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Originally posted by TJohn

Hi all..I am hoping someone can give me some advice on this. We would like to transfer money from our NRE account in India to Canada, do we have to pay double tax on this here? this was from a sale of property. We have already paid indian taxes on this. The bank manager at TD said that there is no need to pay tax again but we want to be sure. We were thinking of bringing the money in stages and not in lump sum amounts.

I also called CRA and they said it was fine..but then again this is a call centre after all.

Is there a good international tax accountant here on the forums or someone you can recommend I talk to? Please help.

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First of all I want to clarify that I am no expert in accounting or taxation, let alone International accounting and the answers given by various posters including our in house expert, the Great FH would have helped you in this matter. However, I believe that in order to find out best solution to your situation, the accountant may ask you the questions below;

Are you sure that the money from the sale of your house is in NRE Account and NOT in NRO account? Money from NRE account can be transferred easily here as the money held in NRE accounts is freely convertible. However, the money held in NRO account is NOT freely convertible and you may need RBI permission for the same depending on your situation which will be determined based on your status by answering questions below:

a. Were you a Resident of Canada when you bought the property?
b. If yes, then did you pay for the cost by transferring money to your NRE account from money earned in Canada or anywhere in the world outside India as a Non Resident?
c. If yes, then did you held the property in only your name or jointly with any resident of India?
d. What?s the value of the property in Canadian Dollars? If more than $100,000 has it been declared in your Canadian Tax Return each year?
e. Was it rented during the time you did not occupy it? If yes, did you report the rental income (loss) in your Canadian Tax Return?

If the property was bought by you before becoming a Canadian Resident for Tax Purposes, then it was supposed to be sold and bought at the fair market value on the same day you became a Canadian Resident (read Canadian PR) for tax purposes. That value would be considered as your buying price of the property and any appreciation you got minus all the expenses would be considered Capital Gains, if any for you to be reported in your Canadian Tax Return. Of course, you would get some credit for the taxes already paid in India on the gains made. However, the depreciating value of Indian Rupee vs Canadian Dollar may also play a part in the whole calculations which only an expert account would do for you. Also, in this case, it may not be possible to transfer money to Canada without RBI permission.

Hope I have not confused you with all these questions.

Good Luck.