US IMMIGRATION-CANADIAN RESIDING IN THE USA - Form

QUESTION:
I am a 48 year old widow.  I am relatively
self-sufficient, that being, I receive various Canadian
Federal Pensions due to my husband's death.  I have met
a man in Florida and have had a relationship with him
for 2.5 years.  We have discussed marriage but haven't
committed to one another as yet.  I have a residence in
Canada.  I have been travelling back and forth between
our 2 countries, basically every 6 months.  Is this
acceptable to INS?  What are my options?
=============================
david ingram replies:
You must now file a US federal Income Tax return
because if you have been there 6 months a year for the
past 2 1/2 years you have made yourself taxable in the
United States.
The rules are that if you have been in the US for more
than 183 days in a year you need to report your world
income to the USA.  The good news is that the tax paid
to Canada should wipe out any US tax by filing US form
1116.
A second rule and the one that you will have fallen
into for sure is that you have to take the number of
days over three years into account.  So, if you have
been there 180 days a year for the last 2 1/2 years,
the calculation goes like this:
2004                                            180
days
2003  (1/3 of previous year)      60 days
2002 (1/6 of previous year)       30 days
for a total of                              270 days
You can file a form 8840 to state that your closer
connection is to Canada but I am willing to bet that
you have actually been in the US for more than 183 days
in 2004 already because you came back and then returned
to the US sooner rather than later.
See 8840 here http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f8840.pdf
The second problem is your provincial health insurance.
If you do not sleep in your home province more than 183
days, your provincial health insurance is also invalid.
However, if you two want to spend 180 days in Florida
and 180 days in Canada and 1 week in the Bahamas and
not get married, you can continue to be a visitor in
each other's country.
To do this, you should really put together a "border
kit" for when you cross the border.
This would be a loose-leaf binder with:
a picture of your house
a copy of your Canadian phone bill
A copy of your Canadian hydro bill
A copy of the lease or the ownership papers for your
house or apartment
A copy of your last three years Canadian Income tax
returns
A copy of your Canadian Driver's licence
A copy of the registration of your Canadian Car
Anything else that shows you are a Canadian resident.
Keep your purse full of Canadian credit and affinity
cards.
DO NOT GO ACROSS THE BORDER INTO THE USA WITH A PURSE
FULL OF FLORIDA AFFINITY OR US CREDIT CARDS AND A
FLORIDA LIBRARY CARD AND A FLORIDA BLOCKBUSTER VIDEO
AND A FLORIDA FITNESS CLUB.
The two of you might want to buy an hour of my time on
a conference call so that you get the idea straight.
The other solution would be to marry the fellow and
have him sponsor you into the US on a full time basis.
Hope this helps.
Answers to this and other similar  questions can be
obtained free on Air every Sunday morning.
Every Sunday at 9:00 AM on 600AM in Vancouver, Fred
Snyder of Dundee Wealth Management and I, David Ingram
will be hosting an INFOMERCIAL but LIVE talk show
called "ITS YOUR MONEY"
Those outside of the Lower Mainland will be able to
listen on the internet at
www.600AM.com
Local calls are taken at (604) 280-0600 and Long
Distance calls are taken at 1( 866) 778-0600
I do not know how far the LD line reaches.
=========================================
David Ingram's US/Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa
Specialists
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4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver,  BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Res (604) 980-3578 Cell (604) 657-8451
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