Canadian contractor with TN visa working in US

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dwayned
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:04 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Canadian contractor with TN visa working in US

Post by dwayned »

Hello,

I am a Canadian with a registered Canadian Corporation. I am about to entering into an agreement for a 10 month work engagement as a corp-to-corp. The client is located in the US and I would be expected to work on-site during this time. I expect to rent a premise in the US and travel back from time to time to my residence in Canada.

1. Can I be paid as a 1099 vendor? (I currently file both my corporation and personal taxes in Canada)

2. As a 1099 vendor I understand that the client does not withhold any taxes. Am I correct?

3. I don’t believe that I would need to file any taxes in the US. Am I correct?

4. I will be travelling back to Canada every 2-3 weeks. I expect to stay more than 183 days over the entire work contract in the US. Does the count start each time I return to the US or does it accumulate as how many days in 365 did I stay in the US?

My other hope is the following (without making things complicated) I would like to purchase an investment property in the US and use it while I work there instead of renting. The investment property would be my second home (my principal home would still be in Canada.) When my work is finished I would then contract a management company to rent/market the investment property.

1. Would this harm my 1099 vendor status?
2. Should I purchase this through my Canadian corporation or through my personal?

I would like to thank you for your thoughts and advise.

Sincerely,
Dwayne.
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

Unfortunately, that use to be the case (no withholding or US tax). However with the new treaty, if you spend 183 days in Us in any 365-day period, the entire work becomes taxable in US.

So you will likely need to be very careful counting your days to avoid US tax.

But you can indeed be paid corp-to-corp, and can even get a TN for this, if otherwise eligible.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
dwayned
Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Jul 20, 2012 9:04 pm
Location: Houston, TX

Post by dwayned »

Thank you Nelsona

Can you point me to where I can do some reading on the 183 day work limit - where anything over makes the entire work and revenues subjected to US tax implications. Would this be for non-1099 users or does it also include 1099 users?

I believe you are agreeing that a 1099 would work and that I just need to make sure my principal address is my Canadian one.
nelsona
Posts: 18311
Joined: Wed Oct 27, 2004 2:33 pm
Location: Nowhere, man

Post by nelsona »

The treaty spells out the 183 day requirement under business income the definition of place of business.

if you were a w-2 worker, you would be taxable in US from day one.
nelsona non grata. Non pro. Please Search previous posts, no situation is unique as you might think. Happy Browsing :D
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