O-1 holder living in Canada, working remotely - how do people handle the tax side?
Moderator: Jim Eiss
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AlexGreene2026
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2026 3:05 pm
O-1 holder living in Canada, working remotely - how do people handle the tax side?
Hi all,I've been reading this board for a while and I'm curious how people here handle the practical tax side of US work visas, since this seems like the right crowd for it.Scenario: approved O-1, still living in Canada with family there, working mostly remotely from home but crossing into the US regularly for on-site weeks each month.1. How close to the substantial presence line do people actually run before they start filing as a US resident for tax purposes? Does the treaty tie-breaker really save you if your home and family stay in Canada?2. For anyone who filed I-485 while keeping a Canadian home: did the state side (NY vs Florida especially) surprise you on residency during the pending period?3. How do you decide which years to file in both countries - do you keep a Canadian accountant in the loop until the green card actually lands?Not looking for legal advice, just real experiences from people who went through the transition.
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AlexGreene2026
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2026 3:05 pm
Re: O-1 holder living in Canada, working remotely - how do people handle the tax side?
Quick follow-up on my own thread, since I kept pulling at the I-485 loose end. While sorting out the filing side I stumbled on this walkthrough of the adjustment-of-status steps and timings: https://www.o1eb1.com/en/eb1/aos-i-485That got me wondering — for anyone who filed I-485 while commuting from Canada: did you time it around the Visa Bulletin dates, and did the EAD/AP stage ever force a US address on you that then complicated the state residency picture?
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AlexGreene2026
- Posts: 3
- Joined: Fri Oct 30, 2026 3:05 pm
Re: O-1 holder living in Canada, working remotely - how do people handle the tax side?
An update from the commute side, since nobody asked for one and I keep re-learning the same lesson.
Last month at the land crossing near Fort Erie a CBP officer flipped through my passport, noticed six entry stamps in about eight weeks, and waved me into secondary. Ten quiet minutes of very plain questions: where do I actually live, where does my family live, who signs my paycheck. I gave the same answers as always, home is Hamilton, work pulls me to Waltham roughly one week a month, and I was on my way with a smile. Nothing scary happened, but it was the first time the commute felt like someone else was counting the days, not me.
So here is what that episode taught me. I finally started the log I had been putting off: crossing date, port, nights on each side, which weeks were onsite. Rebuilding it afterwards from boarding passes and toll receipts ate an entire Saturday.
Reading up on what officers actually look at on re-entry also led me to this border-entry walkthrough while I was digging around: [url=https://uscis.love/en/port-of-entry]the port-of-entry checklist[/url]. The I-94 check part is worth doing the same week you get back, not months later when some form needs the record.
My accountant now receives the same log every month. It settled in one meeting the substantial-presence question that had been fog for half a year.
Last month at the land crossing near Fort Erie a CBP officer flipped through my passport, noticed six entry stamps in about eight weeks, and waved me into secondary. Ten quiet minutes of very plain questions: where do I actually live, where does my family live, who signs my paycheck. I gave the same answers as always, home is Hamilton, work pulls me to Waltham roughly one week a month, and I was on my way with a smile. Nothing scary happened, but it was the first time the commute felt like someone else was counting the days, not me.
So here is what that episode taught me. I finally started the log I had been putting off: crossing date, port, nights on each side, which weeks were onsite. Rebuilding it afterwards from boarding passes and toll receipts ate an entire Saturday.
Reading up on what officers actually look at on re-entry also led me to this border-entry walkthrough while I was digging around: [url=https://uscis.love/en/port-of-entry]the port-of-entry checklist[/url]. The I-94 check part is worth doing the same week you get back, not months later when some form needs the record.
My accountant now receives the same log every month. It settled in one meeting the substantial-presence question that had been fog for half a year.