Before you start

Social Insurance Number
T4 slips from employers and T5 slips for investment income
Records of foreign income and foreign property
A determination of the date you became a tax resident

Step-by-step

1
Establish the date you became a tax resident
Canadian tax residency turns on residential ties — a home, a spouse, dependants, and secondary ties like bank accounts and a driving licence — rather than a day count. Your first return covers only the part of the year after that date.
OnlineWho: You
2
File one return for federal and provincial tax together
Alberta's provincial tax is calculated on the same federal return and filed with the Canada Revenue Agency. The deadline is 30 April for most people, and 15 June if you or your spouse are self-employed, though any balance owing is still due 30 April.
OnlineWho: YouBy 30 April
3
Report foreign property above the threshold on form T1135
Residents holding specified foreign property costing more than CAD 100,000 in total must file this form annually. It captures foreign bank accounts, shares and rental property but not personal-use property. Penalties for not filing are severe and applied per year.
OnlineWho: You
4
Understand that your first year gives you no RRSP room
RRSP contribution room is based on the previous year's Canadian earned income, so a newcomer has none in year one. TFSA room starts from the year you became a resident.
OnlineWho: You
5
Budget for property tax if you buy
Alberta has no land transfer tax, unlike Ontario and British Columbia, which makes buying meaningfully cheaper to enter. Annual municipal property tax in Calgary is billed separately and can be paid monthly through the city's instalment plan.
OnlineWho: You
6
Keep records for a departure tax if you ever leave
Ceasing Canadian tax residency triggers a deemed disposition of most assets at fair market value, with tax on the accrued gain. It is far easier to plan for with records kept from the beginning.
OnlineWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Social Insurance Number
T4, T4A and T5 slips
Records of foreign income, accounts and property
Property tax records, if you own
Receipts for deductible expenses, medical costs and childcare

Things most newcomers don’t know

No provincial sales tax compounds into a larger difference than the rate table suggests.

Alberta charges only the 5% federal GST where BC adds 7% and Quebec 9.975%. That applies to almost everything you buy, every week, for as long as you live here. Combined with the lowest provincial income tax rates in Canada and no health premium, the annual difference against the same nominal salary in Vancouver or Montreal is substantial — and it is the number worth calculating before comparing job offers across provinces.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Alberta has no land transfer tax, which changes the cost of buying.

Ontario and British Columbia both levy substantial transfer taxes on property purchases, running to tens of thousands of dollars on an average home. Alberta charges only small registration fees. For anyone intending to buy rather than rent, this is a real and often overlooked part of why the province is cheaper to move into — and it is a one-time saving that does not show up in cost-of-living indices at all.

Source: Government of Alberta

Canadian tax residency is decided by ties, not by counting days.

People arrive expecting a 183-day rule and there is one, but it is a secondary test. The primary test is residential ties: where your home is, where your spouse and dependants are, then secondary ties like bank accounts, a driving licence and provincial health cover. You can become a Canadian tax resident well before 183 days, and worldwide income is taxable from that date.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

You have no RRSP contribution room in your first year, whatever you earned abroad.

RRSP room is generated by the previous year's Canadian earned income. Someone arriving in January with a substantial salary has zero room for that entire first tax year. Newcomers who plan to shelter their first Canadian income discover this at filing time. TFSA room, by contrast, starts accruing in the year you become resident, so it is usually the right first account.

Source: Canada Revenue Agency

Common mistakes to avoid

Comparing salaries between provinces without adjusting for sales tax and provincial rates.
Assuming a 183-day rule determines when you became a tax resident.
Missing the T1135 foreign property filing and incurring per-year penalties.
Planning to contribute to an RRSP in your first year, when you have no room.
Leaving Canada without accounting for the deemed disposition on departure.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.