Year of departure: Canada
| Obligation | What it is | When |
|---|---|---|
| Final T1 return | world income to the departure date, Canadian-source after; departure date on page 1 | 30 April of the following year |
| Departure tax | deemed disposition of shares, funds, crypto and other property at fair market value (not Canadian real estate, RRSPs, RRIFs, TFSAs, pensions); half the gain in income | with the final return; deferral with security on Form T1244 |
| Form T1161 | list of property held at departure when its total value exceeds $25,000 | with the final return; penalties for omission |
| Form T1243 | the deemed dispositions themselves | with the final return |
| Notify payers | Service Canada, pension plans, banks, brokers: non-resident status and address | at departure |
| NR301 | claim of the treaty rate on pensions and dividends | to each payer, before the first payment |
Severing ties is the legal test: home sold or let, family gone, health card and licence returned, memberships closed. Half-measures make you a factual resident with a worldwide filing obligation until the treaty tie-breaker rescues you.
- 30 April Canadian final return; 1 April – 30 June Portuguese annual return
- $25,000 of property at departure triggers Form T1161
- 25 % Part XIII withholding, 15 % on periodic pensions above CAD 12 000 under the treaty
- 15 January IFICI registration deadline in Portugal for the previous year's arrivals
Every year after: Canada
- Nothing to file if your only Canadian income is pensions, OAS, CPP, dividends and interest under Part XIII withholding at the correct rate — the withholding is final.
- OASRI (Old Age Security Return of Income) if you receive OAS: it fixes the recovery tax when world income exceeds $95,323 (2026).
- Section 216 return if you let Canadian property: 25 % is withheld on gross rent unless you file NR6 in advance, and the section 216 return taxes net rent at ordinary rates instead.
- Section 217 election if your Canadian pension income is most of your world income and the graduated rates would be lower than the withholding.
- Taxable Canadian property: a sale of Canadian real estate requires a clearance certificate (T2062) and a Canadian return for the gain.
Every year: Portugal
- Registration as resident at Finanças on arrival (address change), NISS, health-centre enrolment; a NIF before all of it.
- Annual IRS return between 1 April and 30 June, online: annex A (Portuguese salary), B (business), F (rents), G (gains), J (all foreign income, with the foreign tax paid and the IBANs of foreign accounts), H (deductions). Assessment and refund or payment by 31 August.
- Foreign tax credit (art. 81.º): Canadian tax within the treaty rate is deducted from the Portuguese tax on that income.
- IFICI registration by 15 January of the year after arrival if you took a qualifying job.
- Property: IMI notices in May; AIMI in September above 600 000 € of tax value.
- Business: freelancers declare start of activity before the first invoice, file quarterly social security declarations from the thirteenth month and VAT returns if above 15 000 € of turnover.
What goes where: a retiree’s example
C$40 000 of CPP and OAS, C$30 000 of RRIF minimum, C$10 000 of Canadian dividends, resident in Portugal.
- Canada withholds 15 % on the pension payments above CAD 12 000 (NR301 filed) and 15 % on dividends; no Canadian return except the OASRI.
- Portugal: the pensions (about 47 000 €) less the 4 587 € deduction at the progressive rates, dividends at 28 %, credit for the Canadian withholding on each. For a couple filing jointly the pension slice is split in two.
- No Canadian tax on the Portuguese home, no Portuguese tax on the Canadian one unless sold.
Steps in the first year
NIF and Portuguese account
Before the move, through a tax representative; needed for the lease and the visa file.
Departure
Ties severed, date fixed after the Portuguese lease starts; payers notified with NR301.
April – June
Canadian final return (30 April) and, the following year, the first Portuguese return covering the months of residence.
Ongoing
OASRI and section 216 in Canada as applicable; the Portuguese return every spring.
We keep the Portuguese calendar — registration, annex J, credits, IMI, IFICI — and hand your Canadian preparer a reconciled statement for the final return and the NR forms. Ask for the first-year package.
Questions
Do I have to report my Portuguese bank account to Canada?
Not once you are a non-resident. Form T1135 (foreign property over C$100,000) is for Canadian residents. Portugal, in turn, asks for the IBANs of your foreign accounts in annex J.
Can I keep my TFSA and RRSP?
Yes. The RRSP keeps its Canadian tax deferral and withdrawals are taxed as above. The TFSA stays tax-free in Canada but Portugal taxes its income at 28 % as it arises, and no contributions are allowed while non-resident.
What if I never filed a final return?
The CRA can still assess the departure tax and treat you as resident in the meantime. File the late final return with the departure date and T1161; penalties for T1161 are $25 a day up to $2,500, and voluntary disclosure limits them.
Sources and official references
- Canada Revenue Agency — Leaving Canada (emigrants): who is an emigrant, departure tax, T1161 above $25,000, notifying payers — checked 18.9.2026
- Canada Revenue Agency — Non-residents of Canada: Part XIII 25 %, OASRI, section 216 for rental income — checked 18.9.2026
- Canada Revenue Agency — indexation 2026: OAS repayment threshold $95,323 — checked 18.9.2026
- Código do IRS, artigo 16.º — residence; artigo 60.º — return 1 April – 30 June; artigo 81.º — foreign tax credit — checked 18.9.2026
- Convention Portugal–Canada, art. 18 (15 % cap on periodic pensions above CAD 12 000) — checked 18.9.2026