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USA Do NOT hide that Income- It is very dangerous - Canadian-US-Global Income tax help - david ingram expert US CANADA cross bor

 

I am continuously asked - How are they going to find out?  "They" is the IRS or the CRA or even the Mexican or New Zealand or Portuguese Governments.
 
Haven't got a good Mexican story right now but have a couple of good US and Canada stories.
 
California, New York and Illinois, and the province of Quebec are all really good at catching people who are working illegally in their jurisdictions.  They check Conference registrations, trade shows, and follow up on payments to others by businesses claiming a deduction.
 
Just today, I had a client who did his 2006 return but did not report $39,000 of subcontract fees that he had received from two other businesses who had paid him.  The CRA caught him because of audits of other businesses in the same businees and followed up by looking at the returns of people had been paid for subcontracts.  One of the payments was for $32,000 and the other was for $7,500 and it was easy for the CRA to determine that he had not reported the earnings becaus ehe had only reported $25,000 form a single employer.  Not only does the CRA want $24,000 in tax and CPP but they want a $6,000 penalty for wilfull failure to report and they want another $3,500 because he should have been collection GST because his business was over $30,000 and obviously so.  Of course, the GST is a flow through and it would not have cost the businesses who paid him a single cent if he had billed them for GST.  However, the big $32,000 payer is now out of business so he can not even go back and ask for it now.  He has to absorb it.
 
Another one was an exhibitor at a California Fair TWO years in a row.
 
Of course, not only did he not report the booth to California, he did not put that booth on his Federal Return.  Big penalties, big tax.
 
And yet another Canadian was also an exhibitor at a Canadian fair for two years and did not report.  In fact, he claims that he has NEVER filed a Canadian return.  Thankfully, for him, Canada only wants returns back to 2003.
 
Another client comes next week for 7 years of US returns.  Hassled at the border because he was travelling to a conference in Washington, where he was going to speak, he pointed out to the border guard that he was born in the US and had been told he was still a US citizen even though he had not lived in the US since he was two years old.  Well, sir, of course you are a US citizen, and by the way have you been filing your US income tax returns?
 
He is lucky, they could have asked for returns back to 1967.
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Mexican-Canadian moving back to Mexico Forms T1161, T1243, T1244 T2091 NR-6, T1159 T776. Expert Income Tax help on cross Border

My_question_is: Applicable-to-Mexico

question:

I have dual citizenship but born in Mexico. After 10 years in Canada I have decided to move back to Mexico. I own an apartment in Vancouver which I bought six years ago and have some equity on it (still paying for it). I would not like to get rid off it yet in case I cannot get used to life in Mexico again.

I will most likely just leave my RRSPs here but close all other accounts.

For tax purposes, will the Canadian government treat me as a non-resident as I am going back to the country that I came from? As it is my principal residence, would it make more sense to sell it and take the cash to avoid paying capital gains?

Is there anything else you would recommend, tax related, for someone going back to his own country?

Thanks

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Problems with Canadian taxes - Expert Income Tax help on crossBorder tax and immigration and divorce and RRSP and IRA

Hi David,

I’m a US citizen who had a Canadian work visa and lived/worked in Montreal for 15 months in 2005/2006. I filed both Canadian and US taxes as required. I moved back to the US in 2006 thinking all was well and good. I got rid of all my Canadian accounts and records thinking they weren’t going to be ever necessary. I now received this letter. I would like to just ignore it, but I’m not sure of the consequences of that. I do have to travel to Canada almost every month and I’m now worried I’m going to be thrown in jail when I next return.

My questions are:

1.     1.   What are the consequences of ignoring this?

2.      2.  What can they do to me when I travel to Canada?

3.      3.  I paid into the Canadian retirement service, is that money totally lost to me? Can I argue that they are going to get that money and I’ll never see it?

I fear that trying to straighten this out with the Canadian tax service is going to be really hard and stressful.

Thanks,

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deemed non-resident or resident with Canadian rental apartment - Expert Income Tax help on cross Border tax and immigration and

Below is the result of your feedback form.  It was submitted by
XXXXXXX on Sunday, April 25, 2010 at 16:30:28
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My_question_is: Both

question: 
I am confused on how the CRA determines residency.  My husband re-located to the USA 10 years ago.  
I have an apartment that I still own in only my name.  I did not move permanently to the states with my husband.  
I stayed in Canada to help my mother who is ill.  I was living in Canada with my mother and rented my apartment out.  
I went back and forth between my family in the USA and my mother in Canada over the last 10 years.  
I was in Canada more than the USA.  I did not work.  
In 2007 I had my accountant file my taxes in Canada for the years 1999-2000 even though I had no income.  
I get a letter from the CRA in Jan 2010 that I owe 4,000.  I contacted my accountant right away, he did not know anything about this. 
I told him when I call the CRA they told me they contacted my accountant's offic in 2007 and advised another accountant in the office
that I had no taxes due from the returns sent in for those years but that due to the accountant filing the 216 return l ate for the years 1999-2005. 
I owed non-resident tax arrears and that although they reversed any taxes due,as my apartment ran at a loss every year. I owed interest on the 
money that I could have owed??
No one contacted me, the CRA also said they had returned mail from me...weird because I have gotten every other letter to date, including all my 
returns from those years filed with a 'nil' amount due.
My accountant suggested I write the CRA and ask to forgive this amount as there was never any taxes due in the first place.  
I am not sure what the outcome will be.  I argued my residency point with the CRA a few years ago and they wrote me a letter stating they are 
now considering me a resident from 1999 - 2005? I had lived in my apartment in 2005.
I am living in my apartment now and due to all my renters, am having to basically gut it and plan to sell it.  Where do I fit in with capital gains.  
I believe I am and have always been a resident of Canada.  I am told I will have to pay the 50% of the difference from when I bought in 1999  to 
when I sell in 2010 and then 25% cap gains tax...is this right!

Sorry for blabbing on and on, with my husband's business closing in the US and having to start over again at our age ..it is frustrating to have 
to give our hard working nest egg to the government. Anyway, I hope I get picked by your experts to know where I stand with the CRA.

Thanks for reading!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Canadian Cruise Ship employee Residence / Taxation - Help - Expert Income Tax help on cross Border tax and immigration & div

Good day Experts!

Here is my case briefly.

Left Canada to work on board Cruise Ships in April 2003.

PRO’s:

Days in Canada:

1.      2004 – 61 days,  2005 – 62 days, 2006 – 42 days, 2007 – 35 days, 2008 – 39 days, 2009 – 53 days

a.      Proof of this with Previous Passport stamps and Seaman’s Book Certificates

2.      Do not have any “significant residential ties”  (Dwelling, Spouse, dependents)

3.      Conscious effort to sever all possible secondary residential ties

a.      Proof of relinquishing Canadian Health Care Card in June 2004

b.      Proof of selling car owned by myself in June 2004

c.      Proof of Closing Bank Account in June 2004

4.      Cruise Company is not Canadian or American

CON’s:

1.      Was not able to establish bona fide residency in any other country as I was working on a cruise ship and traveling

2.      Kept Quebec Drivers license as I needed to be able to drive and could get license elsewhere

3.      Kept Canadian Passport as I did not change my citizenship

 I read about the verdict In 1988, Frederick Reed Case which was not too encouraging, but he did have a car, and credit union involvement where I do not.

“Judge Bonner of the Tax court ruled that he could not claim his place of employ or the ship as his residence and just because he did not have a fixed abode, did not make him a non-resident.  He was also the beneficial owner of a car in Canada which even though of minor consequence, served to add to his Canadian Residency. He had in fact borrowed money from a credit union to buy the car, even though it was registered in his father's name. He had maintained his Canadian Driver's licence as well.”

I have no plans to come back to Canada, but you never know.

Is anyone aware of any other cases involving employees of cruise ships similar to my case that have deemed the person a non-resident?

I read from a few sources that submitting the NR73 is not a good idea and more of a pitfall?

Do I have a case here? 

How should I proceed in order to protect my hard earned money being someone who has not benefited from using any residential benefits of Canada aside from the Drivers Licence and Passport?

I don't want to make any false moves...

* a response or guidance would be so appreciated. :-)

Thank you.

 

XXXXX

 

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US CANADA Rolling RRSP into a 401K - Income Tax Help - 8891 TDF 90-22.1 Expert Income Tax help on cross Border tax and immigrati

 

Below is the result of your feedback form.  It was submitted by
xxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx on Wednesday, April 28, 2010 at 08:06:17
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My_question_is: Both

question: Hello, I'm currently a green card holder living in the US. I have been living here since 1999 
and have no plans of moving back to Canada. I have money in a few RRSP's and was wondering if it was possible 
to roll the RRSP's into a 401k and what the penalties might be if any. 
Thanks for your help. 
xxxxx

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BC Real estate inherited by non-resident - Expert Income Tax help on cross Border tax and immigration and divorce and RRSP

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by

xxxx xxxxxxxxx on Friday, April 23, 2010 at 14:05:43
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My_question_is: Both

question: Dear Mr Ingram

I tried to watch your Around the World online live Video Cast April 21, but it did not seem to be available. My question about inherited real estate follows; I hope you find it interesting.


I am a Canadian who got a job in the US and became a US citizen. Currently I am unemployed.

In 2004 my mother died and willed me a condo in BC. I want to sell the condo because rentals are not permitted. In 2004 it was assessed at $114,000. It has been vacant since, and some of her personal belongings are still there. Fortunately, by 2010 the assessment has risen to $262,000

It has been inactive because my brother is the executor, and he did not file for probate until 2009. (We are on good terms.) So far, title to the condo has been transferred to the estate. There is a 2% hit with every transfer. The next step is to transfer title to myself, but I want your advice first.

I studied your archives. One of your replies was "If you own and live in another house, and mother's house was not rented out after her death, you have a choice of claiming mother's house tax free for the time from her death until you sold it or your own house tax free for the same time period." However, I am not sure it applies to a non-resident like myself.

So here are my question:

1) since the condo was neither rented, nor occupied by anyone but my mother, is it subject to Capital Gains tax?

2) is the cost basis taken at the date of death, or the date title is transferred?

3) how do I calculate my tax liability?


Thanks in advance.

  

 

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What to file and where - Expert Income Tax help on cross Border tax and immigration and divorce and RRSP and IRA & other mat

Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by

x xxxxx on Thursday, April 22, 2010 at 10:59:39
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My_question_is: Both

question: Hi,
I am a Canadian Permanent Resident who moved to the US at the end of December 2008.
I did not declare myself non-resident in Canada at the time of the move because at that time I was not sure if I would move back to Canada and didn't want to jeopardize my Canadian PR status.  Aside from a W2 with a couple of thousand dollars and a couple of interest payments I had no other Canadian derived income in 2009.  I spent less than 20 days in Canada during 2009.
In April 2010 I received my US permanent residence card and I have concluded that I will not be moving back to Canada.
I have filed a 1040 for 2009 in the US which discloses all income, including that paid to me from Canadian sources.  I have also filed FBARs for all non US accounts.
The question is, what do I file in Canada for 2009 and how do I go about adjusting my status to Non-Resident?
One possible complication - in September 2009 we sold our Condo in Canada and converted those funds into US dollars to facilitate the purchase of our new primary residence in the USA.  Not sure if this has a bearing on anything.  Since at that time we were not sure if we would be moving back to Canada, there was no withholding placed on the proceeds of the sale of the condo, our principal residence , at that time.
Thanks in advance for your response.


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Concerns of a potential quadra-national - Expert Income Tax help on cross Border tax and immigration and divorce and RRSP &

xxxx xxxxxx wrote:

Mr. Ingram,

Your knowledge is truly remarkable. I am hoping you can advise me during this most busy time of yours.

 

I am a xxxxxxxxxxxx born immigrant who has lived in the U.S. since 1986 (when I was seven).

Until 1990, my mother and I were dependents on my father's F-1 student visas.

Then we became dependents on his H-1 visa

 

In 1997, I split off to my own F-1 Visa to attend college (and work on campus)

 

In 2000, my parents finally became U.S. Permanent Residents; however, since I was over the age, I did not benefit and was left stranded on my F-1.

 

Since 2001, after my graduation, I have been working in Detroit on my own H1.

After much painstaking effort to get cooperation from my employer, I got my labor certification approved on 30 DEC 05 and I became eligible to file for Adjustment of Status in June of 2007 and did so (receipted 06 SEP 07).

Then came a backlog (expected) and another (less expected).

 

Becoming somewhat disillusioned with the  US process and having befriended many in Detroit's cross-border city of Windsor (Ontario, Canada), I put in an application to become a Permanent Resident of Canada as well. At the same time, I fell in love with a xxxxxxxx student studying xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxx.

 

We got married on January 19th, 2009 after living together for some time at the University of Michigan housing. Shortly thereafter, I was already granted the Permanent Residence in Canada and landed at the address of one my very close Canadian friends. For 2009, I have been back and forth between my friend's Canadian address and my wife's dorm for married students.

 

Now, on to the tax stuff: I am truly in no-man's-land.

There is no way I am willing give-up my primary tax liability to the U.S. I have been paying into US Social Security and Medicare for nine years and have every intention of continuing to do so in pursuit of U.S. Permanent Residence.

 

Having the Canadian PR, I could have theoretically walked away from the U.S. PR if it were just me, but now I have my wife to consider.

She is a xxxxxxxx citizen at U Mich on an F-1 and she never applied to be a Canadian PR. I need to continue to carry my health insurance in the US to cover her and, when my "Priority Date" becomes current, we need to file her Adjustment of Status for the U.S. PR as well.

 

I am interested in pursuing Canadian Citizenship, though, or at least retain the PR "in case the U.S. PR NEVER works out." Also, I really like it in both Detroit and Windsor. And it reminds my wife of Europe to be able to cross borders on a nearly daily basis.

 

Would there be any violation in simply (albeit at great cost) filing in Canada as well assuming primary liability in here as well?

If it is allowed, do I simply report the U.S. income and not ask for any tax credit (neither here nor in the U.S.)?

Do I send a copy of U.S. return?

          If so, is it a problem that the income will show as W-2 instead of 1099?

 

At this most busy time of yours, would you file my Canadian return (and what would the cost be)?
 
Sorry about the long story and thank you for reading.
--xxxxx

 

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Buying in Arizona - Incorporate or not - david ingram expert income tax help re real estate, divorce, immigration, mutual funds

 

Below is the result of your feedback form.  It was submitted by
XXXXXX XXXXXXXX on Friday, April 16, 2010 at 09:55:51
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My_question_is: Canadian-specific

question: I went to Arizona in November 2009 for the primary purpose of buying a rental revenue property.  I incurred expenses that I was told I could claim on my taxes.  In February of 2010 I bought a condo, with a possession date of march 3, 2010.  Where do I claim on my personal Canadian taxes my expenses? (form number of row number) This is the only condo I have and it will be rented out to a long term tenant (not vacation)

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