Declare non-resident status for 2020 tax year

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curiousJ
Posts: 16
Joined: Sat Feb 06, 2021 7:25 pm

Declare non-resident status for 2020 tax year

Post by curiousJ »

Hello,

Thanks for reading my post. My wife (TD) and I (TN) have been living and working in the US for most of 2020 (more than 183 days). We traveled back and forth between the US and Canada a couple of times throughout the year to work remotely and at the same time, manage to sell our house. We are now working on our Canadian tax return for 2020 and wondering if we can declare non-resident for 2020? Please see below for our situation:

Time in Canada:
My wife spent April to July in Canada (about 4 months) and I spent about 2-3 months in Canada as well. We finally moved to the US at the end of July and not planning to go back for the next 3-4 years.

Income:
The US income was the only income source we had for 2020 (my wife didn't have any income for the year). I worked remotely for the US employer while I was in Canada during that 2-3 months.

Real Estate Property:
We owned a house and sold it in September 2020. There was no gain from the house due to the poor market and according to research, I don't need to file tax for the property. We had no rental income for the property either during the 2020 tax year.

Provincial Health Coverage:
My wife had some blood work and X-Ray services done while she was in Canada in June and July.

According to all the information above, can we declare non-residency status for the 2020 tax year? If so, can we declare it for the whole 2020 (starting January 1st, 2020)? or part of 2020 (when?)

I really appreciate your time going through my post. Thanks in advance for your answers.
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Re: Declare non-resident status for 2020 tax year

Post by nelsona »

First off, you are never "non-resident" the year you leave Canada, you are "departing" or "emigrant" that year, so file a normal return for your province, but with departure date. Using the term non-resident, and return for non-residents would only apply in subsequent years, if necessary.

So, from what you say your departure date would be the end of July, this requiring you report all income until that date on your departure return, as well as any departure tax requirements.

Foe US, you can and should file full year 1040 joint with your spouse, reporting all world income.

You DO indeed need to report the sale of your house in Canada on your CDn return, regardless of the profit. You do not need to do so in US.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
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