Cross-border taxes confusion

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coderzombie
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:10 pm

Cross-border taxes confusion

Post by coderzombie »

Hello,

I'm not really sure what to do with my 2014 taxes and I'll appreciate any help or direction. I am a Canadian citizen and here's the timeline of of events:

[b]Jan and Feb 2014[/b]
I was in Canada and I worked as a full-time employee for a Canadian company.

[b]Apr and May 2014[/b]
I was in Canada and I worked as a contractor for a US company. They didn't pay me until I got my TN and moved to the US. They set me up as a contractor with my SSN for the first 2 months and I received the full amount for Apr and May without any tax deductions.

[b]Jun to Dec 2014[/b]
I was in the US and I worked as a full-time employee for a US company.

Questions:
- I am guessing I have to file my taxes both in US and Canada. Is this correct?
- How do I avoid getting double-taxed?
- What do I do about the Apr-May period? Do I file it as a freelancer in Canada or as a contractor in the US?
nelsona
Posts: 18314
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Did you move to US? If so, when?
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
coderzombie
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:10 pm

Post by coderzombie »

Mid May
nelsona
Posts: 18314
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

So, for 2014, you file a Cdn return as an EMIGRANT, with a may depature date. On it your report WORLD income until that date, as well as departure tax (see CRA emigrant guide for details.

In US, you file a FULL YEAR 1040, reporting world income for entire year, but exclude your Cdn wages from your Cdn job as ell as the contractor income from April/May on form 2555

If there is any US income on your Cdn return, you claim a foreign tax credit for the US tax you pay on that income. You should not have any however. Since that Apr/Mat income is Cdn self-employed income.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
coderzombie
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jan 22, 2015 10:10 pm

Post by coderzombie »

Great! Thank you so much for your help! :D
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