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I am a Canadian divorced male, 57, who is engaged to an American woman living in Bellingham, Washington. We are engaged to be married. I am going to be moving there from here in New Westminster as soon as the fiance visa is approved. She thus filed an I-129F with U.S. Immigration and it is supposed to be processed by the end of this November.
I have two concerns. The first involves the steps I should be taking to get my finances in order before I leave to live in the United States. Here is an example of one of the things I have to consider right now.
I am my mother's only child. She has agreed to take out a reverse mortgage on her house. With the proceeds from that, I will pay off all my debts. I need about $12,000.00 to get rid of all my credit cards, leaving only about another $12,000.00 which I owe a credit union. The CHIP program requires a minimum reverse mortgage of $ 14,500.00 which is fine for the credit card portion. I would be happy to just go for that, but I am worried that I will be required to be debt free before being allowed to enter the U.S. In other words, can I limit the reverse mortgage to $ 14,500.00 or do I have to make it $24,000.00?
The second issue or concern has to do with learning what is involved when it comes to income tax to Revenue Canada and the IRS. Although I will be living in the United States, I will be commuting every day to my present job here in Burnaby. Naturally, I want to pay as little tax as legally possible to either or both governments so need to know what I am facing how to work out the best deal for me.
I am not sure if I should be seeing an accountant or tax lawyer. Hopefully within your firm there are people who can properly meet my needs.
If you can be of assistance, I would expect that I would need at least an hour to go through all the questions and learn what to do. Please advise the hourly rate and what time you think it would take to cover off all my requirements.
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david ingram replies:
There is no requirement to be debt free when you leave Canada if you are going as a fiancee. It is good that you did not get married first, or you would have to go to Montreal to be processed by Homeland Security. Paying off your Credit cards with a lower interest mortgage is a goo idea.
Your tax situation is something that you should be sure of. we would require the details of your income to calculate it and we should have a copy or a good estimate of your wife's US incopme to decidfe if you should be preparing a joint return in the US or not.
Basically, you will be preparing a Canadian return first and paying tax to Canada. You will then convert the Canadian dollars to US dollars and file a US return (that is what we do). You wil file a form 1116 on the US return to claim the foreign tax credit for the Canadian taxes already paid. This is where a decision to file a separate or joint return comes in. Depending upon how much money you make and what your wife earns, you could be better off doing either and both should be calculated.
You have to be aware that you will lose BC Medical and any extended medical coverage you have at work UNLESS your company can arage with their carrier to extend medical to you as a resident of the US. Therefore, you should make arrangements for US medical as your wife's husband and you should do that now so that you are covered when you goalthough BC medical will cover you for 90 days.
My experience is that it usually takes a couple of hours to deal with your questions adequately when you come in and I know of no one better than our office inWest Vancouver to come to.
I
Hope this helps
David Ingram of the CEN-TA REALTY Group
US / Canada / Mexico tax and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
108-100 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7T 1A2
(604) 913-9133 - Fax 913-9123 [email protected]
www.centa.com www.david-ingram.com
Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All readers should obtain formal advice from a competent and appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax specialist in connection with personal or business affairs such as at www.centa.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included."
Be ALERT, the world needs more "lerts"
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