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US income tax

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ExpressoEntry

Star Member
Jun 30, 2018
50
8
Hello Everyone,

I am really confused on this and before paying 100 of dollars in consultation fees to CPAs I thought of checking here first. Here is my situation. I lived in the US for about 15 years and have been filing taxes as a resident alien for about 10 years while on H1B visa. I own a home in USA. Last year I was in US from Jan to Feb mid and then was on vacation outside USA till May and came back to us on May and lived in USA till July before moving permanently to Canada in August. The home I own in US, I have rented it out via a property management company. looking at the definition of substantial presence test , It seems I qualify to file my taxes as a resident alien. While filing my taxes via turbotax, it's asking foreign bank accounts, foreign income etc and other similar information. I am really confused. Since I not a us citizen and I have moved out of the country should I just not mention my Canadian income and bank account etc and just file using TurboTax? or since I am filing as a resident alien I still need declare these?

Thanks!
 
H

headingnorth

Star Member
Jun 4, 2018
108
10
ExpressoEntry said:
Hello Everyone,

I am really confused on this and before paying 100 of dollars in consultation fees to CPAs I thought of checking here first. Here is my situation. I lived in the US for about 15 years and have been filing taxes as a resident alien for about 10 years while on H1B visa. I own a home in USA. Last year I was in US from Jan to Feb mid and then was on vacation outside USA till May and came back to us on May and lived in USA till July before moving permanently to Canada in August. The home I own in US, I have rented it out via a property management company. looking at the definition of substantial presence test , It seems I qualify to file my taxes as a resident alien. While filing my taxes via turbotax, it's asking foreign bank accounts, foreign income etc and other similar information. I am really confused. Since I not a us citizen and I have moved out of the country should I just not mention my Canadian income and bank account etc and just file using TurboTax? or since I am filing as a resident alien I still need declare these?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Hi, were you able to figure out ? I am in a similar situation and trying to make sure i do it right. Please let me know.
 
E

ExpressoEntry

Star Member
Jun 30, 2018
50
8
headingnorth said:
Hi, were you able to figure out ? I am in a similar situation and trying to make sure i do it right. Please let me know.
Click to expand...
Hey..I used cross border accountant to file us taxes. And then used claimed the us taxes on my candian taxes. The tax situation was complicated. I had to file in duel alien status. 1 return as a resident for the time in USA and a second return as a non resident for the time in Canada. For the portion filed as a non resident I can claim tax credits from Canada. You don't have to pay any taxes on the portion you made before you moved to Canada permanently. But after that you need to report your worldwide income and pay taxes on it but since Canada and USA has a tax treaty you can claim credit on your us taxes you have already paid. Also if you file in duel alien status you cannot claim any standard deductions for both status and also cannot joint file but you can file by adding your dependent if they are us citizens like a us born child. You can only claim itemized deductions.so if you are married and your wife worked in the us you will have to file 4 tax returns. 2 as resident and 2 as non resident status. Hope this helps! Good luck..
 
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canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,975
12,768
ExpressoEntry said:
Hey..I used cross border accountant to file us taxes. And then used claimed the us taxes on my candian taxes. The tax situation was complicated. I had to file in duel alien status. 1 return as a resident for the time in USA and a second return as a non resident for the time in Canada. For the portion filed as a non resident I can claim tax credits from Canada. You don't have to pay any taxes on the portion you made before you moved to Canada permanently. But after that you need to report your worldwide income and pay taxes on it but since Canada and USA has a tax treaty you can claim credit on your us taxes you have already paid. Also if you file in duel alien status you cannot claim any standard deductions for both status and also cannot joint file but you can file by adding your dependent if they are us citizens like a us born child. You can only claim itemized deductions.so if you are married and your wife worked in the us you will have to file 4 tax returns. 2 as resident and 2 as non resident status. Hope this helps! Good luck..
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Would add that next year’s taxes will look very different since you’ll be in Canada for the full year. Always best to pay a CPA for at least the first year or two depending on when you move in situations like yours so at least you have a model to follow.
 
E

ExpressoEntry

Star Member
Jun 30, 2018
50
8
canuck78 said:
Would add that next year’s taxes will look very different since you’ll be in Canada for the full year. Always best to pay a CPA for at least the first year or two depending on when you move in situations like yours so at least you have a model to follow.
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Thank you. Yup. I used CPA for filing my candian taxes as well.
 
L

Learner02

Full Member
Aug 5, 2022
35
5
Ponga said:
Might be best to avoid a `low cost' cross border tax professional.
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:D:D:D:D:D

@Ponga, so funny! Anyways, to be clear, there are some cross-border tax professionals that will charge reduced costs when compared to others but will deliver the same quality work.
 
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Ponga

VIP Member
Oct 22, 2013
10,085
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C

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,975
12,768
Ponga said:
Perhaps H&R Block would be an option? At least with them, you know they're experienced and likely cheaper than a CPA. Of course, you could roll the dice and try Craigslist...NOT!
https://www.hrblock.com/expat-tax-preparation/resource-center/country/canada/
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Not an option. They are only able to do very standard Tax returns.
Learner02 said:
:D:D:D:D:D

@Ponga, so funny! Anyways, to be clear, there are some cross-border tax professionals that will charge reduced costs when compared to others but will deliver the same quality work.
Click to expand...
There are quite a large number available. I would suggest contacting a few CPAs in your home city And hopefully someone a bit local. Would do as much online research on them as possible and weed out any possible paid reviews and endorsements. Others posting about filing cross-boarder taxes bay be able to give you some names if you message them. Would assume smaller independent CPAs will charge lower rates than CPAs that are part of a large firm. Would suggest organizing all your paperwork very well. If everything is well organized so there is no time needed to be spent on deciphering what things are, finding the right documents & receipts, etc you will likely use less billable hours
 
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Learner02

Full Member
Aug 5, 2022
35
5
Ponga said:
@Learner02 never stated how complex their returns would be...only that they want to find a cheap way to do cross border returns, which H&R Block offers.
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Hahaha @Ponga......I am not even sure how complex my returns are. The only thing to come to mind is that I earned income in Canada and U.S this 2022. For the Canadian side, I contributed to RRSP while in the U.S., I have 401k and HSA.
 
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