Words and Phrases - "place of residence"
18 February 2000 Internal T.I. 1999-0008977 F - ETABLISSEMENT DOMESTIQUE AUTONOME
The taxpayer lived in an apartment, while his parents, who lived in the apartment next door, received care from his spouse. The two residential units each had their own street number and private entrance located on a shared porch, but shared a common basement and were connected by an interior door.
The Agency found he and his parents lived in two separate self-contained domestic establishments. The fact that they were connected internally and shared a common basement did not mean that they could be considered a single domestic establishment. Consequently, he could not claim the wholly dependent person tax credit.
GST/HST Memorandum 19.2 “Residential Real Property” February 1998
Meaning of “place of residence”
15. “Place of residence” is a key concept in the definitions of “builder”, “residential complex”, “residential unit” and “short-term accommodation”. Also, as discussed in Section 19.2.3, Residential Real Property—Deemed Supplies, place of residence is a key concept in the application of the change-in-use rules under section 190 (conversion to residential use) and the self-supply rules under section 191 as GST/HST liability under these sections is triggered only if the tenant occupies the complex as a place of residence, rather than as a place of lodging.
Residence vs. lodging
Policy statement P-13016. The meaning to be attributed to a “place of residence”, as opposed to “lodging”, is based on a determination of the purpose of the stay, the amount of time of the stay, and physical presence. In considering these factors, the following principles need to be considered:
No vacation/transient purpose
(a) While an individual has only one primary place of residence, it is possible for an individual to have more than one place of residence. To be considered an individual's place of residence, the place should be used for purposes of habitation or dwelling, but would not normally include an abode of a transient nature. (For example, subject to other factors considered below, short-term hotel accommodation would not normally be considered an individual's place of residence.)
Indicators of permanency
(b) Factors which indicate that a place is a person's place of residence and not being used for transient purposes include:
- the place in question is the only residence of the individual;
- the individual who is the occupant owns or leases the premises, as opposed to occupying the premises under a licence (such as a hotel room);
- if leased, the lease entered into between the landlord and tenant is of a long-term nature;
- the place is furnished by the occupant;
- the occupant is responsible for payment of utilities;
- there has been a change of address for postal, municipal/school tax and other purposes (e.g., driver’s licence, medical insurance);
- there is a telephone listing for the occupant at the place of residence;
- the individual has taken out an insurance contract for the home and/or its contents.
…
Examples
Example 1
An individual leases a cottage in the country on a continuous basis over several years. The cottage is fully furnished by the individual, and the individual's personal belongings (such as most of his casual clothing and his sports equipment for fishing and skiing) are located in the cottage. The individual occupies the cottage only one weekend a month. The rest of the time, the cottage remains unoccupied or is occupied occasionally (for a weekend) by a friend or relative of the individual. This cottage qualifies as a place of residence of the individual since he has his personal belongings there and will use the cottage for an indefinite period of time. (It is not likely, however, that this is his “primary” place of residence.)
Example 2
An individual rents a cottage in the country for a month from a co-worker. The individual brings clothing, groceries, hiking equipment and her reference guides to birds and wildflowers. She occupies the cottage for the entire month. In this situation, the cottage is not being occupied as a place of residence of this individual as the stay is of a transient and temporary nature. Rather, it would be considered to be a place of lodging.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 123 - Subsection 123(1) - Residential Complex | 233 | |
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 123 - Subsection 123(1) - Residential Unit | 61 |
22 March 2022 GST/HST Interpretation 238955 - Whether a bunkhouse located on […][a farm] and used to provide housing to temporary foreign workers is a place of residence for GST/HST purposes and eligibility for input tax credits in respect of its construction
A farmer constructed a 600 square-feet bunkhouse (with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom) to provide accommodation to two temporary foreign workers for each annual 10-week harvest period. CRA found that self-supply rule in s. 191(3) did not apply since the bunkhouse was first occupied as a place of lodging, rather than as a “place of residence” as required by s. 191(3)(b)(i). Even though the units were places of lodging rather than places of residence, CRA nonetheless considered the bunkhouse to qualify as a residential complex and as a multiple unit residential complex.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 191 - Subsection 191(3) | s. 191(3) did not apply where a MURC was used as a place of "lodging” rather than a "place of residence" | 271 |
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 141 - Subsection 141(4) | s. 141(4) applied where commercial use of bunkhouse was “minimal” | 168 |