Hello,
I am a dual US-Canadian citizen. I am currently up to date on my tax filings for the US and Canada. I have currently been using the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion for my employment income. I have been told not to hold TFSAs, non-RRSP mutual funds, and RESPs as this may result in increased tax and disclosure obligations.
Here's my question, per the Can-US Tax Treaty, am I not a non-resident of the US, as I have lived in Canada all of my life? The tie-breaker rules under Article IV say that my status will be determined by the location of my permanent home, etc. - Canada. If that is the case, why do I still have potential obligations regarding foreign (from the US's perspective) sourced income; are not non-US residents only liable for US sourced income? Why do I need to claim an Foreign Earned Income Exclusion, or foreign tax credits, if per the treaty I am not a US resident?
I hope this is clear. Sorry for the basic level of this question. I am just trying to get a high level understanding of the system that is governing me.
Basic Q re Can-US Tax Treaty
Moderator: Mark T Serbinski CA CPA
US Citizens are taxed on their world wide income regardless of where they live.. I am in the same situation as you. Just to clarify, you are a non-resident of the US. This is the problem with the US tax system. It is citizenship based not resident based like all other countries of the world. The tax treaty does not absolve you from your US tax reporting requirements. The only way to do this is to relinquish your US Citizenship.