How Much Does a Section 216 Rental Return Cost?
A section 216 return costs nothing to file on your own, since CRA’s guide lists no fee and the return goes in by mail. Published prices for having a firm prepare one run from $350 for an individual at a Calgary firm (no currency stated) to $750 - 950 ($CA) at a Toronto firm, and ours is $700 USD. Skip it and the 25% withheld from your gross rent is simply your tax. For every cross-border price we publish, see what cross-border tax help costs.
If you’re a non-resident with Canadian rental property, 25% of the gross rent gets withheld. A section 216 return lets you pay tax on the net instead, and CRA refunds the difference. On a rental with real expenses, that refund can be bigger than a preparer’s fee. Miss the deadline and the election is gone for that year.
What does a section 216 return cost to file yourself?
Nothing in fees. CRA’s Guide T4144 lists no filing charge, and the return is Form T1159, which you mail to your tax centre using the envelope in the paper guide. Your costs are time, a T776 rental statement, and getting the NR4 slips from your agent or property manager, which you attach to claim the tax already withheld.
The basic deal, from CRA’s Guide T4144: the payer or property manager “must withhold non-resident tax of 25% on the gross rental income.” Electing under section 216 lets you pay tax on your net Canadian rental income instead, and if more was withheld than the return shows, CRA refunds the difference. If you have more than one Canadian rental, all of them go on one section 216 return.
Two details make the do-it-yourself version harder than a resident’s T1. Under ITA 216(1), you’re taxed as though you had no deductions under sections 118 to 118.9, so there’s no basic personal amount on this return. And a rental loss stays on the section 216 return: you can’t carry it to another year or use it on any other Canadian return. If the NR6 and the withholding mechanics are new to you, read how renting your Canadian home after a move works first.
When is a section 216 return due?
It depends on whether you filed Form NR6. Without an NR6, CRA says you generally have two years from the end of the year the rent was paid. With an approved NR6 for 2025, the 2025 return is due June 30, 2026. If you sold the property and have recaptured capital cost allowance, the return is due April 30, 2026 either way.
- NR6 timing. CRA says to send Form NR6 on or before January 1 of each year, or before the first rental payment is due. Until CRA approves it in writing, your agent keeps withholding 25% of the gross. After approval, the agent withholds 25% of the net rent.
- A balance owing for 2025 is due April 30, 2026, and CRA charges interest from the next day.
- A net loss still has to be reported by the due date.
What do firms charge to prepare a section 216 return?
A few firms publish a fee. Calgary Tax Consulting and Serbinski price the same work, one person’s section 216 return for a year; Toronto Tax Consulting’s figure is a wider package. The lowest we found is $350 for an individual at Calgary Tax Consulting. Serbinski Accounting lists the T1159 at $750 - 950 in Canadian dollars. Two of these pages don’t name a currency, so the table quotes them exactly as written.
| Firm | What the price covers | Published price | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Tax Consulting | Section 216 return | $350 individual, $450 joint (no currency stated) | 2026-10-18 |
| Calgary Tax Consulting | Form NR6 | $150 individual, $200 joint | 2026-10-18 |
| Serbinski Accounting | ”T1159 - Sec. 216 election Nonresident Real Estate Rental tax return” | $750 - 950 ($CA) | 2026-10-18 |
| Toronto Tax Consulting | T1-NR package covering rental income, T776, NR4 and section 216 | ”Starting at $2,500” (no currency stated) | 2026-10-18 |
| Blue Cloud CPA | Section 216 rental return | $700 USD | 2026-10-18 |
Our $700 is a starting point, fixed in writing at the Diagnostic. Selling the property is separate work: a T2062 or T2062A clearance certificate is $700. The section 116 certificate guide explains when you need one.
What pushes the price of a section 216 return up?
The number of properties and owners, and how much history is missing. One rental with a tidy expense list is the base case. Each extra property adds a T776 schedule and its own capital cost allowance record, and spouses who own a rental together each have their own election, because ITA 216(1) gives the choice to “that person.”
- Capital cost allowance and recapture. Claiming CCA lowers tax now, but when the property is sold, CRA says any recapture goes on that year’s section 216 return, due April 30.
- The NR4 reconciliation. The tax you claim back has to match box 17 of the NR4 slips. If an agent withheld on the wrong base or didn’t remit, CRA can assess the agent or you.
- Missed years. Each year still inside its two-year window can be filed. A year past it generally can’t be recovered under section 216, which changes the job from a return to a cleanup.
- A short-term rental that breaks local rules. CRA’s guide says you can’t deduct expenses for a non-compliant short-term rental, which makes the net figure close to the gross.
The rates in that example come from CRA’s 2025 federal rate table and the 48% surtax in ITA 120(1), which Guide T4144 tells you to add on this return. For 2026, CRA’s table puts the first-bracket federal rate at 14%.
What does it cost to skip the section 216 return?
Without an NR6, skipping it costs you the refund. CRA’s guide T4058 says that in general the non-resident tax withheld is your final tax obligation to Canada on that income, so the 25% of gross rent stays with CRA. On a rental with real expenses, that can be several times what the return would have cost.
With an approved NR6, skipping it is worse. CRA says that if you don’t file by the due date, your election is invalid and you’re taxed on the gross rent. In CRA’s own example, a late return on $20,000 of rent with $5,000 net leaves the agent owing an extra $3,750 plus interest, the difference between 25% of the gross and the 25% of net already withheld. If you’ve also got a pension or RRSP paying out, the section 217 election is a separate return with its own June 30 deadline.
What should I do next?
Pull your NR4 slips for each year and check two things: whether tax was withheld on the gross or the net, and whether each year is still inside its window. Then decide if you want an NR6 for next year, since it has to reach CRA before January 1 or before the first rent payment. If you also earn other Canadian income, start with what a non-resident Canadian return costs.
- Renting in the other direction? US rental income for Canadians covers the 30% versus net-election choice on the US side.
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Yarik Yarosh, CPA. "How Much Does a Section 216 Rental Return Cost?." Blue Cloud CPA, October 19, 2026. https://bluecloudcpa.com/guides/section-216-rental-return-cost
This guide is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Which points apply, and how, depends on your facts.