Leaving Canada/Who to Notify

[Udella&Wiz 325]

What if you just sent the GST checks back to them as a return to sender once they arrive at your home?

Then would they know to stop sending them?

And if you write on your taxes that you no longer want the GST checks wouldn't that also stop them from coming to you?

Once you do your taxes for next year, there is that box on the front page which asks if you're applying for it - now you'll check NO. This is really only a problem for the remaining payments that you've already started receiving for a given tax yr - I moved in Nov so I still accidentally received the next Jan and April

Because you verbally tell them you've moved or it seems obvious to you that you shouldn't be receiving it anymore, my experience is that unless you spell it out and send in the proper address change and indicate also that you shouldn't be receiving it anymore - they don't get it and they will make you pay it back when they do figure it out.

At least you haven't cashed the cheques so you won't owe it!

[antda 13]

Hi MellySuzanne and Everyone,

As for moving, from Canada to the USA (I've been here in the USA since 2006), I did the following:

I notified:

-Revenue Canada and Elections Canada (with the "final tax return" in 2007, to prevent tax fraud and to officially notify the Canadian government that I'm not living in Canada anymore, and had to cancel and return those GST cheques I'm not entitled to and would be in trouble for keeping such)

-Passport Canada (when they added my married name to my maiden name passport in 2007)

-Passport Canada again (when I applied for a new passport recently in my married name in 2009)

-I closed my Canadian bank account in Canada (2007)

-I let someone in Canada collect my personal mail for me, and then notified those people by mail that I moved (2006-Present)

I didn't notify:

-Social Insurance (Human Resources Canada, I think) as I wouldn't be working in Canada anymore and wouldn't need a new card.

-OHIP (Ontario Health Insurance) as my card already expired and I can't use it here, so I never renewed it.

-MTO (Ministry of Transportation Ontario) as my license was automatically transfered, surrendered, and destroyed here by the DMV in NYS. Note: You cannot have 2 driver's licenses at the same time (at least that's the way it is here in NYS), so you would either have to pick between the American one or the Canadian one to keep.

Anyone else I need to notify, I can't think of, and haven't done such.

Hope this helps. Good luck on the rest of your immigration journey too.

Ant

Hi everyone - I'm hoping for a little guidance. Hopefully these aren't silly questions! :-)

When leaving Canada on a K1 Visa and moving to the US, who should I notify? Do I need to file a change of address with the Canadian government somewhere? Do I cancel my MSP? Should I have all of my current statements (i.e. student loans) sent to my new home in the US or can I continue to have them sent to my previous address in Canada (my parents' home).

Thanks for any help you can offer!

- Melissa

Edited July 6, 2009 by AntandD

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

By the way, in regards to my GST cheques, this is what happened to me:

I had told the government I had already moved to the USA (and even filed my last tax return in 2007 indicating such). However, they then sent me a "bill" for an "overpayment" for my last GST rebate cheque, which was sent to my last known Canadian address. Someone else was picking up the mail for me there, while I was living here in the USA, and I had told them to "return to sender" this cheque back to the government, as I know that as a permanent resident of the USA it would be illegal and dishonest for me to cash in such. They did send it back to the government, but apparently the government "claimed" that they never got it back.

So after a game of "telephone tag" with Revenue Canada about my "bill", I explained to them my situation and told them I now live in the USA and am not entitled to GST rebates anymore. A couple of weeks later, I then get another GST cheque in the mail to my US address (maybe they thought I was going back to Canada or something) and another "bill" stating that I owe them a payment too. So once again, I play "telephone tag", and somehow got transferred from to someone in Quebec..lol...I again explained the situation, and told them to check their computer system again for that former returned cheque and about this recent cheque. And sure enough, it indicated that the "return to sender" cheque was indeed sent back, but was not entered in their system correctly. They then corrected the error, and I told them I would "return to sender" the other recent cheque that I got in the USA (which I did do). And a few weeks later, I got an "official" statement saying I didn't owe them any money anymore, and that they received both of my "return to sender" GST cheques.

Lesson learned: Never ever deal with "Revenue Canada" and "GST cheques" again!

So if you get a GST cheque in the mail, and if you are a permanent resident of the USA, then yes, you should "return to sender" those cheques back to the government (and hopefully they won't give you any trouble for it). Do not cash in those cheques, if you are not entitled to such!

You can send it back "return to sender" by placing the opened envelope, cheque, and a note explaining your situation, into another larger envelope and "sending it back" that way. Lol...this would require postage on your part, but for all it's worth, it's way better than getting in trouble with Revenue Canada for keeping/cashing in a cheque that you're not supposed to have.

By the way, to save you and everyone else a lot of "telephone tag" time and extra "bills", here is the exact "redirected" contact information (which I had to dig up my old Canadian taxes paperwork to re-find for all you VJers), that I used to get my GST rebate situation finally sorted out with Revenue Canada (lol...yeah, it's located in n Quebec too, for all you bi-lingual folks...). Be sure too, to have your Social Insurance Number handy when contacting them.

Canada Revenue Agency

Schawinigan-Sud, Quebec,

G9N 7S6, Canada

Tel: 1-800-959-1953

Hope this helps. Good luck to everyone who contacts them in regards to your GST rebate cheques.

And good luck too, on your immigration journey, everyone!

Ant (No more GST Cheques! No more "Bills"! No more Revenue Canada!...)

P.S. And for humour's sake ...here is part of the letter/note that I wrote to Revenue Canada, when I "returned to sender" the GST cheques that they mistakenly sent me:

"I have never cashed any cheques that I was not eligible for, so please do not send me any more cheques, or any other information indicating that I owe you money!"

[MellySuzanne 0]

I just called and spoke with a lovely customer service rep from Canada Revenue Agency (I called 1-800-959-1953). For residents of BC (I can't speak for the other provinces) she advised me that I should fax a letter on/around the day I leave to (604) 584-5164 with my name, old address, new address, telephone number, social insurance number and the date I will be leaving Canada. She also advised me that I will likely still receive a GST cheque in the mail in October and that I can mail it back with a letter telling them I am no longer eligible, along with a copy of the fax I originally sent.

In addition, BC residents can let MSP know you're leaving by filling out an online form here https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/exforms/msp/7063.html

[TimandJoyce 1]

I just called and spoke with a lovely customer service rep from Canada Revenue Agency (I called 1-800-959-1953). For residents of BC (I can't speak for the other provinces) she advised me that I should fax a letter on/around the day I leave to (604) 584-5164 with my name, old address, new address, telephone number, social insurance number and the date I will be leaving Canada. She also advised me that I will likely still receive a GST cheque in the mail in October and that I can mail it back with a letter telling them I am no longer eligible, along with a copy of the fax I originally sent.

In addition, BC residents can let MSP know you're leaving by filling out an online form here https://www.health.gov.bc.ca/exforms/msp/7063.html

Thanks MellySuzanne! I bookmarked that. I'll be contacting CRA soon. My GST is direct deposit, so I hope I can get them to stop that. I may see if it can be switched to cheques, then I could just send it back.