Need some advice - RRSP in the US - missing info

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Sat Mar 17, 2012 11:29 pm

I'm a Canadian citizen living in California as a permanent resident. I collapsed my RRSP six days after I became a US resident (I requested to withdraw it before departure but it took so long that I ended up receiving the distributions in the US when I was a US resident).
To make a long story short this RRSP (employee+employer) was with my work. I was contributing to my RRSP and my employer was contributing to one for me too.
Now I need to report this 2011 distributions for IRS and California. The problem is that I'm missing so much information that I can't figure out the cost basis of my part and the employer part.
Calling the financial institution in Quebec is not helping and they only have some basic info on the RRSP dated from 2006 only (and it was first created in 2004).
They told me what my total contributions were, but that's pretty much all I know.
I had the "Fonds multigestion 50/50". I didn't keep any of the yearly statements except for the one dated Dec. 31 2010.
What should I do? Was somebody in a similar situation before? Any advice?

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 5:56 am

Its a good thing your withdrawal happened after you ledft, otherwise it would haveben subject to normal taxation in canada, which would have been more than 25%. What was your rationale for wanting to collpse the RRSP before leaving Canada?

First thing is to make sure that you paid EXACTLY 25% to canada.

On your last statement, is there a cost per share or average price listed?

If you cannot make a better determination, then you will need to report al but your contributions.

That is why it is always advised to trade all your assets just before leaving, as this freshens your cost basis.

Also, one should always keep their statements.

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Sun Mar 18, 2012 10:32 am

All I wanted was to have no paperwork to fill out about my RRSPs once in the USA. But, it didn't work the way I wanted to. And I did pay 30% in taxes at the time of withdrawal because they made a mistake...
On the statement there is a unit value and a number of shares, but I was told that the unit value is not what I'm looking for...
Well, I will have to pay taxes on the difference between my contributions and the value at date of entry (for IRS), right?
What about California? It says that this state views the RRSP as a saving account. How does this affect me? What numbers should I use when reporting it?

Thank you for your help. I'm so new at this. I really appreciate your expertise.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 6:27 am

Not unit value but unit COST is what you are looking for,

If you cannot find this, then your contribitions (in USD) is your basis. You will pay US tax on the differnce between cost basis and value when you sold.

You need to file an NR-7-R with CRA to get the 5% back. The problem is (if you were in QC when you left) they may have taken money for QC, which you would have to get bancf rom MRQ.

Confused · Post by **Confused** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 8:16 pm

Thanks again! One more question. What should I say to the IRS if I get audited? Is there an official document that says that contributions made while a resident of Canada are not taxable?

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Mon Mar 19, 2012 9:18 pm

We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.