Taxation of 401K and HSA upon

Subject:        401K and HSA
Expert:         taxman at centa.com
Date:           Sunday November 05, 2006
Time:           01:39 PM -0500
QUESTION:
I am a Canadian citizen currently work in the USA.  I have 401K and Health
Savings Account.  If I were to move back to Canada in twenty years, how
would my 401K and HSA be treated?  Would I have to repatriate them and what
would the tax implications be?
------------------------------------------
david ingram replies:
When you start to take a monthly retirement pension from your 401(K), the
payments will be taxed 15% in the US and then the full payment will be added
to your line 115 figure in Canada,  Your US Social Security will also be
added to line 115 in full. No Tax will be paid to the US on your US social
Security if you are resident in Canada.
Under article XVIII(5), of the US / Canada Income Tax Convention 15% of the
amount of Social Security can be deducted on your Canadian return on line
256 which means that you will pay Canada on 85% of your Social security.
The 15% you paid to the US on your regular 401(K) pension is deducted dollar
for dollar from your Canadian Tax by filling in lines 431 and 433 of your
Canadian return.
I do not know what will happen with the HSA (Health Savings Account).  So
far, no one has come through my office returning to Canada with an HSA.
Passed in 2003, the HSA is not a pension and does not seem to fall within
the US Canada Income Tax Convention which was last amended in 1997.
I expect that you will owe the US straight tax on the amount withdrawn and
Canada will tax it again and give you credit for the tax on lines 431 and
433. Depending upon how much you withdraw, there could be no tax on the US
side and a confusion in Canada because it is my opinion that the principal
put into the plan is not taxable in Canada because it is not a pension and
only interest earned on the account should be taxable after your return to
Canada.
Please note that you are talking 20 years from now.
11 years ago, only 50% of the US social Security was taxed in Canada and it
was taxed in the US first for most people and you claimed a foreign tax
credit in Canada.
In the last 20 years, the line numbers on the Canadian return have changed
twice.
My answer is pure conjecture based upon today's rules.
-------------------------------------
David Ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver,  BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 10 PM 7 days a week  Vancouver (LA) time -
(please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office)
email to taxman at centa.com <mailto:taxman at centa.com>
www.centa.com <http://www.centa.com/>  www.david-ingram.com
<http://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 for expert help, assistance, preparation, or
consultation  in connection with personal or business affairs such as at
www.centa.com <http://www.centa.com> . If you forward this message, this
disclaimer must be included."
Be ALERT,  the world needs more "lerts"
David Ingram gives expert income tax & immigration help to non-resident
Americans & Canadians from New York to California to Saudi Arabia to Mexico
to China or Chile - Cross border, dual citizen - out of country investments
are all handled with competence & authority.
New York, Boston, Sacramento, Minneapolis, Salem, Wheeling, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Pensacola, Miami, St Petersburg, Naples, Fort Myers,
Cape Coral, Orlando, Atlanta, Arlington, Washington, Hudson, Green Bay,
Minot, Portland, Seattle, St John, St John's, Fredericton, Quebec, Moncton,
Truro, Atlanta, Charleston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego,
Sacramento, Taos, Grand Canyon, Reno, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Sun City, Tulsa,
Monteray, Carmel, Morgantown, Bemidji, Sandpointe, Pocatello, Bellingham,
Custer, Grand Forks, Lead, Rapid City, Mitchell, Kansas City, Lawrence,
Houston, Albany, Framingham, Cambridge, London, Paris, Prince George, Prince
Rupert, Whitehorse, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Frankfurt, The Hague, Lisbon,
Madrid, Atlanta, Myrtle Beach, Key West, Cape Coral, Fort Meyers,   Berlin,
Hamburg
Warsaw, Auckland, Wellington, Honolulu, Maui, Kuwait, Molokai, Beijing,
Shanghai, Tokyo, Manilla, Kent, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Regina, Red Deer, Olds,
Medicine Hat, Lethbridge, Moose Jaw, Brandon, Portage La Prairie, Davidson,
Craik, Edmonton, Calgary, Victoria, Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey, Edinburgh,
Dublin, Belfast, Glasgow, Copenhagen, Oslo, Munich, Sydney, Nanaimo,
Brisbane, Melbourne, Darwin, Perth, Athens, Rome, Berne, Zurich, Kyoto,
Nanking, Rio De Janeiro, Brasilia, Colombo, Buenos Aries, Squamish,
Churchill, Lima, Santiago, Abbotsford, Cologne, Yorkshire, Hope, Penticton,
Kelowna, Vernon, Fort MacLeod, Deer Lodge, Springfield, St Louis, Centralia,
Bradford, Stratford on Avon, Niagara Falls, Atlin, Fort Nelson, Fort St
James, Red Deer, Drumheller, Fortune, Red Bank, Marystown, Cape Spears,
Truro, Charlottetown, Summerside, Niagara Falls, Albany Zimbabwe
 David Ingram expert income tax help and preparation of US Canada Mexico
non-resident and cross border returns with rental dividend wages
self-employed and royalty foreign tax credits
This from "ask an income tax and immigration expert" from www.centa.com
<http://www.centa.com/>  or www.jurock.com <http://www.jurock.com/>  or
www.featureweb.com <http://www.featureweb.com/> . David Ingram deals on a
daily basis with expatriate tax returns with:
multi jurisdictional cross and trans border expatriate problems  for the
United States, Canada, Mexico, Great Britain, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Dubai,
Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Indonesia, Japan, China, New Zealand, France,
Germany, Spain, Italy, Russia, Georgia, Brazil, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia,
Scotland, Ireland, Hawaii, Florida, Montana, Morocco, Israel, Iraq, Iran,
India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Mali, Bangkok, Greenland, Iceland, Cuba,
Bahamas, Bermuda, Barbados, St Vincent, Grenada,, Virgin Islands, US, UK,
GB, and any of the 43 states with state tax returns, etc. Rockwall, Dallas,
San Antonio Houston
Denmark, Finland, Sweden Norway Bulgaria Croatia Income Tax and Immigration
Tips, Income Tax  Immigration Wizard Antarctica Rwanda Guru  Consultant
Specialist Section 216(4) 216(1) NR6 NR-6 NR 6 Non-Resident Real Estate tax
specialist expert preparer expatriate anti money laundering money seasoning
FINTRAC E677 E667 105 106 TDF-90 Reporting $10,000 cross border transactions
Grand Cayman Aruba Zimbabwe South Africa Namibia help USA US
international non-resident cross border income tax help assistance expert
preparation & immigration consultant david ingram, experts on rentals mutual
funds RRSP RESP IRA 401(K) & divorce preparer preparers consultants
Alaska,  Alabama,  Arkansas,  Arizona,
California,  Colorado, Connecticut,
Delaware, District of Columbia,  Florida,
Garland, Georgia,  Hawaii,  Idaho,  Illinois,
Indiana,  Iowa,  Kansas,  Kentucky,
Louisiana,  Maine,  Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota,
Mississippi,  Missouri,  Montana,  Nebraska,
Nevada, New Hampshire,  New Jersey,
New Mexico, New York, North Carolina,
North Dakota,  Ohio,  Oklahoma,  Oregon.
Pennsylvania,  Rhode Island,  Rockwall,
South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee,
Texas,  Utah, Vermont,  Virginia,
West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming,
British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan,
Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec City,
New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island,
Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Yukon and
Northwest and Nunavit Territories,
Mount Vernon, Eumenclaw, Coos Bay
and Dallas Houston Rockwall Garland
Texas  Taxman and Tax Guru  and wizzard
wizard - consultant - expert - advisor -advisors consultants - gurus - Paris
Prague Moscow Berlin
Lima Rio de Janeiro, Santaigo Zimbabwe
--
No virus found in this incoming message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.409 / Virus Database: 268.13.28/518 - Release Date: 11/4/06