TN visa holder US-Canada tax questions

QUESTION:

Dear experts:
I am currently holding a TN visa working for a US employer. I have my family ties to Canada but I reside in the States for more than 183 days/year. Should I file as US resident or Canadan resident for the Tax purpose? In each case, what kind of tax forms or schedules I have to look at?
Thanks _____________________________________________________________________________
david ingram replies

If you are applying for an H1B visa and intend to get a green card and your family is not moving unitl the resident alien cards come through, you should be filing as a US resident and not paying tax in Canada.  If you have a house, it should be put in your wife's name only.  You would file a US joint return with your wife and claim your children as dependents.

If you are not intending to stay in the US and are still spending a lot of time in Canada, you wouold file as a Canadian resident and claim a foreign tax credit for the taxes, FICA and Medicare taxes you pay to the US after filing your US 1040.

There is an in between position where you might be a factual resident of Canda where you reprot your US income to Canada but deduct it then on line 256 under Article IV of the US Caanda Income Tax Convention. In this case you would be a tax resident of the US and file a joint US return with your wife.

You need to sit down in person or by phone with someone who really understands it. �

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CEN-TA Cross Border Services - Tax, Visas, Immigration
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