If your Canadian property is already rented and you have become—or expect to become—a non-resident of Canada for tax purposes, do not wait for year-end to look at NR6. Start reviewing the situation now.

The short answer

The important dates are not simply when the lease began or when you moved. You need to look at when your Canadian tax residency changed, when rent was paid while you were a non-resident, and whether non-resident tax was withheld and remitted.

Residency is fact-specific and depends on your residential ties. A physical move does not, by itself, answer every Canadian tax-residency question. If that date is unclear, get qualified cross-border tax advice before relying on an NR6 timeline.

What normally happens before an NR6 is approved?

CRA says that when rental income from Canadian real property is paid or credited to a non-resident, the payer or agent generally withholds 25% of the gross rental income. The amount withheld is generally remitted by the 15th day of the following month.

Form NR6 creates a different withholding route. You and a resident Canadian agent complete the form and send it to CRA for approval. After written approval, the agent can withhold 25% based on estimated net rental income instead of gross rent.

Submitting NR6 is not the same as approval

CRA says the agent must continue withholding on gross rental income until CRA approves Form NR6 in writing. Do not switch to net-income withholding simply because the form has been prepared or submitted.

What if you missed the ideal NR6 timing?

CRA says Form NR6 should be sent on or before January 1 of the year or before the first rental payment is due. But CRA also says it accepts Form NR6 throughout the year.

For a form received during the year, CRA states that the effective date for withholding on the net amount can be the first day of the month in which CRA receives the form. At the same time, the agent must continue gross-income withholding until written approval arrives.

That is why a late NR6 is not well described as simply “too late” or “retroactive.” The actual treatment depends on when CRA received the form, when approval arrived, and what was withheld and remitted in the meantime. Keep the payment and remittance history rather than trying to correct earlier months by guesswork.

If the property is already rented, use this three-scenario check

You have not yet become a non-resident

Use the time before the change to organize the file:

Confirm the expected residency-change date with professional help if it is unclear.
Identify a resident Canadian agent willing to take on the NR6 responsibilities.
Collect the lease, expected rent, and support for estimated rental expenses.
Map the first rent payment expected after you become a non-resident.

You are already a non-resident, but the next rent payment has not been made

Act now. Prepare the NR6 with your resident Canadian agent, but keep gross-income withholding in place until CRA gives written approval.

You are already a non-resident and rent has already been paid

First work out what actually happened:

Who collected or paid the rent?
Was non-resident tax withheld?
Was it remitted to CRA by the applicable monthly deadline?
Is there already a Canadian non-resident tax account?
Has an NR6 been submitted or approved for the year?

If tax should have been withheld or remitted and was not, treat that as a compliance question that deserves prompt professional review. Filing an NR6 should not be presented as automatically fixing earlier missed withholding or remittances.

Map the normal NR6 calendar

Use our free deadline generator to see the normal annual sequence for NR6, monthly remittances, NR4 reporting and the Section 216 return. If you are already receiving rent, compare this calendar with what has actually happened and use the checklist above to identify gaps.

Free tool

NR6 Deadline Generator

Map the normal NR6, remittance, NR4 and Section 216 calendar. This is a planning aid, not a determination of what happened in earlier months.

Tax year

Your situation

Month of first rental payment

If you are already receiving rent, this calendar does not reconstruct missed withholding or remittances. Compare it with your actual payment history and get professional review where needed.

Open the full deadline tool

What changes after CRA approves NR6?

After written approval, the resident Canadian agent can withhold non-resident tax based on estimated net rental income. Monthly remittances still continue; the approval changes the basis of withholding, not the reporting cycle.

The agent also handles the applicable NR4 reporting. If CRA approves Form NR6, you must file a Section 216 return for that year. For an individual with an approved NR6, CRA generally requires that return by June 30 of the following year—even if no tax is payable or no refund is expected.

What to have ready before asking for help

You do not need a perfect file. These details make the first review much more useful:

The date you left—or expect to leave—Canada.
The province and type of Canadian rental property.
The date of the first rent payment after your move.
Who currently collects the rent and whether that person or firm is resident in Canada.
The amounts withheld and remitted to CRA so far, if any.

If the property has more than one owner, include each owner's percentage and residency situation. Do not send sensitive identity documents in an initial message.

Already collecting rent and unsure what happened?

Send us the five details above. We can confirm whether the question fits NR6-related support and where qualified professional review is needed.

Send an inquiry

CRA sources used for this update

This article provides general information, not tax or legal advice. Residency, withholding, deductions, filing deadlines and the treatment of earlier payments depend on the facts of each case. CRA guidance reviewed September 21, 2026.

My Canadian Property Is Already Rented. When Should I Start the NR6 Process?