CRA considers that the comparison of the Treaty method for allocating non-resident pilot income to the domestic (s. 115(3)) method should be done on an annual basis

S. 115(3) allocates 100%, 50% or 0% of the employment income of a non-resident pilot from a flight based on whether both, one out of two, or none of the touchpoints were in Canada. CRA, of course recognizes, that a Treaty resident can instead rely on the methodology under Art. 15 of the Treaty if that produces a more favourable result. However, CRA considers that the test of which method is more favourable should be done on a year-by-year basis, i.e., “a non-resident pilot must use either subsection 115(3) of the Act or the treaty methodology to allocate income from all of the flights occurring in a particular taxation year.”

Neal Armstrong. Summary of 7 September 2016 External. T.I. 2014-0559751E5 under s. 115(3).