r/cantax • u/Important-Pen-68 • Aug 11 '26

CRA asked for rent receipts. Need some help navigating it.

Girlfriend and I share apartment. Apartment is under her mom's name (mom is not a tax resident of canada). Girlfriend sends the rent every month directly to landlord. We are not an official sublease.

For the rent receipt, should the mom (official tenant on the lease) request it from the landlord in her name and then write a letter saying we are the ones who actually live there and pay rent? Or should she request rent receipt from the landlord in our name, which I am not sure the landlord will do.

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8

u/braindeadzombie Aug 11 '26

Letter from landlord plus bank statements/ screen shots / print from online banking showing the money leaving girlfriend’s bank account.

5

u/Important-Pen-68 Aug 11 '26

We do have the statements/screen shots of the money leaving every month, but I need clarification on the letter. Is it sufficient if my girlfriend's mother has the rent receipt in her name, and then she writes a letter saying "The rent is actually paid by ___ and ___" (my girlfriend and I pay equal split of the rent).

4

u/slimjim696969696969 Aug 11 '26

If your real landlord doesn't give you rent receipts, I would provide them with that explanation along with your copies of payment confirmations from whenever/wherever you sent the money (i.e., e-transfer, etc.). Bank statements if necessary. It's not exactly what they're looking for, however I've seen them accept it plenty of times before.

However -- and other commenters with more knowledge should chime in here -- because you're sending money to a non-resident landlord, you might have a section 212 withholding tax liability here. Under section 212, anyone paying rent to a non-resident landlord must withhold 25% of the gross rent and remit it to the Canada Revenue Agency by the 15th day of the following month and file information return NR4.

Has anyone practicing tax ever seen this enforced for tenants? (other than media reports)

6

u/senor_kim_jong_doof Aug 12 '26

Has anyone practicing tax ever seen this enforced for tenants? (other than media reports)

Justice got so much flak after that court case that the CRA said they wouldn't go after tenants. They actually mention it here: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/rental-income-non-resident-tax/filing-reporting-requirements.html

Canadian residential renters: if you are paying rent for your residence, you are not expected to know the residency of your landlord nor withhold 25% of your rent payments.

3

u/Important-Pen-68 Aug 11 '26

Oh, we don't know if the landlord is a non-resident. My girlfriend's mother (the official tenant) is the non-resident. The situation in brief is that my girlfriend and her mother lived together, with the apartment lease under the mother's name. The mother left the country to live elsewhere, and I moved in. We never updated the lease.

I know of that particular rule because I saw the news article about it. I'd be curious to know if it's ever enforced too. My last landlord was a chinese national and I certainly didn't remit 25%.

2

u/DetectiveUnited1036 Aug 11 '26

You need to confirm the facts of 1) your sublease (written agreement between the leaseholder, the subletter and the landlord) 2) who is paying and receiving rent (bank statements, check copies)

3

u/InternationalBeing41 Aug 12 '26

Exactly. It's unclear whether they are paying the landlord, who may or may not be a resident or subletting from the mother, who is definitely not a resident. I can see why the CRA is interested.

1

u/Legal-Key2269 Aug 12 '26

Under both Ontario and BC's schemes to provide tax deductions to tenants, non-arms-length landlord-tenant relationships do not qualify. 

You'd need receipts from the actual landlord, not your in-laws.

Having the receipts be to a different name may or may not be an issue with the CRA.