Canadian citizen returned home (tax questions)

[Cheryl]

Hi Everyone:

I have looked through this forum and it is impressive the amount of quality information provided. I appreciate people like Nelsona who take the time to share their extensive knowledge. I want to thank Mr. Serbinski for taking the time to add me on the list due to my problems attempting to register for the tax forum.

I worked in the US for about two and a half years on an L-1 visa. I began working in the US on October 1, 2002. I was determined to be a non-resident of Canada on October 1, 2002 by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency. I returned back to Canada on December 14, 2004 and declared myself a resident of Canada at the border. I began working for a company in Ontario on December 15th.

I know that this is might be a question similiar to what Carolyn asked but I want to make sure what I have to do to avoid any difficulties. In 2004 I worked in the US from January 1st to December 13th as a Canadian citizen but a non-resident of Canada as aforementioned. I worked in Canada as a resident from December 15th to the end of 2004. I received NO income from my former US employer or had any income from the US after December 13th. I guess
when I read the T1 General sheet and saw "As a Canadian resident, you have to report your income from all sources both inside and outside Canada" I became confused. My question would be, do I have to report my worldwide income as part of my total and taxable income for my Canadian Income Tax or do I just report what I earned in Canada after I declared myself to be a resident once again on December 14th?

I did look over form T4055 but wanted to make sure what to do so I can get another tax form completed. Luckily the 1040 and state tax weren't too bad.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I appreciate anyone who takes the time time to answer.

Cheryl

[nelsona]

You are not a Cdn resident until Dec 14, so only have to report any US income from AFTER that date (and you said you received no US wages).


You will file a T1 for Ontario residents -- with your arrival date-- and will prorate your line 300 by 16/366.

Remember that if you got any Cdn wages in December, that you do have to include them on your 1040, if you (a) are filing jointly with spouse and/or (b) want the standard deduction. You can then claim any Cdn tax you end up owing for 2004 (including UI premiums) as atax credit or deduction.


By the way, for tax purposes, there is no such thing as declaring yourself a resident at the border.

For CUSTOMS, you can declare yourself a returning resident, but this has no meaning for income tax. Your residential TIES are what count for CRA.

Probably would have been a lot simpler for you to start work on Jan 2, 2005, no?



<i>nelsona non grata</i>