Tax Filing Questions

[hollycenations 11]

So, I'm trying to figure out how we will file our taxes in this coming year for 2016. My husband will have been in Canada for all of 2016, and his only income will be from Ontario Works. My question is whether I should be filing married separate with him filing no taxes in the US, just in Canada, or married jointly with his taxes counted in with mine. I've tried reading documentation on filing taxes as a nonresident alien, but it's all just so confusing, so I'm hopeful that someone else who has gone through this before can make it a little simpler.

Any advice?

[AB loves AG 54]

It's hard to answer that question without knowing all the details. What is your income and his? Are there kids involved? There are lots of things to consider.

[hollycenations 11]

Happy to provide more info! I make about ~40k a year, and my husband gets maybe 7-8k from welfare in Canada (I believe he gets 600-700 a month). No kids involved, just us.

[AstroCanada 206]

I'm starting to face this same issue, except mine is even a bit more complicated. From my research so far:

• Your husband will file in Canada (he probably benefits from filing with such a low income).
• You do not need to file in Canada. There is no such thing as married filing jointly in Canada.
• You have two choices to file in the US: Married filing separately or married filing jointly. It basically comes down to which way comes out better for your taxes. To file jointly, he will either need to already have his SSN or you can apply for a taxpayer ID number (which is apparently a pain). Basically if you file jointly, then you'll get the married tax table, which given his very low income in Canadian dollars will almost certainly reduce your US tax liability. You can also claim a credit for his Canadian taxes paid then.
• Given the difficulty in getting the ITIN, many people seem to do married filing separately followed by amending their taxes.

I'm definitely interested in hearing from others. I have the additional complication that I lived in Canada for the first 2/3 of the year, so I also have to file Canadian taxes. My job back in the US pays a lot better than either of our jobs in Canada, so it's definitely worth trying to figure out the tax situation for us as well.

[NikLR 13,227]

Your husband would file in Canada. He may or may not need to include your income amount on his taxes. I'm unsure if welfare is based on family income (like CCTB and GST/HST cheques are) or if it's based only on singular income. If it is indeed on family income, he may need to pay that back.

For the US you can file as MFJ or MFS. If you choose to do MFJ and he doesn't have an SSN, you'll need to file a W7 with your tax return. If you file MFS you paper file and write NRA in the SSN section. OR you can apply for an extension and file after he arrives and gets his SSN.

Likely you won't need your 2016 taxes for the interview since the US taxes aren't normally due until April

[hollycenations 11]

I'm starting to face this same issue, except mine is even a bit more complicated. From my research so far:

• Your husband will file in Canada (he probably benefits from filing with such a low income).
• You do not need to file in Canada. There is no such thing as married filing jointly in Canada.
• You have two choices to file in the US: Married filing separately or married filing jointly. It basically comes down to which way comes out better for your taxes. To file jointly, he will either need to already have his SSN or you can apply for a taxpayer ID number (which is apparently a pain). Basically if you file jointly, then you'll get the married tax table, which given his very low income in Canadian dollars will almost certainly reduce your US tax liability. You can also claim a credit for his Canadian taxes paid then.
• Given the difficulty in getting the ITIN, many people seem to do married filing separately followed by amending their taxes.

I'm definitely interested in hearing from others. I have the additional complication that I lived in Canada for the first 2/3 of the year, so I also have to file Canadian taxes. My job back in the US pays a lot better than either of our jobs in Canada, so it's definitely worth trying to figure out the tax situation for us as well.

So in regards to having a SSN, if he's able to get one by the time I file taxes, that will work, even though he didn't have it all throughout the tax year?

Your husband would file in Canada. He may or may not need to include your income amount on his taxes. I'm unsure if welfare is based on family income (like CCTB and GST/HST cheques are) or if it's based only on singular income. If it is indeed on family income, he may need to pay that back.

For the US you can file as MFJ or MFS. If you choose to do MFJ and he doesn't have an SSN, you'll need to file a W7 with your tax return. If you file MFS you paper file and write NRA in the SSN section. OR you can apply for an extension and file after he arrives and gets his SSN.

Likely you won't need your 2016 taxes for the interview since the US taxes aren't normally due until April

This is kind of what I'm worried about. Currently, Ontario Works doesn't know he is married because they would then count my income as part of his, so he would get nothing from them. Currently, I don't have the resources to support him up there, so he needs the support from OW until he moves here. I would be understanding if there was some payback that needed to happen, but hoping it won't happen.

So it sounds like the main remaining question is if he will need to include my income in his Canadian taxes. Really starting to think I should just pay to have someone do our taxes for this next year... mine have been so uncomplicated up until this point.

[AstroCanada 206]

So in regards to having a SSN, if he's able to get one by the time I file taxes, that will work, even though he didn't have it all throughout the tax year?

This is kind of what I'm worried about. Currently, Ontario Works doesn't know he is married because they would then count my income as part of his, so he would get nothing from them. Currently, I don't have the resources to support him up there, so he needs the support from OW until he moves here. I would be understanding if there was some payback that needed to happen, but hoping it won't happen.

So it sounds like the main remaining question is if he will need to include my income in his Canadian taxes. Really starting to think I should just pay to have someone do our taxes for this next year... mine have been so uncomplicated up until this point.

You won't need to file Canadian taxes. There is no such thing as married filing jointly in Canada. There are some details of tax credits if there are children involved, but he should just file his Canadian taxes as normal.

If he has a SSN by the time you file US taxes, then you can include him and his income in your taxes to probably reduce the tax.

Cross-border taxes are pretty expensive if you get someone to do them FYI.

[NikLR 13,227]

So in regards to having a SSN, if he's able to get one by the time I file taxes, that will work, even though he didn't have it all throughout the tax year?

This is kind of what I'm worried about. Currently, Ontario Works doesn't know he is married because they would then count my income as part of his, so he would get nothing from them. Currently, I don't have the resources to support him up there, so he needs the support from OW until he moves here. I would be understanding if there was some payback that needed to happen, but hoping it won't happen.

So it sounds like the main remaining question is if he will need to include my income in his Canadian taxes. Really starting to think I should just pay to have someone do our taxes for this next year... mine have been so uncomplicated up until this point.

The unfortunate part is that he is required by law, in Canada, to report his marriage within 30 days. Likely whatever he's been given during the year, he will have to pay back.

He doesn't have to write your income in on his taxes, but they may ask for it if he's honest and writes that he's married.

[AstroCanada 206]

The unfortunate part is that he is required by law, in Canada, to report his marriage within 30 days. Likely whatever he's been given during the year, he will have to pay back.

He doesn't have to write your income in on his taxes, but they may ask for it if he's honest and writes that he's married.

Where in Canadian law does it say that you're required to report a marriage within 30 days? Who would you even report it to if the marriage happened outside of Canada? Do you have a link?

[NikLR 13,227]

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc65/rc65-16e.pdf

read the instructions at the top of the form.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/mrtl/menu-eng.html

[AstroCanada 206]

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc65/rc65-16e.pdf

read the instructions at the top of the form.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/bnfts/mrtl/menu-eng.html

Wow, I completely did not know that. Definitely didn't update the CRA when I got married. Although, I think this is only relevant to people getting child benefits from the CRA. I didn't get any benefits from them...only paid them a lot!

[Lemonslice 4,859]

Also many provincial programs require it

http://www.mcss.gov.on.ca/en/mcss/programs/social/ow/client/circumstances.aspx

Edited December 13, 2016 by Lemonslice

[Faust942 4]

I had worked from Jan-Jun in Canada. Upon moving to the USA (Buffalo), I was able to start working in July.

Does this require me to pay taxes in both countries this tax year? My wife makes $12K yearly and I made $41K (last year's taxable income) in Canada, and $39K now.

Edited December 14, 2016 by Faust942

[NikLR 13,227]

Not pay taxes but file taxes in both countries.