Serbinski Accounting Firms

Thanks so much for your responses, Bubba Gums! I really hope I don't need to file Form 8833 with regard to my RRSP because I have absolutely no idea of how to properly complete the form. Can you tell me why you have chosen to file this form if there is not a requirement to do so?

Thanks again!

I am a U.S. citizen living & working in Canada and filing Canadian resident taxes.  In 2020, I opened an RRSP.  How do I handle reporting this plan on my U.S. taxes, especially considering the recent IRS guidance of Rev. Proc. 2020-17, issued in March 2020"?  1. Can I, and if so, should I d...

Thanks for taking the time to reply, Bubba Gums! Your responses were very helpful. I'm still a bit confused though about whether I must report the defined benefit contributory pension plan on 1040 Schedule B Part III # 8 as a foreign trust to which I transferred funds. One of the Pension Report docu...

I am a U.S. citizen living & working in Canada and filing Canadian resident taxes. In 2020, I began participating in my employer's Defined Benefit Pension Plan which, along with employer contributions, has required, fixed employee contributions by deduction from paychecks. The plan is officially...

Thank you! I think then that I'll just go with "Study Permit" for this line since that's what I had when I first entered the country and when I'm claiming that my bona fide residency began.

I'm a U.S. citizen who's been continuously living, studying, and working in Canada since 2011. I first entered Canada on a Study Permit, then extended the Study Permit, then got a Post-Graduate Work Permit, and now while still on my PGWP, have received a provincial nomination and have applied for Ca...

Whether or not I have to file in NJ is also a question for which I have been unable to find a solid answer. I was only in NJ for 20 days in 2015. My Study Permit is due to expire at the end of this summer, but I will be applying this month to renew it so that it will be good at least until the end o...

I am a U.S. citizen, living in Canada for almost 5 yrs. now while studying for my PhD, still on a Study Permit. I have been filing Canadian and U.S. Federal taxes each yr. The last place to be considered as my permanent residence in the U.S. was my parents' house in NJ. This year, for the first time...

I thank you both for your responses. I had a feeling that I would need to file Schedule C to account for the small amount of self-employment income. On further investigation of the matter yesterday, I found that in cases such as these, the IRS does seem to also require that a "certificate of co...

I have a few questions regarding self-employment income reporting & taxation and would appreciate help.

I am a U.S. citizen, studying for my PhD in Canada for the past 3 yrs., and I file a Canadian “residentâ€￾ tax return. In addition to my non-taxable Canadian fellowship income for 2013, I have taxable income from part-time work as a Teaching Assistant and ~ $2000 net income from a brief stint of Canadian self-employment as a sole proprietor earlier in 2013. For my 2013 Canadian tax reporting, I plan to file form T2125 along with my regular return and pay whatever Canadian self-employment tax is required.

For U.S. tax purposes, I qualify as a bona fide resident of Canada and am able to use the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. I have never been “self-employedâ€￾ in the U.S. and did not receive any income in the U.S. in 2013. For my 2013 U.S. taxes, do I really have to file a Schedule C or can I just lump my small amount of net self-employment income in with my world wages, etc. income on Line 7 of my 1040?

Also, is it correct that even if I must file Schedule C, I should not have to pay U.S. self-employment tax because I will be paying into the Canadian Social Security system? If so, must I obtain a “certificate of coverageâ€￾ from the CRA to prove to the U.S. that my small amount of Canadian self-employment earnings should be exempted from the U.S. self-employment tax?

Thank you very much for your help!

Thank you nelsona and JGCA for your responses. You have both been very helpful in providing answers to some of my questions and in suggesting approaches to finding answers to the others. Despite reading both the general tax guide and the student tax guide and trying to see how my personal circumstan...

Thank you, nelsona, for the link you sent me and your attempt to answer my re-phrased questions. I read that link as well as all the information I could find on the CRA webpages, much of it written in legalese, pertaining to fellowship income and amounts reported on T4A forms in Box 105, and I am st...

Thank you, nelsona. Your response has led me to do further research and reconsider the questions I should ask. The income I received was from a Canadian university, in support of my PhD studies, and was fellowship income, not income from employment. The amount was reported to me on a T4A form in Box...

I am a U.S. citizen who began PhD studies at the end of Aug. 2011 at a Canadian university, supported by a fellowship and stipend. Having spent approx. 125 days in Canada in 2011, I am really confused about whether Canada considers me a non-resident or a resident for taxation purposes, and whether o...