Leaving Canada next month

[Persona 0]

Alright so since im gonna leave... what will happen with my tax returns? do i still have to complete them ? can i call them and have them earlier or do i still have 6 month of all my benefice in Canada ?

i also would like to do my international driver license done.. i have my regular driving one..and im not sure what i can do about that...

im closing slowly all my account everywhere...

what about my current tax return that im supposed to get soon ...can i cash it in the USA ? or its gonna be bye bye for it even though i worked a lot this year and paid a lot of tax...

what have you all done ?

thanks in advance for answers ...

Edited December 7, 2009 by Ebrech N Persona

[Revenesque 2]

Alright so since im gonna leave... what will happen with my tax returns? do i still have to complete them ? can i call them and have them earlier or do i still have 6 month of all my benefice in Canada ?

i also would like to do my international driver license done.. i have my regular driving one..and im not sure what i can do about that...

im closing slowly all my account everywhere...

what about my current tax return that im supposed to get soon ...can i cash it in the USA ? or its gonna be bye bye for it even though i worked a lot this year and paid a lot of tax...

what have you all done ?

thanks in advance for answers ...

You have to file your Canadian tax returns until you are deemed a non-resident.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/ndvdls/nnrs-eng.html

Non-residents

You are a non-resident for tax purposes if you:

1) normally, customarily, or routinely live in another country and are not considered a resident of Canada; or

do not have residential ties in Canada; and

2) you live outside Canada throughout the tax year; or

you stay in Canada for less than 183 days in the tax year.

Severing residential ties

Residential ties include:

- a home in Canada;

- a spouse or common-law partner and dependants in Canada;

- personal property in Canada, such as a car or furniture;

- social ties in Canada.

- a Canadian driver's licence;

- Canadian bank accounts or credit cards;

- health insurance with a Canadian province or territory.

- professional memberships

The CRA is pretty strict on the residential ties. Sometimes one residential tie (e.g. driver license) and nothing else will deem you resident of Canada, and therefore you have to file and pay taxes.

[Revenesque 2]

what about my current tax return that im supposed to get soon ...can i cash it in the USA ? or its gonna be bye bye for it even though i worked a lot this year and paid a lot of tax...

what have you all done ?

thanks in advance for answers ...

Most Canadians get their tax returns via pre-authorized deposit in their canadian bank account. You can keep one bank account (for small txns e.g foreign exchange, etc), have your bank change its status to Non-Resident, and you won't be deemed resident for tax purpose.

If you get a cheque from the government instead, cash it in a Canadian bank and convert to US currency.

Hope that helps.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Alright so since im gonna leave... what will happen with my tax returns? do i still have to complete them ? can i call them and have them earlier or do i still have 6 month of all my benefice in Canada ?

i also would like to do my international driver license done.. i have my regular driving one..and im not sure what i can do about that...

im closing slowly all my account everywhere...

Why won't you be getting a state license from wherever you move? Maybe I'm not understanding what you mean by 'international' though

what about my current tax return that im supposed to get soon ...can i cash it in the USA ? or its gonna be bye bye for it even though i worked a lot this year and paid a lot of tax...

You probably won't be able to find a bank which will cash it down here in the US - they usually cannot do a foreign cheque or want to charge some ridiculous fee - trust us when we say, better to sign it and return it to your parents to cash and then they can send the $$$ back to you in US dollars

what have you all done ?

thanks in advance for answers ...

- I handed in my Roger's box and modem, ensured I didn't have any outstanding bills (in some cases I still had a few even after I moved which I paid from my usual Cdn bank account.

- Ensured I had the inspection of my apartment by the landlord & booked the elevator for moving

- tried to visit friends and family as much as possible

- finished off the wedding plans that I could

I don';t know why I'm forgetting 2 yrs later...just pretty much wrapped things up - the month went by in a blink of an eye

[trailmix 77]

You file your tax return, you can do that as soon as the actual physical tax return is printed and available (after you have quit work of course). On the return you indicate what day you left Canada.

You can have a cheque sent for your refund, if you are getting one - but U.S. banks (in general) have a really hard time with Canadian cheques - why not keep a bank account open here for a few months.

Edited December 7, 2009 by trailmix

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Alright so since im gonna leave... what will happen with my tax returns? do i still have to complete them ? can i call them and have them earlier or do i still have 6 month of all my benefice in Canada ?

Notify Canada Revenue Agency of your new US address. They will mail you the appropriate tax return for the Province you left early in the new year. You would file exactly the same way as you did in Canada but you would only file up until the date you left. What benefits are you referring to?

i also would like to do my international driver license done.. i have my regular driving one..and im not sure what i can do about that...

im closing slowly all my account everywhere...

Don't worry about getting an International Driver's License - your Canadian license will be fine in the US in most states for the first 30 days. Check the Department of Motor Vehicles for the State you are moving to and see what their requirements are for getting a State Driver's License.

what about my current tax return that im supposed to get soon ...can i cash it in the USA ? or its gonna be bye bye for it even though i worked a lot this year and paid a lot of tax...

Keep a Canadian bank account open and set it up for internet access. Provide Canada Revenue Agency with direct deposit information for that account. They can deposit your return to that account and you can then access the information via online. You will get your refund after you file your 'exit return' - that is the tax return that will have the date you left Canada listed on it.

what have you all done ?

thanks in advance for answers ...

Edited December 7, 2009 by Kathryn41

[ashenflowers 5]

hmm...

so I will still have ties to Canada, including a car in my name, and the bank accounts, credit card, driver's license, social ties.... does that mean i could still be considered a resident and not lose my OHIP coverage?? Just in case something happens..

Also,

I am leaving Canada on Jan 2nd or 3rd. If I do fully give up residency, would I still have to fill out a tax return for 2010 even though I will only be in the country for 2 days and have no income?

Edited December 8, 2009 by ashenflowers

[Persona 0]

Alright so since im gonna leave... what will happen with my tax returns? do i still have to complete them ? can i call them and have them earlier or do i still have 6 month of all my benefice in Canada ?

Notify Canada Revenue Agency of your new US address. They will mail you the appropriate tax return for the Province you left early in the new year. You would file exactly the same way as you did in Canada but you would only file up until the date you left. What benefits are you referring to?

i also would like to do my international driver license done.. i have my regular driving one..and im not sure what i can do about that...

im closing slowly all my account everywhere...

Don't worry about getting an International Driver's License - your Canadian license will be fine in the US in most states for the first 30 days. Check the Department of Motor Vehicles for the State you are moving to and see what their requirements are for getting a State Driver's License.

what about my current tax return that im supposed to get soon ...can i cash it in the USA ? or its gonna be bye bye for it even though i worked a lot this year and paid a lot of tax...

Keep a Canadian bank account open and set it up for internet access. Provide Canada Revenue Agency with direct deposit information for that account. They can deposit your return to that account and you can then access the information via online. You will get your refund after you file your 'exit return' - that is the tax return that will have the date you left Canada listed on it.

what have you all done ?

thanks in advance for answers ...

im not sure what benefice im talking about *smirk* just though about pretty much anything like job/tax/school/medical insurance

seriously if i want to study in the states when i move should i get some paperwork over here or they will ask me to do a test to re class me ?

also i am not sure how much it cost to keep an account open with desjardins but it is active online and i guess ya i can keep it open..

im closing my visa credit card as well ...is that a good or bad idea ? since it will be empty anyway...

im leaving my work the 30th december...

i don't have a clue how ill get my T4 from them eitheir but my adress is all changed to my grand mother so she can at least mail me my stuff if i get some

[Revenesque 2]

hmm...

so I will still have ties to Canada, including a car in my name, and the bank accounts, credit card, driver's license, social ties.... does that mean i could still be considered a resident and not lose my OHIP coverage?? Just in case something happens..

It means you are resident for TAX purposes and still have to file your tax returns. I'm not familiar with OHIP coverage, but their residency requirements WILL be different from CRA's.

Also,

I am leaving Canada on Jan 2nd or 3rd. If I do fully give up residency, would I still have to fill out a tax return for 2010 even though I will only be in the country for 2 days and have no income?

Yup.

[trailmix 77]

I'm not so sure about that. While she might meet a few of the 'resident' criteria, she meets many of the non- resident criteria - you don't have to meet ALL of them to be considered a non-resident of Canada.

Glaring evidence of this is that she will have applied for an immigrant visa and packed up lock stock and barrel and immigrated to another country.

Anyway, you can't have it both ways, you cannot keep your Canadian tax paid benefits and not file a tax return.

From what I see you are a non-resident and no, no need to file a return for 2010 - just call them and tell them you are no longer a resident.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

hmm...

so I will still have ties to Canada, including a car in my name, and the bank accounts, credit card, driver's license, social ties.... does that mean i could still be considered a resident and not lose my OHIP coverage?? Just in case something happens..

Also,

I am leaving Canada on Jan 2nd or 3rd. If I do fully give up residency, would I still have to fill out a tax return for 2010 even though I will only be in the country for 2 days and have no income?

Keeping a credit card and a bank account doesn't mean you're a resident...how are you keeping a driver's license when you won't be living in the province? Are you actually keeping the car in your name back in Canada....how will that benefit you? I believe you have to be a resident of ONT to keep your OHIP.

For the tax issue as someone else noted above, you need to file an exit return....maybe that will be this year's depending on your situation. in 2010 if you don't get EI and you were only resident for a few days, perhaps they will deem you a non resident. It's all pretty much up to CRA

Edited December 8, 2009 by Udella&Wiz

[minnew 4]

Most US banks are a pain in the #### when it comes to Canadian cheques. Not sure if it's different if you cash vs. Deposit into your account. I had alot of Canadian checks written due to refunds on insurance, etc, but also received a few checks in CAN from wedding guests or family that could not make it to the wedding. WellsFargo did not charge outrageous fees to deposit the checks, I think it was $1.50 foreign currency charge.

Notify CRA of new address & also if you receive GST credits, you are no longer eligible once you give up Canadian residency(move to US). In my case the payment could not be stopped in time and had to send a check to CRA to pay them back.

Give your employer a forwarding address for T4's

[truckerbob 0]

As for banking..I thought I had read somewhere on here that people use Paypal to move money from their Canadian accounts to their U.S. accounts.

There are alot of smart people on this site and maybe one of them remembers this also and can give you more details.

Good Luck with your move and all the best to you in 2010 !!

[Revenesque 2]

I'm not so sure about that. While she might meet a few of the 'resident' criteria, she meets many of the non- resident criteria - you don't have to meet ALL of them to be considered a non-resident of Canada.

Glaring evidence of this is that she will have applied for an immigrant visa and packed up lock stock and barrel and immigrated to another country.

Anyway, you can't have it both ways, you cannot keep your Canadian tax paid benefits and not file a tax return.

From what I see you are a non-resident and no, no need to file a return for 2010 - just call them and tell them you are no longer a resident.

Not all, but MOST (e.g. you can keep one bank account , or have investment properties). Having a greencard is NOT enough to be deem non-residence for tax purposes, although it is for provincial health insurance. If one is not careful with severing their ties, they will find themselves in the misfortunate situation of filing taxes for the US, AND filing taxes for Canada on their world wide income, with penalty and interest for any taxes owing.

[trailmix 77]

We too had all the things Ashen mentioned - except for the vehicle, mind you we didn't cancel the registration on that - so it was still registered in Canada as well.

All I am saying is it is not cut and dried. We cannot say that she is a Canadian resident for tax purposes because she has 1 possession in Canada and a few credit cards/bank accounts. Also, she doesn't need to file that 2010 return if she is not and has no income. That's all I was saying

Edited December 8, 2009 by trailmix