On your first Canadian return, the date you became a resident for tax purposes does most of the work. It decides which income you report and how much of each credit you can claim.
Residency comes first
For tax, what counts is your residential ties to Canada. Your immigration status doesn't settle what you owe or have to file. You become a resident when you have enough ties here, and for most newcomers that's the first day you live in Canada.
The significant ties are a home, a spouse or common-law partner, or dependants in Canada. Secondary ties that may matter include a car, Canadian bank accounts or credit cards, a driver's licence and provincial health coverage. If you're not sure, you can ask the CRA to decide using Form NR74, Determination of Residency Status (Entering Canada).
What goes on the first return
The return asks for the date you became a resident. If you arrived and set up your ties on June 8, you'd enter 0608.
- From that date on, you report your world income (income from inside and outside Canada), converted to Canadian dollars. A foreign pension that a tax treaty exempts still gets reported, then deducted on line 25600.
- Before that date, you only report certain Canadian income. The most common kinds are employment in Canada, a business carried on in Canada, taxable capital gains on taxable Canadian property, and the taxable part of scholarships from Canadian sources.
Certain property you owned when you arrived (shares, jewellery, paintings or a collection, for example) is treated as sold and bought back at its fair market value on the day you became a resident. That value becomes your cost when you sell later, so write it down now. Form T1135 for foreign property isn't required for the year you first became a resident, but see our post on reporting foreign property for the years after.
You generally can't deduct RRSP contributions in your first year of filing in Canada. You don't have to file until the year after you arrive. If you arrived in 2025, your 2025 return is due April 30, 2026 (June 15 if you or your spouse or partner are self-employed). See tax due dates for the rest.
Getting a SIN
You need a social insurance number to work, get benefit payments and open most bank accounts. Apply with Service Canada online, by mail or in person. If Service Canada can't issue you one, the CRA can give you a temporary tax number. If your SIN hasn't arrived and the deadline is close, file a paper return without it and attach a note explaining why. You can't file online without a SIN.
Credits for part of a year
Some federal non-refundable credits, such as CPP and EI contributions, the Canada employment amount, tuition, medical expenses, donations and the home buyers' amount, are claimed for the part of the year you were a resident. The rest, including the basic personal amount, are prorated by the days you were a resident. In the CRA's 2025 example, someone who arrived May 6 claims 240/365 of the $16,129 basic personal amount, or $10,605.37.
No credit can be more than you'd get as a full-year resident. If your Canadian income before you arrived was 90% or more of your net world income for that part of the year, you can claim the remaining credits in full, but you have to give the CRA that net world income figure.
Applying for benefits before your first return
You don't have to wait for your first return to start getting payments. Most people never have to apply, but a new resident may need to for the first year. One application covers the household.
- No children: apply for the Canada Groceries and Essentials Benefit (CGEB) with the online version of Form RC151. The CGEB is the old GST/HST credit, renamed in July 2026.
- Children under 19: if you're eligible for the Canada child benefit, mail Form RC66, Canada Child Benefit Application, with proof of birth for each child, and the CRA uses it for the CGEB too. Otherwise, mail the paper RC151 and list your children on it.
The CRA may ask for your marital status, date of entry, immigration status, and income from all sources (yours and your spouse's or partner's) for up to two years before you arrived. A temporary resident can start getting the Canada child benefit in their 19th month in Canada, if they hold a valid permit and meet the other conditions.
What to gather
- Your SIN, or your temporary tax number
- The date you became a resident
- Tax slips from Canadian employers and other payers
- Income from all sources before you arrived, for you and your spouse or partner (for benefit applications, and for the 90% test above)
- Your spouse's or partner's net world income for the year (the CRA wants it whatever their residency status)
- Fair market values of property you owned on arrival
- Receipts for tuition, medical expenses and donations
- Immigration documents and proof of birth for children, with translations for anything not in English or French
Keep your supporting documents for at least six years after you file.
How we help
We prepare personal returns and work with money or property held abroad. We're also happy to help with government forms like the ones above. Our team speaks English, Mandarin and Filipino, and most of our clients never come into the office.