Job Discussion Forums

[Scaliger]

Does anybody know if Canadians have to pay Canadian income tax while teaching in Oman? The catch is that I have a house in Canada that I�d like to hang on to until I get back, whenever that may be. (I�ll be going to Oman in the next few weeks.)

The house won�t be occupied or rented out. But if having a house makes me officially still a Canadian resident, then I might have to pay Canadian income tax, which after a while might end up as a bigger financial loss than selling the house now and buying another one later.

I�ve spoken to Canada Revenue Agency, and I�ve read the IT-221R3 many times, as well as the form �Determination of Residency Status,� but it�s still as clear as mud. I�ll mail in that �Determination� form, but I wonder how long it will take to get an answer from the CRA.

There was a post at one time, on one of these forums, about income tax for Australians, but I didn�t really comprehend those comments, and in any case the law for Canadians might be different.

Or does anyone know about the law for U.S. citizens regarding keeping a vacant house while abroad? I�d guess that Canadian and U.S. laws are similar in that respect.

[veiledsentiments]

From what I have read here, there is little or no similarity between Canadian and American tax laws for expats - relating to home ownership or not. I know American tax law, but that will be no help to you.

Canadian tax has been talked about some on the Qatar branch, so try a search there.

VS