# Don't agree with advice from Canadian Tax account. Help!



## trentfrog (Jul 14, 2014)

I am going to declare myself non resident in Canada and have been speaking with an accountant but I don't agree with some of his advice.

Basically I left Canada to move to Spain in 2006 but never filed a 2006 departure return and stupidly filed Canadian tax returns for 2006, 07, 08 and 09. I also owned a car in Canada until summer 2014 and used my health care in Ontario until summer 2012 (also health card was renewed in Ontario 2014) because my intention was to come back to Canada so I didn't cut any ties. 

My questions:

My accountant says I have to file an NR73 to correct the 2006 return. Is this true? I have heard the advice on forums many times is to never to file this unless the CRA asks for it?

Also, he wants me to re-file the 2006 return and indicate that as my date of departure. Is this correct? I used my Ontario health card until 2012 and renewed it in summer 2014. Doesn't this show that I maintained important ties to Ontario to at least 2012 and that a 2006 departure return would not be right?


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## Nononymous (Jul 12, 2011)

I can't speak to the specifics of which forms and all that, but this seems a bit like a case of wanting to have one's cake and eat it too. 

Either you became non-resident when you left in 2006, or you did not.

If you did become non-resident in 2006, life is probably simpler from a tax perspective. But your continued use of medical care in Canada might be considered fraudulent.

Car ownership probably doesn't count for much one way or the other. 

If you become non-resident now, there may be different tax implications.

I would be careful about the health care. When we left BC for Germany (a fair few years ago admittedly) our medical coverage ended almost instantly. If you pretended to maintain a Canadian address with OHIP for purposes of treatment when visiting home, over the course of 8 years, that might not be something you want brought to light.


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