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Canada tax residency: the 183‑day sojourner rule

Tax days · AmericasChecked Updated

Canada 183 days

Tax days
183days in a calendar year (sojourner rule)

If you have not established sufficient residential ties but sojourn in Canada for a total of 183 days or more in a calendar year, you are deemed resident in Canada for the entire year.1

A day is
The CRA treats any part of a day as a day when it counts the days you sojourned in Canada in a calendar year.2
Sojourn
To sojourn means to make a temporary stay that establishes a temporary residence, even if the stay is very short.3
Commuting
Commuting to work in Canada and returning each night to a home outside Canada is not sojourning.4
Also counts
Your dwelling place or places, your spouse or common-law partner and your dependants are the residential ties that almost always count as significant.5
At the line
A person deemed resident under paragraph 250(1)(a) is liable for tax on worldwide income throughout the year.6

Questions people ask

How many days in Canada make me a tax resident?

If you have not established sufficient residential ties but sojourn in Canada for a total of 183 days or more in a calendar year, you are deemed resident in Canada for the entire year.1

Does a partial day count?

The CRA treats any part of a day as a day when it counts the days you sojourned in Canada in a calendar year.2

Do I become resident if I commute to work in Canada?

Commuting to work in Canada and returning each night to a home outside Canada is not sojourning.4

Which ties make me a Canadian resident without 183 days?

Your dwelling place or places, your spouse or common-law partner and your dependants are the residential ties that almost always count as significant.5

What is taxed if I am deemed resident?

A person deemed resident under paragraph 250(1)(a) is liable for tax on worldwide income throughout the year.6

Sources

6 official pages, each with its exact words
  1. CRA, Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 · Canada Revenue Agency · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words who has not established sufficient residential ties with Canada to be considered factually resident in Canada, but who sojourns (that is, is temporarily present) in Canada for a total of 183 days or more in any calendar year, is deemed to be resident in Canada for the entire year
  2. CRA, Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 · Canada Revenue Agency · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words The CRA considers any part of a day to be a day for the purpose of determining the number of days that an individual has sojourned in Canada in a calendar year.
  3. CRA, Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 · Canada Revenue Agency · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words To sojourn means to make a temporary stay in the sense of establishing a temporary residence, although the stay may be of very short duration.
  4. CRA, Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 · Canada Revenue Agency · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words if an individual is commuting to Canada for his or her employment and returning each night to his or her normal place of residence outside of Canada, the individual is not sojourning in Canada
  5. CRA, Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 · Canada Revenue Agency · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words The residential ties of an individual that will almost always be significant residential ties for the purpose of determining residence status are the individual's: dwelling place (or places); spouse or common-law partner; and dependants.
  6. CRA, Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 · Canada Revenue Agency · read 26 Oct 2026
    Exact words is liable for tax on his or her worldwide income throughout the year
Checked against Canada Revenue Agency on 26 Oct 2026 Updated 26 Oct 2026

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