Canada tax info

[ceriserose 1]

I called the canadian tax ppl last year, and they told me to file a general tax return.. I was also told that even though i am in the US, i am still considered a CANADIAN resident , ONLY UP UNTIL I RECIEVE A LETTER FROM US IMMIGRATION SAYING THAT I AM NOW A US RESIDENT..

Funny, what I was told by them is that for tax purposes, under the US-Canadian tax treaty, when a Canadian leaves Canada they are considered a non-resident as of the date he/she left (the date you put on your final Canadian tax forms). The only time this is not the case is if said Canadian leaves behind vacant livable property that they could ostensibly return to live in. In that case they are considered resident of both countries and taxed on all income by both. If you leave behind property that you rent out, they don't consider you a resident (but you pay taxes in the US on your revenue from it).

Odd. Anyone else hear of such a thing?

[nina1 0]

well under the section where it says "date when u ceased to be a resident", i wrote that i was still a resident..

what's funny in all that is that i also had one canadian govmt tax guy say that if i left canada with the INTENTION of staying in the US and living there, then i was no longer considered a canadian resident. So it depends on your INTENTION is what he meant..?!?!

[ceriserose 1]

well under the section where it says "date when u ceased to be a resident", i wrote that i was still a resident..

what's funny in all that is that i also had one canadian govmt tax guy say that if i left canada with the INTENTION of staying in the US and living there, then i was no longer considered a canadian resident. So it depends on your INTENTION is what he meant..?!?!

I honestly have no idea. I have talked to the international tax office and gotten an consistent answer from them each time, that you cease to be a resident for tax purposes on the day you leave.

I came on a K1 so my intent was pretty much cut and dried (since you have to prove intent to get the visa). I'm not sure if you went a K visa route or if you came as a visit and adjusted from inside the US...that might be the reason for a different answer on the taxes.

Bizarre. Welcome to government.

[zyggy 9]

I called the canadian tax ppl last year, and they told me to file a general tax return.. I was also told that even though i am in the US, i am still considered a CANADIAN resident , ONLY UP UNTIL I RECIEVE A LETTER FROM US IMMIGRATION SAYING THAT I AM NOW A US RESIDENT..

Funny, what I was told by them is that for tax purposes, under the US-Canadian tax treaty, when a Canadian leaves Canada they are considered a non-resident as of the date he/she left (the date you put on your final Canadian tax forms). The only time this is not the case is if said Canadian leaves behind vacant livable property that they could ostensibly return to live in. In that case they are considered resident of both countries and taxed on all income by both. If you leave behind property that you rent out, they don't consider you a resident (but you pay taxes in the US on your revenue from it).

Odd. Anyone else hear of such a thing?

This is how I understood it both by the conversation on here and from the people at the International Tax Services Office.

[nina1 0]

what about my passport question? do any of u know what to put under "resident of"??

[zyggy 9]

what about my passport question? do any of u know what to put under "resident of"??

You are a resident of the US, so yes, you would put USA. You have to use Form PPTC-140, which is for residents of US and Bermuda. Do not use Form PPTC-044.

http://www.pptc.gc.ca/online_forms/pdfs/pptc140.pdf

[Flames9_RN 358]

I will third it!! When I called they stated it was the day you left Canada!!

[nina1 0]

oh god!

well i renewed my passport when i was in canada a few mths ago and i wrote CANADA as my country of residency, just because i am still not OFFICIALLY an american perm resident yet..

once i get my interview here in the USA for AOS, is the fact that it says CANADA on my passport going to give me problems with the american guy that'll interview us??

oh god!

well i renewed my passport when i was in canada a few mths ago and i wrote CANADA as my country of residency, just because i am still not OFFICIALLY an american perm resident yet..

once i get my interview here in the USA for AOS, is the fact that it says CANADA on my passport going to give me problems with the american guy that'll interview us??

[zyggy 9]

oh god!

well i renewed my passport when i was in canada a few mths ago and i wrote CANADA as my country of residency, just because i am still not OFFICIALLY an american perm resident yet..

once i get my interview here in the USA for AOS, is the fact that it says CANADA on my passport going to give me problems with the american guy that'll interview us??

oh god!

well i renewed my passport when i was in canada a few mths ago and i wrote CANADA as my country of residency, just because i am still not OFFICIALLY an american perm resident yet..

once i get my interview here in the USA for AOS, is the fact that it says CANADA on my passport going to give me problems with the american guy that'll interview us??

Have you gotten your passport yet... If you have, there is no mention of your residency on it... If you get your passport, you should have no problem...

[allycat 0]

Getting back to taxes for a second, thanks for this thread, it has been very helpful. I tried to use "Quicktax" and it came up with the wrong results. It can't "cope" with the situation of someone who moved in 2005 but did not earn any income outside of Canada. Be very wary of automated tax programs.

[zyggy 9]

Getting back to taxes for a second, thanks for this thread, it has been very helpful. I tried to use "Quicktax" and it came up with the wrong results. It can't "cope" with the situation of someone who moved in 2005 but did not earn any income outside of Canada. Be very wary of automated tax programs.

Yep.. those automated tax programs are not good at the unorthodox situation... We had to do our final tax return by hand with lots of help from the International Tax Services Office.

Edited February 8, 2006 by zyggy

[Torontonian 0]

Hi guys,

I have been worrying about this tax thing for about a month now. I had a million questions, so I decided to buy a consultation with Mark Serbinski ($125), and it was very helpful.

I have decided to bite the bullet and have him do my Canadian and our joint US taxes this year. To begin with, I like the idea of it all being done by one person, rather than Paul doing our US tax, and me or H&R Block doing the Canadian. He might also know of things we can write off that we didn't think of. Also, you unfortunately you can't do your "goodbye Canada" return on an e-filing software, nor can you do form 8891 or the Treasury forms in the US (for RRSPs) on e-file, at least not yet.

So.........we decided that it would be best in this the most complicated year to get an expert in cross border taxes to do it. This way we will have a template for next year when we do it ourselves.

Yet another unexpected expense, but hopefully it will be worth it.

Edited February 8, 2006 by Torontonian

[neiks 19]

I have been worrying about this tax thing for about a month now. I had a million questions, so I decided to buy a consultation with Mark Serbinski ($125), and it was very helpful.

I have decided to bite the bullet and have him do my Canadian and our joint US taxes this year. To begin with, I like the idea of it all being done by one person, rather than Paul doing our US tax, and me or H&R Block doing the Canadian. He might also know of things we can write off that we didn't think of. Also, you unfortunately you can't do your "goodbye Canada" return on an e-filing software, nor can you do form 8891 or the Treasury forms in the US (for RRSPs) on e-file, at least not yet.

So.........we decided that it would be best in this the most complicated year to get an expert in cross border taxes to do it. This way we will have a template for next year when we do it ourselves.

Yet another unexpected expense, but hopefully it will be worth it

Please let us know how it works out and if you don't mind what kind of cost it was for you. I'm considering using them next year for 2005. They are really helpful on their forum - even though Nelsona is kind of a crab!

[Flames9_RN 358]

Nelson is commical! and grumpy!! But many people do ask the same question over and over again and I dont blame him for being grumpy, as he answersd about 99% of the questions!! I wonder why more VJ don't use the search button more as well. Thats the great thing about forums! As well people ask for stuff when all they have to do is type in the exact sentence into Google to get the answer!! lol, ok i'm done with my pet peeves.

[designermedusa 0]

We used online software last year for my husband's Canadian taxes, and we figured we have to pay in. Well we got a letter and check from Revenue Canada months later saying we did the taxes incorrectly and we got a refund. It worked out in the end, but I wouldn't recommend the online software.

Just to add we filled out the determination of residency form, and we received a letter from Revenue Canada stating my husband was no longer considered a resident of Canada.

I'm glad we are done with Canadian taxes.