December 11, 2008

Do I Need a T4 to Sponsor?

Q: I and my wife have been working part-time jobs and we have a child. Our combined income is approximately $ 40, 000 / year. The companies pay us cheques without deducting taxes or other levies. At the end of the year, we do not receive T4s from any of these companies. We both declare our income and file income tax returns. My question is whether we can sponsor my father without having a T4 slip at the year end.

A: For parental sponsorships you have to prove your income for the past 12 months. It does not matter that you work part-time or full time. For the purpose of alleviating the burden of having to prove the required income, Immigration allows people with lower incomes to have their spouse act as a co-signer on the Undertaking to Sponsor form. That means that both incomes can be considered towards the amount required by law. This amount changes each year reflecting the cost of living and must be at a certain level according to the number of family members of both the sponsor and co-signer plus the sponsored family members.

The Financial Evaluation form has sections for various scenarios: either you have your own business and work as self-employed or, you work as an employee and receive a T4 slip at the year-end. It seems that in your case, the companies you work for consider you self-employed, not deducting any taxes, thus allowing you to declare your income, deduct expenses and pay the taxes at the year-end. Self employed persons are recognized by Immigration Canada but as always it is a question of proof.

Immigration will want to see your Option C printout that can be obtained by you from the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), simply by calling them on the telephone and providing both your SIN numbers. The Option Cs will be mailed to you within a few days.

At the same time, one can also prove income by presenting copies of the cheques received during the last 12 months and also letters with computer printouts from the companies you work for, for the payments made to you for the same period of time. What is important is proof of income filed with Revenue Canada and, not T4 slips.

You have to be aware that you must meet the income requirement when you file your sponsorship application as well as during the processing of the case and until the visas are issued to the sponsored persons.