Taxes

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Help.

So I obviously had no income in 2009 but I did get $4100.00 bucks from unemployment according to the T4E slip they sent me.

I called the canadian revenue agency and they gave me some international tax office but the line is always busy?!? The man I spoke with said I may have to declare my American

income?

I'm so confused. Do I have to file taxes in Canada this year? I never got a tax package like I did for 2008 here. Help!

[OBX 51]

Help.

So I obviously had no income in 2009 but I did get $4100.00 bucks from unemployment according to the T4E slip they sent me.

I called the canadian revenue agency and they gave me some international tax office but the line is always busy?!? The man I spoke with said I may have to declare my American

income?

I'm so confused. Do I have to file taxes in Canada this year? I never got a tax package like I did for 2008 here. Help!

Laura I was just speaking to my accountant yesterday regarding my 2009 taxes and then we got talking about next year. What I understood is that once you cease to be a resident of Canada you do not need to file Canadian taxes (excluding the year you moved and had residency in both the US and Canada for portions of the year.) I'm thinking you would claim that money on your US taxes as foreign income.

Anyone else?

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Last year I had the same situation as you I think...first few months I earned EI and then I had US income.

On my Cdn return, I only reported my EI income and not my US income since it wasn't earned in Canada. It was also my exit return (don't get me started on my issues the previous year with residency)

On my US return I included all world income, including EI since that is the rule for US taxes. The problem of course was I was again taxed on the EI....there is a solution for this on the Canadian side with CRA. It is called a Section 217...which is an exemption so that you can get some (but maybe not all) of the 25% they took off your EI income. I asked questions in the Serbinski tax forum and got this as my answer so this was how I filed.

Even if you didn't have US income, I assume you would need to file a US tax return for all your world income (including EI)

[Mephys 2]

I was talking with Laura today and I was just explaining her that my last EI check for 2007 was given to me in Januaray 2008. So last year I called them and they told me I had to declare any income so I had to file taxes for $109. They sent my a Non-Resident taxes package. I did get a $30 refund from it

[Inky 1,110]

Iv spoken with the international tax office on the phone a few times and they never mailed me any kind of tax package(for 2009), they have my address here too and I told them I moved permanently to the USA. When I speak to them they dont seem to care about me filing taxes for my last year. Iv had to call around to all the H&R blocks in my state most of them in my state dont even do final taxes for another country. I found one place that might be able to do it but the woman told me she hadnt done them in 10 years, and she would call me in a week to let me know if she can do it for me or not. I keep getting GST checks in the mail and keep sending them back as well. CRA hasnt really been any help to me..

Filed Joint taxes with my husband state and federal declaring my canadian income and my stock stuff from my T3. No problems there so far just waiting on the return.

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Wow, confusing.

How in the world can the U.S. tax me on money that I got from Canada? What if I just don't declare it here on my taxes I do jointly with Nick? How would they even know? So flipping stupid. I'm not putting that on my U.S. taxes, it's frankly none of their business what I received from Canada.

As for my Canadian taxes, my parents are currently here in the States and I gave him my canadian t4 and he is going to get some advice from a tax friend of his to see what i have to do.

Thanks for all the replies.

[minnew 4]

As far as I understand it... If you had no other Canadian income in 2009 you do not have to file a Canadian return. The Ei you received when you were a NR had the NR tax 25% taken out and that is your last tax obligation to Canada. You can file a NR Canadian tax return electing under 216 or 217.... Not sure which... To get a refund on some or all of the NR withheld, but it is my understanding you do not HAVE to.

It will be this way for me in 2010... No CAN income other than EI.

I'm trying to think of a VJ member that has done this.... I think Flames?

[one_day_at_a_time 0]

Laura I was just speaking to my accountant yesterday regarding my 2009 taxes and then we got talking about next year. What I understood is that once you cease to be a resident of Canada you do not need to file Canadian taxes (excluding the year you moved and had residency in both the US and Canada for portions of the year.) I'm thinking you would claim that money on your US taxes as foreign income.

Anyone else?

If it is just EI you received from Canada in 2009, you shouldn't have to do a Canadian Tax Return. As stated by OBX, if you filed a Leaving Canada Tax Return for the previous year, that's the end of that. However, you will have to add that as income on your US 2009 Tax Return and then take a credit on Form 1116 (Foreign Tax Credit).

[Peachey 10]

Yes don't forget to fill out form 1116. I did it yesterday and it helped greatly! Before filling out this form the software thought the US government should tax me on my income.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

Wow, confusing.

How in the world can the U.S. tax me on money that I got from Canada? What if I just don't declare it here on my taxes I do jointly with Nick? How would they even know? So flipping stupid. I'm not putting that on my U.S. taxes, it's frankly none of their business what I received from Canada.As for my Canadian taxes, my parents are currently here in the States and I gave him my canadian t4 and he is going to get some advice from a tax friend of his to see what i have to do.

Thanks for all the replies.

Actually - it is. You're a permanent resident of the US and when you file your taxes you need to include ALL your WORLD INCOME. No, it's not great, but you need to be honest. Remember - you're going to remove conditions in a couple years, and apply for citizenship...would you want to have lied on your tax return? Should they find out, that isn;t going to look good on you.

If you don't need to file a Cdn return that's ok..because like everyone said they already took the 25% off.....you don't have a choice about the US one. The 1116 is for this type of income - they have a tax treaty between the US and Canada.

sorry - not trying to be harsh, just wouldn't want you to miss the point

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Thank you guys, U&W, you weren't harsh at all. I appreciate your response greatly and you do make many valid points.

The only money I received from Canada in 2009 was EI. I moved here in 2008.

So I don't need to file? Cool.

I'll be sure to declare it on my Amercian Taxes though. Nick and I are taking care of that this week.

Thank you all.

Edited April 2, 2010 by ~Laura and Nick~

[ozone_1974 1]

I am curious...

Do we need to declare our canadian income to the US govt even if these income where prior to moving to the US, and also the fact we still do not have a job in the US and did not have any income after moving to the US ?

[Inky 1,110]

Yes you do, all canadian income made before moving to the US for that year has to be claimed on the state/fed taxes you file with your spouse. Even if you made no income in america, you just don't put any american income. Canadian income = world income which has to be declaired.

[ozone_1974 1]

ok thx Inky

[~Laura and Nick~ 5]

Yes you do, all canadian income made before moving to the US for that year has to be claimed on the state/fed taxes you file with your spouse. Even if you made no income in america, you just don't put any american income. Canadian income = world income which has to be declaired.

Well, if this is the case then we are screwed. Nick put me on his taxes last year even though I couldn't work....he never declared anything I made in Canada prior to moving down here or the unemployment I collected at the end of 2008. He did them wrong last year.

Hopefully it doesn't come back to bite us, we simply didn't know