How does my client get a certificate of residency from the CRA, and what goes in the request?
Your client gets a certificate of Canadian residency by asking the CRA in writing: through Submit Documents in their CRA account or Represent a Client, by mail or fax to the Sudbury Tax Centre, or by phone (standard letter only). Include the SIN or business number, the foreign country and the tax years. Requests for 2027 open October 15, 2026.
What does each type of client put in the request?
The certificate confirms that your client is a resident of Canada for income tax purposes. Your client needs it when a foreign payer or tax authority wants proof before it reduces, eliminates or refunds tax deducted at source on foreign income. Individuals, corporations, trusts, nonprofits, charities and Canadian government bodies can all ask for one canada.ca.
| Requester | What the request must include |
|---|---|
| Individual | Full name, address, SIN, the country or treaty (with the treaty provisions if they matter), and the tax years |
| Corporation (including registered charities, Crown corporations, nonprofits, pension corporations) | Legal name (with proof of any recent name change), mailing address, business number, the country or treaty (with the articles if they matter), and the tax years |
| Trust | Trust name, the address of the trustee, executor, administrator or custodian, the trust account number, the country or treaty, and the tax years; a business trust adds its business number and pension plan number; a trust exempt under 149(1)(o.4) also sends its election year, a master trust attestation and a beneficiary list |
| Partners of a partnership | No certificate for the partnership itself; each partner asks, or a representative asks once for all partners if every partner is a Canadian resident (see below) |
| Tax exempt status wanted on the letter | Ask for it expressly, list the tax years, cite the legal provision that grants the exemption, and give the CRA registration number of any plan |
Two steps before you send it. Make sure your client's returns are filed and up to date, because the CRA asks for that first. And confirm with the foreign tax authority which format it accepts: not every country takes the CRA's standard letter canada.ca.
How and when do you send the request?
The CRA takes requests through four channels canada.ca.
| Channel | Details | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Online | Submit Documents in My Account, My Business Account or Represent a Client; under Topics, pick "Contact Centre Correspondence" or "Contact Centre and International Correspondence" | Most requests |
| Contact Center Correspondence Program, Sudbury Tax Centre, PO Box 20000 Station A, Sudbury ON P3A 5C1 | Foreign forms when the foreign government wants the original | |
| Fax | 418-562-3368 or 1-833-697-2401 | Written requests without originals |
| Phone | 1-800-959-8281 for individuals and trusts, 1-800-959-5525 for corporations and organizations | Standard letters only |
Timing is the trap. A request can go in at any time, but a request for a future year shouldn't be sent before October 15 of the current year, and the CRA only processes it on or after the first day of that tax year canada.ca. So a letter for 2027 can be requested from October 15, 2026, and won't be worked until 2027 begins. As of October 2026 the CRA's page gives no processing time, so start early when a foreign payer has a deadline.
Filing for several clients or entities at once? Keep the requests separate by account type (SIN, trust account, business number), put the tax year and country on every one, avoid bundling large batches, and add a cover sheet listing them when there are many canada.ca.
How much foreign tax does the certificate save your client?
When a foreign payer withholds more than the treaty allows, the excess isn't foreign tax paid for the foreign tax credit. The credit stops at the treaty rate, and the CRA says your client should seek a refund of the excess from the foreign revenue authority (Folio S5-F2-C1, paragraph 1.35) canada.ca. Tax that is or will be refunded also doesn't count as paid (paragraph 1.33). A certificate on file with the payer before the payment is how your client avoids that refund chase.
Worked example. Your client, an Ontario resident, receives a $10,000 (Canadian dollar) dividend from a company in Country X. Assume Country X withholds 25% under its own law and its treaty with Canada caps dividend withholding at 15%.
| Step | No certificate given to the payer | Certificate given before payment |
|---|---|---|
| Tax withheld at source | $10,000 × 25% = $2,500 | $10,000 × 15% = $1,500 |
| Foreign tax that can be credited (treaty cap) | $1,500 | $1,500 |
| Excess to reclaim from Country X | $2,500 minus $1,500 = $1,000 | $0 |
| Cash your client holds after payment | $7,500 | $8,500 |
Without the certificate, $1,000 sits with Country X until its refund process pays it back, and Canada gives no credit for it in the meantime. The $1,500 still goes through the usual country by country limit on Form T2209; that math is on foreign tax credit Canada. Each treaty's rates are in the treaty text, listed on Finance Canada's page of treaties in force canada.ca, and the US rates are on Canada US tax treaty withholding.
Which clients will the CRA refuse?
Partnerships. A partnership isn't liable to tax itself, so the CRA won't certify it. Each partner can ask. If every partner is a Canadian resident, a representative can ask for one certificate covering all of them, with each partner's details, the partnership agreement (or confirmation there isn't one), signed consent on Form AUT-01 or a letter of consent, the partnership's business number, the country and the tax years canada.ca. A letter of consent must reach the CRA within six months of the date it was signed.
Fiscally transparent entities. The CRA issues a certificate only if it is satisfied the taxpayer is resident because it is liable to tax in Canada, judged on that taxpayer alone, not on whether someone else is taxed on its income canada.ca. A client holding foreign income through a US LLC should read US LLC owned by a Canadian resident first.
Treaty nonresidents. A person resident here under domestic law but placed in the other country by a treaty tie breaker is deemed not resident in Canada under s.250(5) laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. The CRA says that person, including one made nonresident by a competent authority agreement, shouldn't ask for a certificate. For corporations and other non individuals, the BEPS Multilateral Instrument may change the tie breaker, and the CRA points those taxpayers to its Competent Authority Services Division
canada.ca.
For corporations, the starting point is s.250(4)(a): a corporation incorporated in Canada after April 26, 1965 is deemed resident here laws-lois.justice.gc.ca. Otherwise the CRA looks to central management and control, which usually sits where the board meets
canada.ca. For individuals, the ties and the 183 day rule are on Canadian tax residency.
What if the foreign country wants its own form or an apostille?
The CRA will certify a foreign form only if it is an official form issued by the foreign tax authority, and it may refuse one with no English or French version unless the issuing authority supplies a translation. Complete the relevant sections, leave the foreign tax administration's certification section blank, and mail the form if the foreign government wants the original. The CRA won't certify that your client is the beneficial owner of a particular payment canada.ca.
The CRA can't authenticate documents or provide apostilles. Where a country wants more, the certificate is notarized by a Canadian notary at your client's cost and then authenticated by Global Affairs Canada canada.ca. The Apostille Convention has applied in Canada since January 11, 2024, replacing legalization for member countries
canada.ca. Global Affairs Canada's authentication service is free, and its apostilles don't expire
international.canada.ca.
Sources
Can I request the certificate for my client as their accountant?
Yes, with your client's authorization. Online, you use Submit Documents in Represent a Client. A limited power of attorney also works if it is final, complete, fully dated, signed by your client in front of a witness who signs the same day, and comes with a notarized translation when it was made in another country canada.ca.
How long does the CRA take to issue a certificate of residency?
The CRA doesn't publish a processing time on its certificate page as of October 2026. A request for next year also waits until that tax year starts, so a 2027 letter requested on October 15, 2026 is processed from January 2027 canada.ca.
Can the letter also confirm my client is tax exempt?
Yes, for some clients. The CRA generally limits it to registered charities, registered pension plans, Canadian federal, provincial and municipal governments, and others whose exempt status is readily determinable. You must ask for it, list the years, cite the provision that grants the exemption and give any plan registration number canada.ca.
Does the certificate prove my client beneficially owns the income?
No. The certificate confirms residency only, and the CRA won't certify beneficial ownership of a payment, even on a foreign form canada.ca. The foreign payer or tax authority decides that question under its own rules and the treaty.
General information for the tax year shown, not advice for a specific client. Confirm the facts before you file or remit.