US/Canada Tax Obligation - Toronto Canadian PR, Working in Chicago Illinois US on H1B1 visa

UESTION:

Hi,

I am single and have no dependents nor anybody can claim me dependent. I have no real estate propert or assets in US or Canada.

I landed in Canda (Tronto area) in Sept 2001 and have been living and working in Chicago, IL, US since Oct 2002 on job visa H1B1. I havn't visited Canada since I left for US. But I plan visiting Canada for a week or so.

I have Canadian driver's license and bank a/c. Please let me know if I need to file Candian Taxes (provincial, fedral or any other category) and if this period of stay away from Canada would be considered as time toward Canadian Citizenship as I would be paying some kind of Canadian Tax. My employer is a US firm.

Thanks,

david ingram replies:

1. to keep your PR card alive, you have to LIVE in Canada for 2 years out of Five. You have to return to Canada and live for at least one more year BEFORE Sept 2006. In other words you better get back to Canada by the end of August 2005.

2. Your Canadian Driver's licence is interesting but I hope you are not using it. Without a residence in Canada, the licence is not valid anywhere. If you used it to rent a car in Chicago and were in an accident and its status was looked at, you would likely find yourself with no licence and no insurance.

3. Your time in the US working for an American Employer does NOT count towards time in Canada.

Be careful. If you were to renew your H1B and still be in the US after September, 2005 and lost your job at that time, you would not be able to come back to Canada and would have to return to your home country.

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