Serbinski Accounting Firms

EDIT:

I meant to write

"How does one decide IF we need to pay the AMT"

Let me add one more question for the experts here. How does one decide where we need to pay the AMT? Are the criteria spelled out explicitly anywhere? I used the IRS's AMT assistant which is a webform designed to tell you whether or not you need to do the AMT. Here is the website: http://apps.irs.go...

Thanks for the paid/accrued distinction Nelsona. I had not appreciated that difference!

I finally had to abandon Turbo Tax for Form 1116 and instead I did it by hand. TT is unable to correctly compute the adjustments on the deductions for mortgage interest and property tax in the presence of the 2555 exclusion (which I had to take, otherwise I have to pay AMT!). I eventually discovered...

Turbo Tax continues to drive me crazy. I'm now trying Eortlund's method. Eortlund: when you enter your Canadian wages as if you have a W2 did you check the "I worked outside the United States. (Don't check this box if you were employed by the U.S. government or its agencies.)" button? If I...

Thanks for pointing out the Form 8891 ! I hadn't even gotten to dealing with my RPP. I'll try again tonight with turbotax.

eortlund said: In Turbotax, I list our Canadian income in US dollars in the same place any US taxpayer would on the 1040, using the average exchange rate for the year. Then in the deductions area of the program, I list the Canadian taxes paid in the foreign tax credit section. I agree it's not as st...

Hi Nelsona - I was under the impression that we are not eligible for the child tax credit because our income is too high (mine is around $135K and my wife's is around $120). I think that you are supposed to compute your eligibility *before* applying the exclusion. In fact, I can see no advantage to ...

I'm joining this thread a little late, but it is pretty relevant to me. My wife and I are US citizens who have been permanent residents of Canada since 2001 and both have jobs here. We have three children (including twins) who were all born here. @ andsoitgoes: I feel your pain! I am a little more o...