How Much Does a Canadian Non-Resident Tax Return Cost?

What a Canadian non-resident return costs depends on which return it is, and some non-residents don’t need one at all. CRA’s guides list no filing fee. Published firm prices we found start at $350 for a section 216 rental return (Calgary Tax Consulting, no currency stated). Toronto Tax Consulting’s full non-resident package is “Starting at $2,500.” Our section 216 return is $700 USD; other non-resident returns are quoted in writing after the Diagnostic. See what cross-border tax help costs for every price we publish.

Which Canadian return does a non-resident file?

It follows the income. CRA’s Guide T4058 splits Canadian-source income into two methods: income that has non-resident tax withheld at source, and income that has to go on a Canadian return. Which side your income falls on decides whether you need a return, whether one is optional, and which form you use, and that decides the fee.

Your Canadian income	Return	Required or optional	Due for 2025	Our published price
Rent from Canadian property	Section 216 return (T1159)	Optional, required if you filed an approved NR6	Two years after year end; June 30, 2026 with an NR6	$700
CPP, OAS, pensions, RRSP or RRIF payments	Section 217 return	Optional	June 30, 2026	Quoted after the Diagnostic
Canadian employment or business income, or a sale of taxable Canadian property	Non-resident T1	Required in most cases	April 30, 2026 (June 15 if self-employed)	Quoted after the Diagnostic
Interest, dividends or other income with non-resident tax withheld	Usually none	Not required for that income	n/a	n/a

Sources: Guide T4058, Guide T4144, Guide T4145.

For the NR4-only case, T4058 says payers must withhold non-resident tax at 25% on income like dividends, rent and pensions (interest from an arm’s length payer is generally exempt), and that if tax was withheld you “do not have to report the income or tax withheld” on a Canadian return. In general that withholding is your final tax. A tax treaty can lower the rate; if too much came off, Form NR7-R claims the excess back, and Form NR301 is how you get the treaty rate up front.

What does it cost to file a non-resident return yourself?

No CRA fee is listed in any of the three guides, so doing it yourself costs time, postage and care. The section 216 return comes with an envelope in the paper guide for mailing to your tax centre, and T4058 tells non-residents to use the envelope provided with that guide. The work is in the rules that don’t exist on a resident return.

On a section 216 return, ITA 216(1) taxes you as though you had no deductions under sections 118 to 118.9, so the personal credits are gone. A section 217 return lets you pay tax on pensions and RRSP payments “at the same rate as Canadian residents” and get back some or all of the non-resident tax withheld, according to T4145, but the election can’t be accepted after June 30. The section 217 guide shows when the math favours filing. Selling Canadian real estate adds the section 116 certificate process on top of the return.

What do firms charge for a non-resident return?

Few firms publish one price for “a non-resident return,” because the work differs so much by income type. What we found is a mix of per-form prices and packages, so compare like with like. Three of the sources don’t name a currency, and we quote all of them as written.

• Calgary Tax Consulting: Section 216 return $350 for an individual, $450 joint; Form NR6 $150 individual, $200 joint (fee table, checked 2026-10-18).
• Serbinski Accounting: the T1159 section 216 return at $750 - 950 ($CA) (fee page, checked 2026-10-18).
• Madan CPA: in a public reply to a reader with a T4A-NR slip, the firm quoted $370 “plus disbursements and applicable taxes” for a treaty-based return (Madan tax forum, checked 2026-10-18). That’s a quote on one set of facts, and the firm doesn’t publish it as a price list.
• Toronto Tax Consulting: a “T1-NR Canadian Non-Resident Return” package for rental or investment income, with the T776 and NR4/section 216 work, “Starting at $2,500” (pricing, checked 2026-10-18).

Our section 216 return is $700, a starting point fixed in writing at the Diagnostic, and the section 216 cost guide breaks it down. A T2062 or T2062A clearance certificate for selling Canadian property is $700. A section 217 return or a non-resident T1 has no published number from us; we quote it in writing after the Diagnostic.

What makes a non-resident return cost more?

More than one kind of Canadian income. A file with only rent is one return. Add a pension and you may have a section 216 return and a section 217 return in the same year. Sell the rental and you add the section 116 certificate, the capital gain, and any recaptured capital cost allowance, which CRA says must go on that year’s section 216 return by April 30.

• A property sale. You generally file a return for the year you sold taxable Canadian property. T4058 lists narrow exceptions, but you still have to file if you’re claiming the principal residence exemption. See the section 116 certificate guide.
• Treaty positions. Wages or business income that a treaty may exempt need the facts laid out, which is the case Madan’s $370 quote covers.
• Missed years. A late section 216 or 217 election may simply be gone, and a required T1 that’s late adds penalties.
• The year you left. If the non-resident year is also your departure year, the exit forms come first; see what a departure return costs.

What does not filing cost a non-resident?

For a required return, the penalty under ITA 162(1) is 5% of the tax unpaid at the due date plus 1% for each full month late, up to 12 months, and a repeat failure after a CRA demand raises it to 10% plus 2% a month for up to 20 months. For the optional returns, the cost is the lost refund: miss the deadline and the tax withheld stays as your final tax.

The section 216 case is the sharpest. If CRA approved your NR6 and you don’t file by June 30, CRA’s guide says you’re taxed on the gross rent, and the agent gets assessed for the shortfall. For section 217, T4145 says that if the 2025 return arrives after June 30, 2026, CRA “cannot accept your section 217 election.” If you sold property, the buyer can also hold back part of the price when the clearance certificate doesn’t cover it; T4058 puts that at 25% (50% on certain property) of the price above the certificate limit.

What should I do next?

List every Canadian payment you got last year and how it was taxed. NR4 slips show the non-resident tax already withheld; T4 or T4A-NR slips usually mean a regular return. Then match each line to the table above. If the list has more than one type, have one person look at the whole year so the returns agree.

• Renting out your old home after you moved: the NR6 and section 216 walkthrough.

This guide is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Which points apply, and how, depends on your facts.