Canadian on TN, living in Canada, working for Canadian Comp

chinoz · Post by **chinoz** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 9:40 am

Hi... I tried looking for answers to the above but couldn't come up with anything.

Here is my situation.

I'm a Canadian who will be working for a Canadian company who does most of their business in the US. I was asked to apply for a TN and was granted status. The way it'll work is that I will travel M-Thur in the US and return home on Friday in Canada.

My question is if I live in Canada and get paid in CAD for a Canadian company, do I need to file any tax documents in the US?

If someone could guide me in the right direction that would be appreciated. Thanks

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:13 am

You should be fine as long as you do not exceed 183 days in any 365 day period. That is for US federal taxes.

State taxes might be a little different, but would depend more on your employer's ties to that state.
But if it is just you going down to US to work on a firm's contract, the 183 day thing is all you need to worry about.

chinoz · Post by **chinoz** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 11:52 am

thanks for the reply.

If I do go over that threshold what would my situation look like?

thanks again..

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:13 pm

You'd need to file a 1040NR reporting the wages your earned in US, and then get credit for the tax on your Cdn return.

chinoz · Post by **chinoz** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:13 pm

I got this from the CRA

[b]If you have determined that you are a resident alien because you meet the substantial presence test, you can be considered a non-resident alien if:

* you were present in the U.S. for less than 183 days in 2009;
* your tax home is in Canada; and
* you had a closer connection to Canada than to the U.S. during 2009.[/b]

I understand that I can fill out an 8840 if I'm in the US under 183 days in any given year, but after that I start to get confused.

chinoz · Post by **chinoz** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:14 pm

whoops.. I just saw your post.

Thanks.

chinoz · Post by **chinoz** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 12:31 pm

one more question.

Can I still fill out an 8840 even though I'm over 183 days?

I won't have a fixed address in the US and all my ties will still be with Canada

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 3:03 pm

If you are in US for more than 183 days you cannot use 8840. You need to make a traty claim using 8833.

But you would still need to report the income on 1040NR at that point.

chinoz · Post by **chinoz** » Mon Apr 12, 2010 6:12 pm

thanks... helpful stuff. I think I'm understand a little more.

What happens if none of my taxes are withheld with my Canadian company? who do I pay taxes to then?

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Tue Apr 13, 2010 8:34 am

You are en employee, this your employer withholds taxes. Afte rthat, you owe the rest to whomever.