US Citizen immigrated to Canada - What tax forms to file?

lieutenantclone · Post by **lieutenantclone** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 12:25 pm

Hello,

My wife is a US Citzen that immigrated to Canada in February 2009, as a permanant resident. She moved from New York State. I (her husband) am a Canadian Citizen. I am having a difficult time trying to figure out how exactly to file her taxes.

She held a job in the US for the two months before she moved to Canada. Once in Canada, she got her SIN card, and also worked for a few months here. She is also going to College in Canada, and started her first semester in September of 2009.

I did her American Federal and New York State takes for 2008, which was fairly straight forward because she was in one place the whole year. I have never done Canadian taxes before, but this year I will be doing both her American and Canadian taxes, as well as my Canadian taxes. I have been searching the internet long and hard, but I am having a hard time figuring out which US, Canada and New York tax forms I need to file.

Is there special forms for Immigrants/Emmigrants? Is there a concept of filing for a partial year (I think there is for state taxes, but not federal)? How do I make sure that she does not pay tax twice between the two countries?

It would be greatly appreciated if someone could point me in the right direction. I have all the receipts I need, but I am lost in a sea of tax forms.

nelsona · Post by **nelsona** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 4:23 pm

As a USC she must continue to file IRS 1040 forever. She reports world income, and the excludes Cdn wages of 2555 and/or uses 1116 to get credit for Cdn taxes.

For Canada, she reports for 2009 as a "newcomer" putting date of arrival on return, and then reporting all world income from after that date.

Any more infor than that will have to be from reading this site of IRS/CRA websites, until May

lieutenantclone · Post by **lieutenantclone** » Sat Mar 27, 2010 5:13 pm

Hi nelsona,

Thanks for the reply. So she just needs to file the 1040 as though she never left the country, but then exclude or credit the Canadian wages?

What is the difference between the "foreign earned income exclusion" and the "foreign tax credit for individuals"?

[quote]For Canada, she reports for 2009 as a "newcomer" putting date of arrival on return, and then reporting all world income from after that date.[/quote]

So it is basically like filing a partial year return?