Hi Gertrude,
Do you have a driver’s license? A health card? Whatever province those are enrolled in is your province of residence for tax purposes.
Hope this helps!

Thanks for sharing all this information!

I am riding my bike around the country (Canada), and am essentially homeless, so no address to speak of. Do I need to file for a specific province? How does that work?

Thank you!

Hi Siena and Nora,

I am basically on the same situation. I work remotely in Canada for a company in the US as a salaried employee. I pay Canadian taxes now but I am planning in leaving Canada permanently in September and go to Thailand and marry a Thai girl. My accountant told me I have to advise CRA when I leave Canada that I will be an Emigrant. And my resident status will change to Non-Resident for taxes purposes as my main ties will be in Thailand. I will keep my bank account and will receive salary still in my main debit card in Canada.

So I assume my company will not be deducting taxes anymore from my income and once I am in Thailand I will have to file tax return there? I’m not sure how that will work. Does anyone have any insight?

I also believe that Thailand and Canada have a tax treaty agreement.

Let me know if you have any information,

Thank you,

Felipe

Hi Andrea,
It’s a huge grey area. Prior to the pandemic, there was no proper visa for self-employed remote workers. Business visas were for people intending to do business at the destination (which remote workers don’t generally do – they work for foreign employers), but tourist visas were often pretty explicit about not being for work.
Thus, self-employed remote workers simply traveled on tourist visas for lack of any other option.
That’s what I did and I don’t feel bad about it at all; I earned money from foreign sources and I spent it locally. What country wouldn’t want me to be there?!

Now that millions upon millions of people’s jobs have been made remote and dozens of countries want to entice these people to come and stay for a while, special visas for remote workers have been invented.
This is probably why you’re seeing conflicting information, and to be honest it’s still a moving target.

To get the most accurate and up to date info, check the local country’s immigration website (in your case the UK site). https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-visas-and-immigration

Hope this helps.

I am Canadian and set-employed; however, most of my income is earned through one client. I have a contract to work so many days a month with them but am not considered an employee. I would like to work remotely from the UK for about 3 months. Would I require a visa to continue my self-employment while residing in the UK. I have found so much conflicting information regarding this.
Thanks for any info you can provide,
Andrea

Hi Ivan,
Great questions! I think at least some of your questions will be answered in this more recent article about working remotely from a tax perspective: https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/tax-consequences-of-remote-work-visas/

But in short, you don’t need to file taxes in the country where the online portals/employers are based if you aren’t resident/citizen there.

For the countries you are physically present in, whether or not you have to file there depends on the visa you have, but in most cases you will not need to file taxes in that country. (If you have a tourist visa you will never be required to file taxes in that country; the only grey areas are if you have business/remote work visas, and even then, in most cases you needn’t file).

Simply keep filing a U.S. tax return, and claim your worldwide income on it.

Hi Siena,
Glad I could help. No, I’m not traveling during the pandemic; I have a home base in Toronto, where I’ve been since March.
You can reach out to the email address on my contact page: https://www.theprofessionalhobo.com/contact/

Thank you! Happy holidays to you!
You are very thoughtful and appreciate so much your answer!
I have a French passport, so I don’t need a visa for most countries in Europe
I will indeed keep my bank accounts in Canada and maybe the answer is like you said filing in both countries but only pay in Canada
Are you still traveling during the pandemic? Do you have a list of your favorite places to work remotely from?
If there is an alternative way to contact you, let me know so I don’t disrupt the comment section flow
Thank you

Hi Siena,
Great question, and one that will become more and more prevalent as the pandemic has necessitated salaried employees to work remotely, and it’s a trend that’s not likely to reverse.

First of all, my advice is not official. I recommend you consult with an accountant who is familiar with international tax law and burgeoning remote work legislation.
However I can tell you what I did as a Canadian who traveled abroad, and I believe it may apply to you as well.

As long as you are not cutting ties to Canada (as in, you maintain bank accounts here, etc), then you are a “factual resident” of Canada even if you’re not present the whole time. This means you need to file a Canadian tax return (reporting your worldwide income) and pay tax accordingly.

If you stay for 6 months in a European country, I don’t believe that makes you a resident of that country. But this also depends on the type of visa that you have. More and more countries are offering visas specific to remote workers; I’m sure the terms of their visas will stipulate what needs to happen and how you would be taxed (if at all).

Even if you are considered a resident, Canada has tax treaties with many countries to ensure you are not double-taxed. You may need to file a return in both countries, but you won’t be taxed twice.

For myself, I never stayed in one place long enough to be considered a resident. And this is something you could do as well.