Can you help? -

Hi-

I am an American citizen married to a Canadian citizen with a permanent residence in the US (green card). We live in Vermont and I work here. He works on a ship on the Great Lakes for a Canadian Shipping company ( has worked there since before we were married). We own 3 properties in New York State, none in Canada. We have been filing US and Canadian taxes for 8 years (since marriage). He is divorced from his first wife who lives in Canada with their 2 children and pays child support and alimony (never missed a payment). They have joint custody of their children although they only reside with her in Canada. I have many questions about our taxes. He claims a world income from our rental properties in New York even though we have been losing money for the two years we have had all three because of repairs. His only source of income is Canadian employment. Does he have to claim world income? Can we claim any of the child support since they have joint custody? Is there anyone near us that can help with our situation? (perhaps Buffalo, NY?) I really feel we pay more than we need to but the tax offices in Canada are no help and the US tax people seem lost about the situation. Help!

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david ingram replies:

1.   He is taxable on his great lakes shipping income for the time he spends in Canadian waters.  If he is doing Toronto - Chicago for instance, half of his income is not taxable in Canada.  As a Green card holder married to and living  with an American in the US, he is taxble on his world income  in the US. 

Under Article IV of the US / Canada Income Tax Convention, he is only taxalbe on world income in his country of residence. 

Child support is not deductible in either country most of the time.  The exception would be if support agreement was signed prior to May, 1987 and has not been amended since. In that case, child support would be deductible in Caanda but not the USA.Any agreement since May, 1987 does not allow child support to be deducted in either country.

His alimony is deductible in both countries if the agreement is drawn up properly.

I do not know of anyone who deals with these matters in your area.  

The following are good.  I do not know their figures but about half of my major clients do not live in Canada and send in their material to us by fax, email, snbail mail or courier.

Hi – I came across your fine website. I’m looking for similar services in Montreal, QC and wondered if you could recommend someone out here.

 Regards,

 R -------

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david ingram replies:

I have no recommendation for Montreal.  My old office in Ottawa had a marvellous US/Canada Tax consultant, Gary Gauvin,  but he has moved to Texas and I no longer have any ownership or anything else to do with the Ottawa office which bears my name.  If you type - income tax expert - into Google, Gary and I usually come up in the top three or four. (www.garygauvin.com)

Steve Peters with KPMG in Halifax knows his stuff.  (902) 492-6011

Brad Howland in Victoria is good.  (250) 598-6258

Steve Katz in Vancouver is really good with pension matters. (604) 732-1515

In Toronto, Kevin Nightingale is one of the best that exists.  The National Post's Jonathon Chevreau regularly recognizes Kevin and I in his columns.

The following from an older Q & A sort of states my position

------------------------------------------

Sent: Tuesday, January 03, 2006 6:02 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: accountant in Toronto


Hello-
A friend of mine suggested that I contact you. I am an American who
moved to Canada in 2005 and am looking for an accountant in Toronto
who can help me with my U.S. and Canadian individual tax returns, and
who can provide me with advice about what to do with my 403(b)
retirement account. Thank you for your help.
-XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
=====================================================
david ingram replies:

I will start off by saying that you should mail or courier it to us as half
of our clients do.

However, although I have never met him, Kevyn Nightingale and I have been
quoted in many articles in the National Post.

Kevyn Nightingale,
Suite 302 - 5001 Yonge Street
North York, Ontario, M2N 6P6
Tel: 416-733-9595 / Fax: 416-733-4725

And it was a good question.  I just looked at his fee structure and think I
will raise mine.

-----------
We will help prepare your federal and state income tax return or provincial
returns.  We do no online filing but will file the returns so that you can
check the status online. We will do the 1040 or 1040NR or 1040X pr 1041
estate return, your Canadian T1 and in a pinch can help you look after a
Mexican return as well with our Guadalajara consultant, David Holroyd.

Whether it is help with specific or general information, filing,  or just an
estimate of the tax you will owe in a specific situation, we can calculate
it for you. We can be the estimator for the tax equalization if you are
being transferred from state to state or country to country.

Our help is NOT free however.  Typically, we charge $400 Cdn per hour for
calculating, preparing or consultation service or services. We specialize in
old returns so if you have not filed because of a bankruptcy or
procrastination, we regularly do 10 years back for US / Canada citizens
where the US citizen has failed to file while living in Canada.  We can look
after the TDF-90 and form 8891 RRSP reporting forms as well.


David Ingram's US/Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
Home office at:
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver,  BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325

Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 10 PM 7 days a week (please do not fax or phone
outside of those hours as this is a home office)

email to [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>
www.centa.com <http://www.centa.com/www.david-ingram.com
<http://www.david-ingram.com/>

Disclaimer:  This question has been answered without detailed information or
consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment.   Nothing in
this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular
circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any
and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All readers should
obtain formal advice from a competent and appropriately qualified legal
practitioner or tax specialist for expert help, assistance, preparation, or
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Be ALERT,  the world needs more "lerts" 

---------------------------------------

Phone consultations are $400 for 15 minutes to 50 minutes (professional hour).
 
This is not intended to be definitive but in general I am quoting $800 to $2,000 for a dual country tax return.
 
$800 would be one T4 slip one W2 slip one or two interest slips and you lived in one country only - no self employment or rentals or capital gains - you did not move into or out of the country in this year.
 
$1,000 would be the same with one rental
 
$1,200 would be the same with one business no rental
 
$1,200 would be the minimum with a move in or out of the country. These are complicated because of the back and forth foreign tax credits. - The IRS says a foreign tax credit takes 1 hour and 53 minutes.
 
$1,500 would be the minimum with a rental or two in the country you do not live in or a rental and a business and foreign tax credits  no move in or out
 
$2,000 would be all of the above and you moved in and out of the country.
 
This is just a guideline for US / Canadian returns
 
We will still prepare Canadian only (lives in Canada, no US connection period) with a three or four slips and no capital gains, etc. for $125.00 up.
 
With a Rental for $300
 
A Business for $300 - Rental and business likely $400
And an American only (lives in the US with no Canadian income or filing period) with about the same things in the same range with a little bit more if there is a state return.
 
Moving in or out of the country or part year earnings in the US will ALWAYS be $400 and up.
 
TDF 90-22.1 forms are $25 for the first and $10.00 each after that when part of a tax return.
 
8891 forms are generally $50.00 to $100.00 each.
 
18 RRSPs would be $900.00 - (maybe amalgamate a couople)
 
Capital gains *sales)  are likely $50.00 for the first and $20.00 each after that.
 
Just a guideline not etched in stone. 

This from "ask an income tax and immigration expert" from www.centa.com
<http://www.centa.com/>  or www.jurock.com <http://www.jurock.com/>  or
www.featureweb.com <http://www.featureweb.com/> . David Ingram deals on a
daily basis with expatriate tax returns with:
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international non-resident cross border income tax help assistance expert  preparation & immigration consultant david ingram, experts on rentals mutual  funds RRSP RESP IRA 401(K) & divorce preparer preparers consultants

David Ingram gives expert income tax & immigration help to non-resident Americans & Canadians from New York to California to Saudi Arabia to Mexico to China or Chile - Cross border, dual citizen - out of country investments are all handled with competence & authority.
 
 







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