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public schooling fees - international students - Canadian--Global tax help -

 

XXXXXX XXXXXX wrote:
Below is the result of your feedback form.  It was submitted by
XXXXXX XXXXXX on Tuesday, May 26, 2009 at 09:35:34
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My_question_is: Both

question: Do I have to pay for public school for an 
international student if I pay Provincial and Federal taxes
 through employment in Canada? My daughter and I are both 
Canadian born and we both carry Canadian status. 

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david ingram replies:

By co-incidence, I attended a North Vancouver School Board Budget meeting tonight and the subject of international students and their fees were part of the budget. 

It is usually something that I do not think about a lot.

What i can tell you is that different school boards have different rules when it comes to international students.  I live in North Vancouver and am looking at West Vancouver out of my living room window.  They both have different rules for who is and is not an Interntional student.

To qualify as a local student, it used to be that you had to live in the area and even in the local school's district or catchment.  People would pay $100,000 extra to buy the same house on the other side of the street to get their child into a particular school.
  
That does not matter any more in BC but does in most other cities in North America.  Part of the North Vancouver school board's problem tonight was that 850 North Vancouver Students are attending school in West Vancouver because they can.

At the same time, 23% of West Vancouver students are attending private schools meaning that there is extra space in West Vancouver to take the North Vancouver students and West Vancouver has a lot of international students who pay large fees to attend school in West Vancouver.

However, to be a local student, you have to live somewhere in BC.  If you live in Alberta, you are not going to qualify.  And if you live with a relative or stranger who is not your official guardian, you do not qualify.

So if you are living in another country, your daughter is likely going to have to pay international student rates unless you live someplace in the province that you want her to attend school in.

But, again, check with the local school board.  Another district or city might be happy if she was living with an aunt or uncle as an example. And, they do check addresses and other things.

Now you can get local BC schooling in any country by correspondence by joining the (VLN) Vancouver Learning Network. 

See the site at http://www.gvdes.com/ 

I am sending this out to my list to see if anyone else has a suggestion.




SUGGESTED PRICE GUIDELINES - Aug 5, 2008
 
david ingram's US / Canada Services
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Phone consultations are $450 for 15 minutes to 50 minutes (professional hour). Please note that GST is added if product remains in Canada or is to be returned to Canada or a phone consultation is in Canada. ($472.50 with GST for in person or if you are on the telephone in Canada) expert  US Canada Canadian American  Mexican Income Tax  service and help.
This is not intended to be definitive but in general I am quoting $900 to $3,000 for a dual country tax return.

$900 would be one T4 slip one W2 slip one or two interest slips and you lived in one country only (but were filing both countries) - no self employment or rentals or capital gains - you did not move into or out of the country in this year.
 
$1,200 would be the same with one rental
 
$1,300 would be the same with one business no rental
 
$1,300 would be the minimum with a move in or out of the country. These are complicated because of the back and forth foreign tax credits. - The IRS says a foreign tax credit takes 1 hour and 53 minutes.
 
$1,600 would be the minimum with a rental or two in the country you do not live in or a rental and a business and foreign tax credits  no move in or out

$1,700 would be for two people with income from two countries

$3,000 would be all of the above and you moved in and out of the country.
 
This is just a guideline for US / Canadian returns
 
We will still prepare Canadian only (lives in Canada, no US connection period) with two or three slips and no capital gains, etc. for $200.00 up. However, if you have a stack of 1099, or T3 or T4A or T5 or K1 reporting forms, expect to pay an average of $10.00 each with up to $50.00 for a K1 or T5013 or T5008 or T101 --- Income trusts with amounts in box 42 are an even larger problem and will be more expensive. - i.e. 20 information slips will be at least $350.00
 
With a Rental for $400, two or three rentals for $550 to $700 (i.e. $150 per rental) First year Rental - plus $250.
 
A Business for $400 - Rental and business likely $550 to $700
 
And an American only (lives in the US with no Canadian income or filing period) with about the same things in the same range with a little bit more if there is a state return.
 
Moving in or out of the country or part year earnings in the US will ALWAYS be $900 and up.
 
TDF 90-22.1 forms are $50 for the first and $25.00 each after that when part of a tax return.
 
8891 forms are generally $50.00 to $100.00 each.
 
18 RRSPs would be $900.00 - (maybe amalgamate a couple)
 
Capital gains *sales)  are likely $50.00 for the first and $20.00 each after that.

Catch - up returns for the US where we use the Canadian return as a guide for seven years at a time will be from $150 to $600.00 per year depending upon numbers of bank accounts, RRSP's, existence of rental houses, self employment, etc. Note that these returns tend to be informational rather than taxable.  In fact, if there are children involved, we usually get refunds of $1,000 per child per year for 3 years.  We have done several catch-ups where the client has received as much as $6,000 back for an $1,800 bill and one recently with 6 children is resulting in over $12,000 refund. 

Email and Faxed information is convenient for the sender but very time consuming and hard to keep track of when they come in multiple files.  As of May 1, 2008, we will charge or be charging a surcharge for information that comes in more than two files.  It can take us a valuable hour or more  to try and put together the file when someone sends 10 emails or 15 attachments, etc. We had one return with over 50 faxes and emails for instance. 

This is a guideline not etched in stone.  If you do your own TDF-90 forms, it is to your advantage. However, if we put them in the first year, the computer carries them forward beautifully.

--
IRS Circular 230 Disclosure:  To ensure compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, please be advised that any U.S. tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not intended or written to be used or relied upon, and cannot be used or relied upon, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code, or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or matter addressed herein.--

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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 or www.garygauvin.com.  If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included." -


 







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