U.S. Citizen Landed in Canada late filing U.S. return

idrawart · Post by **idrawart** » Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:42 pm

I'm a U.S. citizen and have lived in Canada since 1985. Nope, I've never filed a U.S. tax return, and Yep, I now know I should have. Now what? How many should I file or do I just go to Jail without passing Go? Until I found this forum and started reading did it ever occur to me that I could be "taxed" in a country I did not reside or derive income.

Thanks.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:25 am

go back 6 years, including all RRSP requirements. Also file the TD 90 form for foreign accounts for this year.

idrawart · Post by **idrawart** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:38 am

Many thanks for the quick response. It's hard to believe that, given the taxes I pay in Canada that someone wasn't smart enough to write into the tax treaty the unnecessary duplication of filing a U.S. tax return, given no one comes here to EVADE taxes. Considering the gazillions of illiegal souls in my homeland (U.S.) not paying taxes at all, the challenge of having the IRS hunt me down for this is almost worth it. Five years in prison would give me some rest from the paperwork. Insane.

JohnSt · Post by **JohnSt** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:45 am

Are you also a Canadian citizen? Do you only have Canadian investments? While this won't overcome your obligation, as Nelson spelled out, it could impact the IRS's ability to throw you in "jail," so to speak (or at least help you to sleep better). See the US-Canada tax treaty, Article XXVI A, #8.

JohnSt · Post by **JohnSt** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 8:49 am

BTW, I should not have posted the "sleep better" remark. If you backfile correctly (with any citizenship), you should be fine.

idrawart · Post by **idrawart** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 9:27 am

Thanks JohnSt. I am not a Canadian citizen. I'm a U.S. citizen with landed status since 1985. I have investments within my RRSP that include foreign for obvious risk reasons. I've got three kids living in the states and we were contemplating moving back, but I'm starting to think it's easier to take the prison route. As you can tell, I'm not impressed. My sleep patterns definitely won't be interrupted because of the 1040. BTW, I just received my new U.S. passport in December. No issues because of the non-filing. I'm still a citizen of the U.S.

JohnSt · Post by **JohnSt** » Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:39 pm

I feel your pain. I think only one or two other countries tax based on citizenship. In my case, I dutifully filed, but I based my filing on IRS advice from when I first moved to Canada. Over the years, my situation changed dramatically, but I continued to file what I thought were the right forms. This forum and others helped me to get caught up, but it's not an easy thing to do yourself.