Filing in both countries 2012 living in US from April-now

samtherobot · Post by **samtherobot** » Mon Mar 04, 2013 11:37 pm

Hi there,

I think my situation is going to be one of the more simpler ones but I need a little guidance as to what to look for.

I moved to the US on an R1 in April 2013 after working full time in Canada from Jan-April 2013. I'm fairly certain this means my residency is the US (have looked at all residency rules and I meet every one)

I would think that I would only need to file in the US other than the fact I want my return from income tax paid in Canada.

I say simple because I work for a church and therefore don't make very much and don't have any assets. I have RRSPs in Canada but didn't think that would affect much.

Any help pointing me in the right direction would be great.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 6:38 am

you need to file a departure return for canada. see cra emigrant guide.

for us, you file a full year return, reporting all 2012 income, including canadian, and exempt your cdn wages using form 2555. there are a couple of forms that you need to file to report your cdn accounts (fbar, and 8891)

you will need to move your rrsp to a properly licensed cdn broker who can legally deal with you in us. you must inform them that you live in us.

samtherobot · Post by **samtherobot** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 8:29 pm

I filled out an NR73 - Determination of Residency Status to confirm residency.

From what I can tell I fill out a standard T1 Form and it has questions about residency during the year. I'm looking through the 2555 form and it seems to make sense.

As far as the FBAR, it says only for account holdings greater than $10,000. Combined with my RRSPs I do have more than $10,000 but under FBAR exemptions it says "Participants in and beneficiaries of tax-qualified retirement plans". I'm assuming I would fall under that because without my RRSPs my Canadian accounts are less than $10,000.

I bank with Royal Bank in Canada and they informed me that they would not be able to deal with me when I'm in the United States. It's not really necessary as they are basically dormant, I'm not contributing to them nor am I needing to move funds. I will be making short trips to Canada so I could make any changes while there.

Thanks for your help.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:18 pm

An RRSP is not a qualified paln under FBAR. You need to file FBAR.

Read the emigrants guide for how to file in Canada, as well as other departure requirements.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:18 pm

Do NOTR submitan NR73 to CRA. merely follow it as aguideline.

samtherobot · Post by **samtherobot** » Tue Mar 05, 2013 10:27 pm

Alright on the RRSP.

Bummer about NR73, I already faxed it in a couple weeks ago. Why is this a negative? Is this not part of notifying Canada of my non-residence? On the "Leaving Canada" page (http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/nnrsdnts/nd ... g-eng.html) it says, "It's important that you tell us the date you leave Canada..." but they don't really say how to tell them. If not NR73 then I guess I just send an email?

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Wed Mar 06, 2013 10:43 am

The date is on your final tax return.

The only time you need to notify Govt before this, is if you are getting GST or child credit payments.

Your case should be OK, but NR73 provides no extra measure of protection, and most people fill these wrong and can get screwed up by CRA.

samtherobot · Post by **samtherobot** » Wed Mar 06, 2013 11:13 am

I saw this about the GST tax credit. I looked back and I did actually receive a GST credit in July that I probably should not have got. I was going to call CRA today to figure out what to do about this.