Should I close my Canadian bank account?

[girlwithquestions 2]

I will be in the states before thanksgiving which is before filling tax return for 2012. So should I close all my bank accounts here in Canada? I know in the states as long as You have the SSN you are eligible to open bank account. So any one knows if US/Canada shares the same credit records?

Any thought is appreciated,

Thanks

[pocheros 101]

IMO you should keep your canadian bank account open because the CRA won't direct deposit your tax return into an American bank and American banks tend to be finicky about cashing Canadian checks. I suspect if you collect EI from Canada they won't direct deposit into American banks either.

Also with opening a bank account in the US it varies, I had an SSN but they wouldn't open me a bank account unless I had an American passport or state ID. I was able to get a state ID (but it expired the same day as my I-94) so the bank accepted it when I came back. SSN alone may not be enough!

US and Canada do not share credit and usually they won't go out of their way to check your Canadian credit, you're basically starting from scratch when you move to the US.

Make sure to apply for your SSN within 74 days your POE. They accept SSN applications up to two weeks before your I-94 expires (which is 90 days after your POE); if you miss the boat on that you'll have to wait until you get your greencard.

Edited September 21, 2012 by pocheros

[girlwithquestions 2]

What is a state ID? So does the expiration on your State ID affect your bank account? How can you get it extended after it gets expired?

[Flames9_RN 358]

Been in the USa since 2004 and still keep open 1 Cdn bank account!! I keep very little in it!! But it comes in handy now and then

[Marilyn. 340]

I would keep it open. I still have one open, I added my mom to the account.

After a year of getting monthly service charges I finally decided to shut down the checking but leave the savings open which only gets charged a service charge if I use it. My mom likes it because she can add money to the account for me for Birthdays etc...

[VeeNDee 44]

Does having a Canadian bank account open impact taxes at all if you are collecting some interest? At what point should you be concerned? I'd like to avoid tax issues - I hate paperwork (even more so since this immigration bureaucracy started! )

[Flames9_RN 358]

Does having a Canadian bank account open impact taxes at all if you are collecting some interest? At what point should you be concerned? I'd like to avoid tax issues - I hate paperwork (even more so since this immigration bureaucracy started! )

I know if you have made less than $10 in interest on USA banks--you do not report it!! I keep Like $1 in my CVdb bank!! Every now and then I transfer $$$ so it stays active!!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

For at least a year after your move to the US keep a bank account open. If you have had CRA direct deposit income tax refunds or they have direct deposit for an account, that is the one you want to keep open. When you file your exit taxes (your final tax return after leaving Canada) you will probably get a refund and it is much easier to have it direct deposited into your Canadian account than trying to figure out how to get it cashed in the US without losing a sizable chunk of it.

That being said, I have been in the US since 2004 and I still maintain an account in Canada. It is easier for when I visit Canada and I need to get some cash, I can use the ATM with my debit card. When my father passed away unexpectedly last October I was grateful to have that account there as I hadn't planned on remaining in Canada as long as I ended up and when Dad died his bank accounts were frozen and there were ongoing expenses his cat needed, so I was able to access my accounts to pay that bill and other expenses.

So, visit your bank before you move down, arrange for the account to be set up for US online access and if you don't expect to be writing a lot of checks or anything, you may want to change the type of account to a low fee account, while retaining the number so that the CRA can still direct deposit a refund.

No, US and Canada generally do not share credit records. You can also get copies of your credit reports before you come and you can tell a US credit provider that they can access your Canadian credit reports using your SIN number. Some will try it, but most won't. Having your credit report may be able to give you an 'in' you would not otherwise have. Your credit basically goes back to zero as you are starting all over.

Edited September 22, 2012 by Kathryn41

[pocheros 101]

What is a state ID? So does the expiration on your State ID affect your bank account? How can you get it extended after it gets expired?

A state ID is an ID card that individual states can issue. You get them at the DMV. I mentioned the expiration date because I haven't filed for AOS yet which means I had to make sure to open my bank account before my state ID expired. It doesn't matter if it expires after you open the bank account. State ID cards are only supposed to be issued to residents so you extend an ID card by showing proof of residency (green card).

[dukeandduchess 141]

I kept mine open and put my Mom as power of attorney.

[canada_socks 97]

Man...now I wish I had of kept mine open! At least the savings account. I closed them because my chequing account was costing me like $12 a month (TD infinity plan I think). I don't really need it open though, as I don't have any more taxes to deal with in Canada and the only time I get money is from my mom when she mails a birthday cheque! Kinda sucks though, because for some reason, cashing a Canadian cheque down here is super long process and costs me $8!

[Krikit 1,164]

I opened a TD Bank account in the US and kept my TD CanadaTrust accounts. Super easy to transfer money back and forth, and doesn't cost anything to do so. If I receive any cheques in CDN funds I just mail them straight to my bank in Canada to avoid the hassle and cost of depositing them here in the US. Very very bad memories of the first time I did that.

[Krikit 1,164]

I never had a SSN when I was added to my husband's account. They just used my passport information and my husband's SSN and told me to give them mine when I got it.

The US and Canada don't, generally, share credit information, but they can certainly get it if they have the desire. There are a few of us who have had our Canadian credit pulled.... with our authorization, of course.

In Florida they issued me a State ID until I could get my driver's license. Once I had my license they requested the state ID back. It's just proof that you're a resident in lieu of a driver's license.

[canada_socks 97]

I opened a TD Bank account in the US and kept my TD CanadaTrust accounts. Super easy to transfer money back and forth, and doesn't cost anything to do so. If I receive any cheques in CDN funds I just mail them straight to my bank in Canada to avoid the hassle and cost of depositing them here in the US. Very very bad memories of the first time I did that.

I wish I had of thought of that too! Dang! There is a TD Bank where I live, but the bank in my hometown said that the Canada and US TD's don't communicate yet. Maybe he didn't know what he was talking about.

Yea I was so mad at my bank after I cashed my income tax cheque! They just told me that yea, we can deposit that, no problem! A week later, I got a letter stating that the money was taken out of my account until it was resolved and could take up to 3 weeks! So the money finally went back in, but I was also issued an $8 charge for an international cheque. In Canada, I had no problems cashing American cheques!

I am now upset that when I closed my Canadian account at TD Canada Trust, I also lost my line of credit. Not that I would use it down here, but if we decided to move back to Canada, it would have come in quite handy! Oh well I guess!

[Krikit 1,164]

Oh that sucks. Well, he was right in one thing..... that the cross-border banking hasn't been made seamless yet. It's coming, though. The part he was missing is that electronic wire transfers are taken care of by phone and are very easy to do.

Short story of my experience in trying to cash a Canadian cheque in a US bank (not TD).... American bank incorrectly coded the transaction resulting in RBC cancelling the endorsement. American bank not only charged me for the transaction, but they also hit me with an exhorbitant NSF charge..... due to THEIR OWN ERROR!

Took me 1.5 years to resolve it and to get SunLife to reissue the original cheque. I never did get reimbursed for the service charges at my bank because they wouldn't admit their error. Even though the cancelled cheque was clearly stamped on the back "Endorsement Cancelled - incorrectly encoded" and even though RBC, which the original cheque was drawn on, stated so when I called them.