Income Tax for International Students

Income Tax

International students are permitted and encouraged to complete a federal (Canada) and provincial (Quebec) income tax return. Employment income, scholarships, bursaries, and fellowships are normally subject to income tax. Provincial and federal income taxes are deducted from your salary on every pay cheque.

Income tax may be refunded depending on your annual income and expenses. Every year, you will be required to file an income tax return by April 30. Canada Revenue Agency also provides educational videos about income tax designed for international students in English and French.

Click the following links for further information regarding federal and provincial taxes:

• Government of Canada Taxes
• Revenu Québec

Need help preparing your taxes? Check out Community Volunteer Income Tax Program (CVITP)

The CVITP is a collaboration between the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and community organizations. The organizations host tax preparation clinics and arrange for volunteers to prepare income tax and benefit returns for eligible individuals who have a modest income and a simple tax situation.  Find out more about CVITP. 

Sample Income Tax Return Handouts

International students, who are planning to file taxes are welcome to check out documents from the Canadian Tax Information Session given by Tara Ramsaran, MBA, CA, CPA who specializes in taxation, including individual, corporate, estate and sales taxes:

(1) Tax Information Session presentation prepared by Prof. Tara Ramsaran

(2) mock-up income tax returns: federal and provincial (NOTE: these mock-ups are slightly different compared to ones given out at the session)

(3) Application for a Canada Revenue Agency Individual Tax Number (Itn) For Non-Residents  (use only if applicable)

Here are links to the forms used in the mock-up income tax returns which are searchable online:

• 1. Federal:
• 1.1. T1 Income tax package
• 1.2. Schedule 11-Tuition and Education
• 1.3. Statement of World Income, Schedule A (Federal)
• 2. Provincial (Quebec):
• 2.1. Income tax guide and package
• 2.2. Schedule D

Please note that depending on your situation, you may need additional forms to include on your tax return (for example, Schedule 4, Statement of Investment Income and so on), however, all the forms are accessible through the Governement of Canada's Taxes page and  Revenu Québec website or could be picked up at the local post office. Lastly, for those who would like to listen to the webinar recording of the session, please use the following link.

Forms T2202A and Relevé 8 can be be found online. You can also view tax receipts from the Student Hub's My CU Account page.

Forms T4 (statement of remuneration income) and Relevé 1 (provincial equivalent) are issued by your employer for the income you earned and are generally mailed to you by the end of February for the previous taxation year.