Canadian first time filing in US (on a TN Visa)

[Staff_Accountant]

Hello everyone,

I moved to the US (New Jersey) in June 2012 on a TN visa. Prior to that I was working in Canada.

I have a T4 from the first half of 2012 and a W2 for the second half of 2012.

Since my income is relatively low, I don't think it's worth the hassle for me to file a departure return in Canada.

What I've done so far is:
Completed a 1040EZNR for the 1st half of the year, reporting 0 income, marking the return as "dual-resident".
Completed a 1040EZ for the 2nd half of the year, reporting the income from my W2, marking the return as "dual-resident"
Completed a 1040NJ for the 2nd of the year, reporting income from my W2.

My understanding is that, I would then complete a Canadian tax return, reporting my T4, and then also the W2, and then calculate the tax credit on taxes paid on the W2, and then pay the taxes in Canada.

This my understanding from reading the IRS site, if I am incorrect in anything, please let me know. I appreciate your time in reading this and look forward to any comments you may have.

Thanks,
SA.

[Jaspal]

I was in the same situations several years ago. Most likely, you would need to file Canadian tax for 2012 for the portion you were Canadian resident, with a departure date shown on it so that Canadian govt doesn't expect your tax next year. If you maintained links with Canada (bank accounts, credit cards, etc) for the entire 2012 you would need to file Cdn tax for the entire year, including W2 income in it, with a credit for the taxes paid in the US.