On this page…

• Let our symbols be your guide…
• You don't need to read the whole guide!
• Just follow the symbol that applies to you…
• At your service
• What if you need help?
• Internet services
• My Account
  • Register for My Account
• Getting personal tax information
• Representatives
• T.I.P.S.
• Contacting us
• Publications

Let our symbols be your guide…

This guide gives information on the income you need to report, and the deductions and credits you are entitled to claim, on your 2005 return. It will help you determine your tax payable and any refund you are entitled to.

You don't need to read the whole guide!

Beginning with “Line 101 – Employment income,” we will lead you directly to the information that may apply to you by using a symbol. Before you start, it is important that you:

• read the information starting from "At your service" to "Tax shelters";
• determine whether, in 2005, you were a deemed resident of Canada, a non-resident of Canada, or a non-resident of Canada electing under section 217 of the Income Tax Act (see definitions under Determining your residency status);
• locate the symbol (see below) that applies to your situation; and
• as you complete your return and you come to a line that applies to you, look up the corresponding line number in this guide. If your symbol appears beside the line number, the information for that line may apply to you. If your symbol does not appear, then the information does not apply to you.

Just follow the symbol that applies to you…

⬤ = deemed residents of Canada

▮ = non-residents of Canada

▲ = non-residents of Canada electing under section 217 of the Income Tax Act

Note
This guide applies to you only if your situation is listed under the heading “Is this tax and benefit package for you?”

At your service

What if you need help?

In this guide, we use plain language to explain the most common tax situations. If you need more help after reading this guide, you can contact us (see Contacting us) or use our other services.

Internet services

Visit our Web site at www.cra.gc.ca . General information, forms, and publications are accessible by topic and by client group. Below is a list of the most popular sites:

My Account

My Account (see above) is a secure online service that gives you the convenience and flexibility of viewing and managing your personalized information, such as:

• your identification;
• refund and/or balance owing;
• instalment account;
• Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP);
• Home Buyers' Plan (HBP);
• Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP);
• Canada Child Tax Benefit (CCTB); and
• GST/HST credit and related provincial and territorial programs.

My Account also offers you different services such as:

• filing an objection online; and
• changing your address.

Register for My Account

To use the services under My Account, you have to register for a Government of Canada epass that will give you a User ID and password. We will mail you a CRA Activation Code, which will take approximately five business days to receive (15 days if outside Canada and the United States). For more information, refer to My Account on our Web site.

Getting personal tax information

The personal information that you provide on your income tax forms is collected under the authority of the federal, provincial, and territorial income tax acts and will be used to administer and enforce these acts and their regulations. For more information, refer to Personal Information Bank Number CRA/P-PU-005 at http://infosource.gc.ca or in the Infosource book, or Contacting us.

Your personal information is confidential. However, you can authorize someone (such as your spouse or common-law partner) to represent you to discuss your file. See "Representatives" below. In certain cases, we give some of your information to other government bodies to administer the law. In all cases, we follow strict procedures before giving your information to anyone.

If you call us and ask for personal tax information, we will ask you to identify yourself and give information about the contents of your return to protect this information. If you call before May 1, use your return for 2004. After April 30, use your return for 2005.

Representatives

You can authorize a representative (such as your spouse or common law partner, tax preparer, or accountant) to get information on your tax matters. However, we will give information to your representative only after we are satisfied that you have authorized us in writing to do so. Your authorization will stay in effect until it is cancelled by you, it reaches the expiry date you choose, or on notification of your death.

Authorizations received between mid-March and mid-July will be processed within four weeks, and any authorizations received between mid-July and mid-March will be processed within one week.

Note
Authorizing a new representative does not cancel your existing authorizations. You can now cancel any authorization by telephone.

If your representative calls us and asks for your personal tax information, we will give this information only if we have received a completed Form T1013 , Authorizing or Cancelling a Representative, or a letter signed by you that contains the same information. After we confirm that we have your written permission, we also will ask your representative for information about the contents of your return. A representative who calls before May 1 should use your return for 2004. A representative who calls after April 30 should use your return for 2005.

If you were the legal representative of a deceased person, get guide T4011, Preparing Returns for Deceased Persons, to know what documents are required.

T.I.P.S.

For personal and general tax information by telephone, you can use T.I.P.S. (see T.I.P.S. (Tax Information Phone Service)). T.I.P.S. is available for callers within Canada and the United States.

Contacting us

The address, telephone numbers, and fax number of the International Tax Services Office are listed on the back cover of this guide and on our Web site at www.cra.gc.ca/tso .

Our goal is to respond to your call within two minutes in the official language of your choice. However, you may have difficulty reaching us during peak periods.

By phone - You can call us at the International Tax Services Office Monday to Friday (except holidays) from 8:15 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) year-round. However, from mid-February to the end of April, these hours are extended to 9:00p.m., Monday to Thursday.

By fax - You can send us correspondence by fax. However, because of the nature of fax services, we are not responsible for misdirected, incomplete, or illegible documents.

Publications

Throughout this guide, we mention forms, pamphlets, interpretation bulletins, information circulars, and other guides that give more details on specific tax topics.

You can get most of our publications by visiting Forms and publications or by calling 1-800-959-2221 (from Canada or the U.S.) from 8:15a.m. to 5:00p.m. (Eastern time). If you are outside Canada and the U.S., call the International Tax Services Office.

You can also get the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide for Non-Residents and Deemed Residents of Canada from most Canadian embassies, high commissions, or consulates.

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