada because the country has a very draconian tax system that essentially is stacked in the governmentโs favour. They can look at your situation and try to claim whatever is to their benefit. Since the rules for many issues are subjective and can go either way based on what a judge might rule, it creates great stress and waste of time on nomads. I donโt like these kinds of systems. Also, Canada is one of the few countries that has a departure tax. So even if you become a nomad and break all ties, you are โdeemedโ to have sold all your investments and even your own private business. This is even though no money has changed hands and no sale occurred. You then have to post money to them just to leave which as far as I can determine you might never get back since one might never sell oneโs business - would you sell a profitable business just to get your cash back and then lose all future cash-flows? Essentially the country runs a very protective and isolated system that tries to make it difficult, time consuming, and stressful to get out of it. This is one of my major considerations when choosing a residence, how friendly is the country during my stay and how friendly is it should I choose to move somewhere else?
Thanks for the info @adamsimms and @blueblueocean. Still searching for accountants but will again, post here.
From what Iโve heard itโs so grey and impossible to state clearly - itโs all case by case.
I am Canadian as well. I am no tax expert, but my understanding is that to get out of the obligation to pay taxes in Canada you have to take very drastic steps:
Cut all your ties to Canada. Close bank accounts, cancel your credit cards, sell any property, etc. Obviously, forgo your provincial health insurance. Also, promise to RC that you really do not expect to live in Canada in the foreseeable future. If you donโt do that, theyโll consider your move temporary. They even say you have to cut most of your social ties, but that just sounds incredibly intrusive and, in any case, unverifiable (although a spouse living in Canada will probably scupper the whole deal).
Establish residence (+ tax residence) elsewhere and be able to provide proof of it (lease, bank account, voter card, tax payer ID, etc).
Unless you are ready to do 1 + 2, I think youโre on the hook, even if you donโt show up in your home country for years. Sorry to disappoint you! If โleavingโ was as easy as spending 6 months elsewhere, I think weโd have a huge number of Canadians roaming the world.
Thanks for the reply @bisonravi.
I didnโt think it was that complicated but Iโm searching for an accountant still to give me the 411.
Iโll post any info I find out.
@noam_lightsone Itโs rather complicated. Itโs not simply being outside the country for six months, but an evaluation your ties with Canada. This involves property, automobiles, bank accounts, investments, and the list goes on by the CRA. This is a good resource that will get you started: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/cmmn/rsdncy-eng.html
As for finding an accountant, I suggest you start looking in the Freshbooks database: https://www.freshbooks.com/accountants/map
My advice is to find an accountant who is very familiar with Canadians living abroad; otherwise, it can become very frustrating for future tax submissions in Canada.
Winter is coming and Iโm feeling the ache of travelling after being stuck in the same place since the Pandemic started. Wondering if anyone is travelling right now? If so, where are you currently located and how is the situation where you are?
Hello World!
I'm an experienced Digital Nomad and after being in Lockdown in Bangkok and Germany for one year I would like to team up with someone to visit a new place. Or just doing some exchange about what destinations would be interesting currently.
I take the virus seriously and still I think we can still be able to take our life in our own hands. So I'm aiming for cities/countries which are not in full lockdown, are not too complicated about immigration (I'm looking at you Thailand, your state quarantine costs like 1k USD and is basically a prison) and is also rather safe regarding the virus. I tend to stick for rather big cities and like culture. I'm not a beach or nature person. I'm pretty flexible about the money topic.
I will be traveling/working through Mexico with my dog February to April. My plan is to stay in Sayulita for about 2-4 weeks, then travel south along the cost.
Is there anyone who wants to share an airbnb apartment? I was thinking of renting a private villa, but because these are large and have multiple rooms, I was wondering if there are fellow nomads wanting to share? Iโm open to other locations as well (Puerto Vallerta, Oaxaca, and everything in between these two locations.
I'm thinking about taking a sailing (yachting) course in the Mediterranean Sea this coming September or October. Thus far from my research, it seems that most courses are held in locations with not many digital nomads. My thinking is that it would be more fun to go to a place with like-minded people. Therefore, I'm wondering if anyone else is interested in taking a sailing course in the Mediterranean this fall? If not, do you know a location that offers good sailing courses, where there is also many digital nomads / nomad infrastructure?
Iโm a big believer in co-living but Iโm finding hard to find all the options available in different cities.
I have found the major players like Roam, The Collective, and WeLive but havenโt found many others.
Has anyone seen a list or should I start making one?
Any long terms Project Fi users cancelled?
Planning on being outside of the US for a year or more and disappointed to just discover their โtermination for excessive international roamingโ fine print (similar to T-Mobileโs) as follows:
โThe Services must be primarily used in the United States and are not intended for extended international use. Further, the Services are designed for use predominantly within our network. If your usage outside our network is excessive, abnormally high, or cause us to incur too much cost, we may, at our option and sole discretion, suspend your Project Fi account, terminate your service, or limit your use of roaming.โ
Looking for recommendations for reliable accountants who understand how remote businesses with off-shore freelancers and clients work. Thanks!
Iโm looking to spend 1-3 months in Alicante or Valencia this fall and would like to take a Spanish class there.
Hi,
My name is Nick,currently living in Australia and looking at moving to Shikoku next year to live for a couple of years.My wife is Japanese,but I dont speak much though I have lived in Tokyo for some years previously.
Any advice on best areas to look at would be greatly appreciated ,
Thanks in advance
Nick
We just finished our first stint around South East Asia and somehow survived 3 days of way too many flights, leaving me to feel like death.
Too much shitty airplane food, not enough sleep, big time difference from Mexico to SEA.
Anyone have tips to prevent that more in the future (aside from better flight plans)? More importantly, how do I recover faster from this horror?
The ideal bank will have an easy on-boarding as a European student studying and living in Sweden for a year and is merciful when it comes to sending GBP into the account.
Can anybody recommend a good Swedish bank? 
Hi everyone,
If you have a U.S. tax question or would like some U.S. tax insight on your business/structure, ask away!
I have been preparing tax returns for US citizens abroad since 2012. I can answer any question in US tax with an international flavor. I operate 1040abroad.com and I have maintained a blog at taxsamurai.com
I look forward to answering all your questions. And if you are in Ho Chi Minh City in December, letโs meet !!!
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/vermont-pay-10-000-move-110056645.html
Hello All,
Saw Vermont rolled out an incentive to get more remote workers to live there, Does anyone plan on applying and If so why? Reason Iโm asking is I work for an organization in Tulsa, Ok that wants to also bring in Nomads, and would love to hear your thoughts on what such a plan should look like
Any help would be Awesome!
Ben
Anyone know a good hairdresser in Amsterdam? Looking for something reasonably to the center!
Hey everyone,
I got into situation when nothing really helped me, and now searching for alternatives.
Two web site where I was trying to buy tickets for Tribeca film festival and just cinema do not let me to buy tickets and the websites are quite big -
My question is , does anyone know alternative where I could buy tickets for example Madisson Square show and AMC Cinema screening. Eventbite worked fine for example with European card.
Best,
Georgius.
Hi everyone!
Currently looking at ridding myself of the 9-5 and becoming a freelance consultant. Iโm not planning to go full erm, โtax optimisationโ, as I believe in taxes as a concept, but I would like to pay less of them so I can get my business off the ground with more peace of mind.
Iโve decided I want to apply for the Portugal NHR (Iโm a EU citizen), but I donโt want to incorporate there. Anyone here has experience with being a Portugal tax resident and running a company elsewhere? If yes, where and why did you choose that country/place? Is it a a lot of hassle?
Thanks!
Hey everyone,
Has anyone visited Sihanoukville recently? I would like to visit and give it a try for working but I am a little unsure about the following:
In anyone can offer any info, suggestions on specific areas or recommended accommodation that would be great. I visited around 8 years ago so I am assuming the place has changed quite a bit since then.
Thanks!
We are looking to get the ball rolling and are wondering if anyone else has done it.
We are looking for an agent and are also wondering how far in you can open a Malaysian bank account.
If you know someone who was helpful, let me know!
Thanks
Hey fellow nomads. I have an interesting situation.
Iโm a Canadian Citizen whoโs been a resident of the United States for the last 12 years (work VISA). I incorporated my LLC in Hong Kong and have been a nomad for about 6 months.
I just spoke to my Accountant and he says that I will only have to pay taxes to HK, because Iโm not a resident of either US or CAN. Thatโs amazing news as both places suck for taxes.
Iโm currently in Colombia but I spent the first 2 months of this year in CanadaโI want to make sure I stay out of Canada long enough to remain a non-resident.
Does anyone know what that amount of time is?
Weโre setting off on our first venture for new digital nomad life in 20 days!
Right now, Iโm utterly baffled and confused by trying to figure out how weโre going to be able to get more cash or transfer money from our bank accounts in Canada. Either at all or without getting charged insane fees.
Iโve looked through the forum and a lot of solutions put forth with no real luck. Hoping that some Canadians may chime in with solutions, experience or advice.
Thanks!
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