Canadian working in Bellingham Washington state on h1b

QUESTION:
hi mr ingram,
i and my fiance are canadians working in bellingham.  my finance is on a h1b
and i am on a tn visa. both of us are non-resident of canada on paper. but
we go back to canada a lot to visit friends and family.  we are going to get
married next year, and we are planning to buy a property.  the question is
where to buy? bellingham or vancouver?  we want to find out what is the best
we can do in terms of taxation and residency status.
we like the life style in vancouver better, but the biggest fear is to pay
canadian tax while we do the commute and line up at the border every day.
how would the canadian government tax us if we do decide to move back to
canada? do i pay both US and canada tax then?
please advice.
----------------------------
david ingram replies:
There is no doubt that you will be better off tax wise living in Bellingham.
You will also have a better house for less money, cheaper gas and cheaper
dairy products.  Your medical insurance will be much more expensive but not
if your companies are covering you.
The danger is that if you are married to an H1B holder and apply for another
TN, the nice person at the border is not really allowed to give you a
renewal TN because you are now obviously intending to stay in the US more
than a year because your husband is there.
You should start off by getting an H1B yourself and then getting one or the
other of your employers to sponsor you for a green card.
If you live in Canada and commute to the US, you will be taxed in Canada at
full rates, just as if you lived and worked in Canada.  Canada will allow
you full credit on a dollar for dollar basis for the tax, Social Security
and Medicare you paid to the states.
The two of you are close enough.  You should likely invest in a personal
consultation with me.  You can even do it by phone if you wish.
AND
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