Canada Green Card Holder

heyson23 · Post by **heyson23** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 7:28 am

Hi there,

I have had my green card for about 10 years now and have lived in Canada for the whole time. For the first 7 years I was a full time student in Canada and worked for the last 3 years. I have visited the U.S. a few times during the 10 years to visit but nothing more than 3 or 4 days for the majority of my visits. The US customs agent mentioned that being a student allows me to keep my card and that they have admitted into US.

I feel like I am in a deep hole as I got the green card when I was 16 years old and it has been recently that I have taken it on my own to research into how everything works and on top of that the tax laws.

I am currently a part time student and working part time in Canada and will be in school for another two years.

I really would like to resolve this situation as soon as possible and to ensure I do not ruin any relations with US as I do not know what the future holds, but will most likely be living in Canada.

I have read up on Green Card Abandonment and topics such as expatriate taxes, but I have not idea where to start.

I realize my situation is a difficult one, but any assistance or any direction to take would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you for your time.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 9:44 am

Not sure what you are asking.

Have you been filing your US and Cdn tax return all these years?

Technically, by living in Canada (whether or not a student) you should be asked by the oUS border offcier to hand in your GC.

If that is what you want, then go ahead. But do realize that you need to get causgt up with your US taxes before you can get out of IRS grasp. It is a formal process.

heyson23 · Post by **heyson23** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:22 pm

Hi there,

Thank you for your reply. I think you have already clarified what I was wondering, which is the concern with filing taxes under US tax laws.

Yes I have filed my Canadian taxes every year.

How far back should I be going back to?

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:37 pm

six years, and there are MANT reporting requirements, with you now being the position of incurring fines and penalties.

Search in the forum for OVDI.

heyson23 · Post by **heyson23** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 2:54 pm

And none of the "closer relations" or the fact that the presence test is not been met apply to me in anyway? I cant claim any of that to reduce any fees or penalties?

I get fined and penalties for just not filing is that correct?

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Wed Jan 07, 2015 3:07 pm

No. You have a green card. That trumps anything else in the eyes of IRS.

heyson23 · Post by **heyson23** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 12:02 am

I see...

I also read that if your income was less than 10,000 and had no other unearned income that you do not need to file? Is that correct?

Thank you so much for answering all of my questions by the way!

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Thu Jan 08, 2015 10:50 am

No that is not correct.
In any event, any minimum income filing requirement doesn't apply for non-residents with foreign accounts. (and the threshold it is not quite that low).
As I said, you have REPORTING requirements that are far more burdensome, and carry far more penalties than income tax.

lucygp · Post by **lucygp** » Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:44 pm

I cant claim any of that to reduce any fees or penalties?

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