US Child TAX Credit 1000 for each kid-under article XXV

[aamir50]

Hello,
I am Canadian living in Canada working in US. I commute everyday US for work. Under Article 25 I know I can use tax tables and standard deduction same as used by US citizen/resident in 1040. My question is that can I claim $1000 child tax credit for my son, under same article.

I should be; because under this treaty I should get what US citizen/resident is getting. Just want to confirm from you.

Thanks

[nelsona]

Since by XXV you are pretending to be US citizen, you can claim the child tax credit, since that is what an american would do. The only caveat however, is even a US citizen's children have to meet a standard to be eligible. Just make sure your children meet this standard, which includes US citizenship. If they are not US citizens, you cannot clim then for this credit. You can claim then as dependants however.

That said, there are some that have been successful getting the additional child tax credit, but that was before the rules were clearly spelled out in schedule 8812.

You could give it a try, since your 1040 is merely a calculation form and not your actual tax return. But Don't go crazy with reducing your US tax, since eventually it will be less than your Cdn tax, and thus simply increase your Cdn tax burden.

[nelsona]

a bigger relief, that is often overlooked in the XV return, is to report ANY Cdn/prov tax you paid during the 2012 calendar year on your schedule A. this would include any tax witheld during the year (and not refunded this spring), as well as any payment you made last spring.
This can be quite a chuck and may push you over the standard deduction limit.

You cannot use foreign tax credits on the fake 1040, but you can use foreign tax DEDUCTION.

[CdnAmerican]

I can put this query in a new thread if needed .. to clarify, can one take only the Schedule A deduction OR the 1116 credit, but not both? That's how I read it, but when I look at the instructions it's not totally clear to me. Thanks!

[nelsona]

No you CANNOT take the 1116 credit when doing an XXV 1040 calculation.
Your only choice is schedule A foreign tax deduction -- and only on the tax you and spouse actually paid (had withheld or pad directly and was not later refunded) during the calendar year.

You have a choice if you are filing a normal 1040, but you must choose one or the other. This would depend on if you think you can use the carryforward of unused credit. if not, take the deduction.