filed as a Canadian resident but need to appeal

[queenwest]

Hi there,
I am a Canadian citizen who is currently residing and working in the US on an H1B Visa. In 2023, I spent a total of 140 days in Canada mainly looking after my elderly mother. But I have been living in the US full time since 2022. I made the mistake of not using a cross border accountant to file taxes and the accountant I used filed my taxes as a Canadian resident. I do have a house in my name that my mother lives in but no other ties to Canada for the year 2023. I was hit with a big tax bill on the Canadian side and I had to pay it. I have only W2 income from the US and no other income from any other source. Now I'm wondering if I have any grounds to appeal this and amend the taxes and file as a non-resident in Canada. Any advice would be appreciated.

thanks very much

[nelsona]

It wouldn't really be an "appeal", since really no decision was made in your case.

Did you file your US taxes as usual? If so, simply explain that your accountant filed incorrectly (from what you say, you ddi NOT become a Cdn tax resident), and that they should cancel your return and return your money.

Call them up, explain, and they will tell you the steps you take.

[queenwest]

Thanks so much for your response. I didn't realize it would be that easy? Do I say that I need to file as a non-resident? Is there any exit tax for leaving Canada? I'm only going to be a non-resident in Canada for a couple of more years and I intend to move back. I have a house in my name and my mother lives there.

[queenwest]

Thank you so much for your response. I didn't realize that it was that easy. Do I have to pay any tax (ie exit tax)? I have a home there in my name but my mother lives there with a caregiver. I plan on moving back to Canada in a couple of years.

[nelsona]

I presume you would have filed as departing in 2022. You need to fix that year as well.
Then you likely don't have to file for 2023 at all, since you have no Cdn inocme.

Whomever you are dealing with seems clueless on how to handle your situation (or you haven't informed him sufficiently)

[queenwest]

Thank you - I think I perhaps may be to blame for not thinking it all through. I did not file any departing in 2022 and filed as a CDN resident in 2022. This is because I moved to the US in 2022. I also filed 1040s in the US as a resident for both 2022 and 2023.

Any advice on how I should proceed?

[nelsona]

You need to amend your 2022 Cdn return with a departure date, and only reporting income from before your move.

Start there.