Payments to non-residents of Canada

You have to file an NR4 information return to report amounts paid or credited, or amounts we consider to be paid or credited, by residents of Canada to non-resident persons.

You have to do this if the total annual amount you paid or credited is $50 or more, or if you withheld tax (regardless of the amount you paid or credited).

For more information on how to complete the NR4 return, see Guide T4061, NR4 – Non-Resident Tax Withholding, Remitting and Reporting.

You have to withhold income tax of 25% (or the percentage established under a tax convention or agreement) on amounts you paid or credited to non-residents.

Complete the remittance part (Part 2) of Form NR76, Non-Resident Tax – Statement of Account, and send it with the tax to:

Alternatively, you can make the payment to your chartered bank by the 15th day following the month in which the tax was withheld.

For more information, see Information Circular IC76-12, Applicable rate of part XIII tax on amounts paid or credited to persons in countries with which Canada has a tax convention, and Information Circular IC77-16, Non-Resident Income Tax.

If, as a resident of Canada who pays or credits amounts to or for a non-resident of Canada, you do not withhold (or you withhold but do not remit) non-resident tax, you are liable for the amount of tax you should have withheld and remitted, plus a penalty of 10% of the tax. We charge interest, compounded daily at the prescribed rate, on the total of the tax, penalties, and outstanding interest.

For more information about how we determine an individual's residence for tax purposes, see Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1: Determining an Individual's Residence Status.

Forms and publications

• Guide T4061, NR4 - Non-Resident Tax Withholding, Remitting and Reporting
• Form NR4, Statement of Amounts Paid or Credited to Non-residents of Canada
• Information Circular IC76-12, Applicable rate of part XIII tax on amounts paid or credited to persons in countries with which Canada has a tax convention
• Information Circular IC77-16, Non-Resident Income Tax
• Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1: Determining an Individual's Residence Status

Date modified:

2016-01-07