Skip to main content

Posts

Income Tax Guide for US Expats Working in Canada

  To many Americans, Canada might appear to be a parallel universe: a land of courteous people who generally speak English yet do not hold American citizenship—a country that is both close and far away. Others remember Canada as the country that invaded the United States in 1812 and burned down the White House (despite the fact that Canada did not exist at the time, and the British bear sole responsibility for the attack on Washington, DC). However, approximately 800,000 US citizens call Canada home. Cities such as Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Edmonton, as well as other parts of the country near the US border, have large numbers of US expats. Taxpayers in Canada must pay both federal and provincial (or territorial) taxes, much as citizens of the United States do to the IRS and state governments. The primary distinction is that most Canadian provinces (with the exception of Quebec) do not need the filing of a separate return; the federal government collects provincial. Because o...
Recent posts

US Taxes for American Workers in Canada: What to Know

  OMG, like in "Factory Time," Tom Wayman and Chandin's dad are totally obsessed with every little detail and the whole vibe of their work time. It's cray cray! Here, tho, religion is also lowkey at stake in the financial predicament. OMG, like this reverend from the "Shivering Northern Wetlands" in England totally adopts Chandin into his seminary. And guess what? Word spreads like wildfire that Chandin's parents have legit converted to Christianity just so the adoption can happen. Crazy, right? Like, this one person in the village is all like, "If it's the only way for your child to get education and not have to work like a horse, sweating and breaking back in the hot sun for hardly anything, wouldn't you convert?" (28).  Converting to Christianity is, like, a way for peeps of Indian descent to lowkey ditch their racialization and the whole struggle with money and time   It's a pretty tempting choice for Chandin's parents, and ...

Navigating US Tax Rules for Jobs in Canada

  In most cases, if you are a "tax resident" of a country, you have to pay taxes on all of your income in that country. It is normal for someone who moves around the world to be a "tax resident" of more than one country. If you don't get the right help, this could mean that two countries can tax your income from all over the world, which is also known as "double taxation." A good tax treaty between the two countries can often make this situation less of a problem. You are automatically a "tax resident" of the United States if you are a citizen of that country. However, you can easily be a "tax resident" of Canada if your move there for work makes it seem like you will stay there permanently (for example, if you sell your American home and buy one in Canada and bring your spouse and children with you). It is the responsibility of employers who pay workers for work done in Canada to withhold payroll source charges on those amounts. Th...

Tax Filing Requirements for US Citizens in Canada

  If you are a US citizen or resident alien, the rules for filing income, estate, and gift tax returns, as well as paying estimated taxes, are essentially the same whether you are in the US or abroad. You are taxed on all international income, and you must declare and pay taxes in accordance with the Internal Revenue Code. Many Americans residing overseas are eligible for specific tax breaks, such as the foreign earned income exclusion and the foreign tax credit, but they can only obtain them by submitting a US tax return. For more information, read Publication 54, Tax Guide for US Citizens and Resident Aliens Abroad.  U.S. taxpayers who own foreign financial accounts must report them to the Treasury Department, even if they earn no taxable income. Taxpayers must electronically file a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) by April 18, 2022, through the BSA e-filing system. For more information, read the Foreign Bank and Financial Account Report (FBAR).  Tax...

Tax Requirements for US Citizens Employed in Canada

  According to Brent Allen, a certified financial planner and financial management adviser with Investors Group in London, Ontario, if you are a U.S. citizen living and working in Canada, you are taxed on any money you make there, whether it's from working for a Canadian company or investing in Canadian stocks, bonds, or mutual funds. The meaning of "resident" in Canada is very broad. There are many things that can help a taxpayer claim that they live in Canada for tax reasons, but the most basic is how much time the taxpayer spends in Canada. If a person lives in Canada for more than 183 days a year, the Canada Revenue Agency will probably consider them to be a resident. This is especially true if their main home is in Canada. If you want to live in Canada, you should know that the CRA decides each case on its own. Call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281 if you aren't sure if you are a resident or not. On their Canadian tax return, people who live in Canada must list all of t...

Double Taxation Issues for US Citizens in Canada

  The robot-like vibes echoing through Wayman’s head remind me of the voice of the "Newtonian Clock" in W.H. New's epic poem Along a Snake Fence Riding, which goes like:  But like, Wayman's poetic speaker is like, totally broke in terms of time, but that doesn't mean he can't like, be aware of time, you know? He's like, super obsessed with it, which actually makes him even more aware of time because he's always under this crazy time pressure, man. His options for flexin'By like, showing the human employee as, like, this reluctant cyborg who's totally losing it because they're, like, obsessed with the clock, Wayman is totally making fun of how our whole society is, like, built around this inhuman idea of being super efficient.   OMG, the employee has legit turned into a time factory, like "typing out" the time stuff that's like super fragile in meaning when it's taken out of the workplace context.  The vibe in the poem is l...

Tax Filing Essentials for US Citizens in Canada

  Media coverage of United States income tax reporting requirements—which apply to all US citizens living outside of the country—has surged recently in Canada. For US citizens living in Canada, these filing requirements could cause significant taxes, interest, and fines.  Given Canada's strong geographical and economic ties to the United States, American citizens are not unusual to find living in Canada. A job move could cause some to visit Canada temporarily; others could be permanent residents. As a US citizen, you must file yearly US income taxes even if you live in Canada.  Many of these filing rules also apply to permanent US residents (green card holders), who are typically recognized as US citizens for income tax purposes. In our alert, we identified US citizens and green card holders as "U.S. persons." This warning pertains to many US tax obligations that US citizens living in Canada should know about. All figures are US dollars unless otherwise stated.Filing US I...