I would like to retire to Belize but my country ( Canada ) doesn't have a tax treaty with Belize. Will I have to pay tax on my pension from Canada in Belize?


Thanks....Peter

My guess would be no, since it is not "earned" income resulting from being employed in Belize.

If you are not a resident of Canada you do not have to pay Canadian income tax. You need to clear out of Canada to qualify. Make sure you talk to revenue Canada.
Now the fun can start... Belize does not tax income earned in foreign countries. Set up a Panamanian company, do your investing through that. There are no taxes in Panama, Belize, or Canada. And it is legal.. Please let me know how it goes

And you can list this message board as your tax advisor...

Well the first part is true. What sources of income will you have? RRSPs/rental income on Canadian property? They may be hard to handle. You will want to get a real tax lawyer.

I will have a good company pension along with my Canada pension, my wife will have the same.

My father lives in a country that doesn't have a tax treaty (or whatever) with Canada and his government CPP cheques have an automatic 25% tax deduction. That said, there may be some recovery from annual filing. Sorry for not having more clear info in this regard. We are still in the process of trying to clean up this matter because a number of years ago, he was advised that as a non-resident, it was not required that he file Cdn taxes. So he didn't which resulted in an OAS clawback and no further OAS payments. Now, in order to get the OAS payments reinstated, we are filing all his back tax returns and have yet to find what the ultimate result will be. We've also been advised by employees of Rev Canada (once) that he will recover all of the past payments, and then another advice that he will only recover the 11 months previous to final RevCan acceptance of up to date filings. The only reason I'm telling this somewhat personal info is to mark my agreement that you really need to get correct tax advice . . . which may not come from RevCan. Can't stress strongly enough, that you should seek expert advice from a tax specialist CA.

Yes the government website is quite clear that you will lose your OAS if you leave the country. We are okay with the fact that we will still have to file a Canadian tax return every year and pay Canadian taxes,we are just trying to avoid being double taxed.

I don't think Belize taxes you on your foreign earnings. You are considering the QRP program? Look into the effect of loosing OHIP if you give up CDN residency (I would like to know the cost of replacement medical). I think which is best depends on the size of the company pension. You could just Snowbird, and visit as a tourist.

Be careful. I have several Canadian friends that have Belize residency and they have lost any access to Canadian medical or retirement benifits. Unless they return for a long period of time. You can live here for several years doing monthly visas. And keep your Canadian status..