Dual Citizen /US CItizen Living Almost Entire life in Canada

Cobra · Post by **Cobra** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 1:23 am

I am 60 years of age. I was born in the US to US Citizen parents. We immigrated to Canada when I was 1 year old. I grew up in Canada and went to University in Canada. I lived in the US for about 8 months after University in 1975 when a number of US Hospitals were recruiting Canadian University Nursing graduates. I did not file a US tax return, but paid US taxes through deductions on my pay check from the US Hospital. I returned to my home in Canada in 1975. I have lived and worked in Canada since then. I married in Canada and my children were born in Canada. I have had no income at all since 1990. In 1999 I became a Canadian Citizen.

I have read recently in the news issues regarding US Citizens and/or Dual Citizens living in Canada are required to file US tax Returns. I understand that the IRS is rounding up all of the US CItizens and Dual Citizens living in Canada and will be fining and or charging them for not filing US tax returns for all these years.

In my situation should I have been filing US Tax Returns all these years? Or some of these years? Should I have been reporting my Canadian income on a US tax return for all those years that I did work in Canada prior to 1990 and reporting NIL returns for the other years ? Can the IRS come after me and for what ? I have not been contacted by the IRS, but I want to be prepared as to what to expect.

madhoa · Post by **madhoa** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:29 am

The statute of limitations on 1990 has long, long ago passed.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:35 am

You should be backfiling past 3 years correctly. that means including all income and then taking whatever deductions, credits exemptions, to lower your US tax to 0. There are other reporting requirements that yiu can find by reading through this forum.

If you already filed NIL returns for the las tthree years, you need to amend them using 1040-X.-