tax question

[missabear 0]

hey,

so the lady who usually does my taxes in canada refuses to do them this year because she thinks that it was illegal for me to collect unemployment from canada while living in the states (keeping in mind that i was legal to work in the states). i kept telling her it was completely legal and that i even talked on the phone with the guy dealing with my claim from service canada.

anyway, so now i have no one to do my taxes and i'm lost, i've never done them myself so i don't know what i'm doing. i don't have any income from the U.S in 2010 so thats not an issue.

i was wondering what everyone else did, were you able to find someone in the states to do your canadian taxes?, is it easy enough to attempt to do them yourself? and did anyone have to pay back the unemployment they got from canada.

i'm so frustrated and confused.

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/173578-the-irscra-income-tax-thread/ prob find ur answer in that tax thread OR

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/191858-canada-immigration-guide/

[Inky 1,110]

My friend gets hers done at HR block near us. They do the Canada return and the US returns. You just need to call or go online and see if there is an office near you that has someone that can do them.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Nothing illegal about it - Canada determined that you were eligible to receive it based on the time you worked back in Canada...where you live when you received it is irrelevant. The US has no opinion or care in that matter.

Are you doing Cdn taxes or US taxes or both? Either way you need to report your EI as income on your US return. There are many tax programs which step you through the process easily. Turbo Tax handled my Cdn income without any problems and there are equivalent Cdn versions.

[missabear 0]

thanks for the replies guys. my mom and her accountant were convinced that collecting cnd unemployment was illegal despite my best efforts to explain it. i'm going to HNR block tomorrow to talk to them about it. my mother in law can do mine and dales american taxes easily but she's not comfortable doing the canadian ones.

will the states tax what little earnings i had from canada? (it was a pretty small amount)

[Inky 1,110]

thanks for the replies guys. my mom and her accountant were convinced that collecting cnd unemployment was illegal despite my best efforts to explain it. i'm going to HNR block tomorrow to talk to them about it. my mother in law can do mine and dales american taxes easily but she's not comfortable doing the canadian ones.

will the states tax what little earnings i had from canada? (it was a pretty small amount)

Not if you file the proper foreign tax credit forms! We did that and had no tax on my Canadian income.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

There is a tax treaty between the US and Canada to prevent double taxation so you won't have to worry about that. Have you printed out the booklet put out by CRA about Emigrants and Taxes? If 90% or more of your total income for 2010 was based in Canada, then you are eligible also to claim the full year's Federal tax credits (not Provincial's though) instead of just being pro-rated for the time you actually lived in Canada. You need to write a note and attach it to your return, explaining that your World Income for 2010 is totally earned in Canada and you wish to claim the full year's Federal tax credits, based on that amount being your full year's income. If you don't actually include the note claiming the full year's credits, they will pro-rate the credits for the time you were actually in Canada which means you will lose out on some of your refund. The instructions will be here: http://www.cra-arc.g...E/pub/tg/t4056/

Be sure to bring this information to whomever you have prepare your Canadian taxes - that is why I suggested printing our the booklet so you can include it with your paperwork. (You could, of course, try doing your own taxes - they are not that difficult to do if you don't have to worry about investments and self-employment income and things like that).

For the part of 2010 you were not a resident of Canada

You can claim the following federal non-refundable tax credits, as long as they apply, to the part of 2010 that you were not a resident of Canada if you are reporting Canadian-source income (as listed under "Income"):

• Canada Pension Plan or Quebec Pension Plan contributions;
• Employment Insurance premiums;
• disability amount (for yourself);
• interest paid on loans for post-secondary education made to you under the Canada Student Loans Act, the Canada Student Financial Assistance Act, or similar provincial or territorial government laws;
• tuition amount (for yourself); and
• donations and gifts.

In addition, if the Canadian-source income you are reporting for the part of 2010 that you were not a resident of Canada is at least 90% of your net world income for that part of the year (or if you had no income from sources inside and outside Canada for that part of the year), you can claim the remaining federal non-refundable tax credits in full. See your tax guide for the remaining federal non-refundable tax credits.

Note

If you are claiming full federal non-refundable tax credits, attach a note to your return stating your net world income (in Canadian dollars) for the part of 2010 that you were not a resident of Canada. Show separately the net income you received from sources inside and outside Canada for that part of the year. We cannot allow the full amount of these federal credits without this note.

Edited February 25, 2011 by Kathryn41