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Canadian EI for Canadian worked in US - david ingram expert cross border non-resident income tax help and preparation by five ta


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My_question_is: Canadian-specific

question: Dear David,please tell me/us whether Canadians who temporarily work in the USA paying all taxes properly are eligible to receive Canadian EI in case their work in the USA got terminated?
thank you,


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david ingram replies:

The answer is yes but you start off dealing with Service Canada. see the website (I have reproduced most of it here) at
 http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/information/outside_canada.shtml

I have copied most of it here but you may want to go directly to their website.  Depending upon the State, you may end up applying directly or through Service Canada as shown here:

Employment Insurance (EI) and Workers and/or Residents outside Canada

Employment Insurance (EI) online services

Do you have a question about the EI program? The frequently asked questions might help!


What you should know...
Who can apply
How to file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits
How to file a claim for Canadian EI benefits for people residing outside Canada
Residents of the United States

Maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits
Canadian government and Armed Forces personnel posted in the United States
Your permanent residence is in a country other than Canada and the United States
You are a commuter


What you should know...  

Certain persons working outside Canada may be entitled to benefits under Canada’s EI program. If you are working outside Canada for a Canadian company or the Canadian government, you are usually covered by EI. You will, however, not be insured by Canada’s EI program if your job is covered by the country in which you are working.

If you are not sure whether your job is insured under Canada’s EI program, ask your employer. Ruling on employment insurability is the responsibility of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) Government of Canada site, therefore, please call the toll-free number 1 800 959-5525  for enquiries regarding the insurability of your employment.

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Who can apply  

Canada EI benefits may be paid to you when you reside outside Canada in the following situations:

  • your last employment was in Canada, but you now reside in United States;
  • your permanent residence is in a country other than Canada and the United States and you are applying for maternity, parental or compassionate care benefits;
  • you are a commuter – a resident of Canada or the United States (U.S.) who regularly crosses the Canada/U.S. border between their residence and workplace.

American Unemployment Insurance benefits may be paid to you if your last employment was in the United States and you now reside in Canada. If you also had previous employment in Canada, you may be able to file a claim for Canadian EI benefits instead. You may be able to receive benefits from either Canada or the United States but not both at the same time.

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How to file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits  

To file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits, you must contact the Telephone Information Service or go to your Service Canada Centre, you will be asked to give your name, address, phone number, Social Insurance Number (SIN) and Social Security Number (SSN) along with the name of the State from which you want to claim benefits. Depending on the State in which you last worked you may be able to file a claim directly with the State via the Internet or by phone. If the State does not accept claims via the Internet or by phone, information will be forwarded to a designated office responsible for handling such claims based on where you reside in Canada. You may also contact the designated Service Canada Centre directly.

You must provide proof that your employment in the United States was authorized as per American immigration regulations and that you are available for and actively seeking work in Canada. If you are not a Canadian resident you will be asked for proof that you are authorized to work in Canada.

A person who has worked for the American Armed Forces in the United States and wants to move or return to Canada, must file a claim for benefits at the nearest "State Workforce Development Agency" in the United States. Service Canada Centres in Canada cannot accept these claims for benefits. 

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All residents from: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island

Service Canada  Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
120 Harbourview Blvd.
P.O. Box 4000
Bathurst, N.B.
E2A 1R6

Phone: 506 548-7405 

All Quebec residents

Service Canada  Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
2327 Bl du Versant Nord
Sainte-Foy, QC
G1N 4C2

Phone: 1 877 228-9769  — Fax: 418

Ontario Region

All Ontario residents

Service Canada  Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
1 North Front St.
P.O. Box 4800
Belleville, Ontario

Phone: 1 877 486-1650   -  Fax: All residents from: Manitoba, Alberta, Nunavut, Saskatchewan and Northwest

Service Canada Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
6712 Fisher St SE
Calgary, AB
T2H 2A7

Phone: 1 866 483-6466 - Fax 403 509-1690

British Columbia Region

All residents from: British Columbia and Yukon

Service Canada Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
6712 Fisher St SE
Calgary, AB
T2H 2A7

Phone: 1 866 483-6466 -

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How to file a claim for Canadian EI benefits for people residing outside Canada  

You may file your claim for Canadian EI benefits If you are residing in the United States and claiming regular benefits you must be available and actively seeking work and, most importantly, you must provide proof that you are legally authorized to work in the United States. You will also need to submit your Record of Employment from your Canadian employer.

If your employers issue ROEs in paper format, you will need to submit your ROEs from all your Canadian employers who issued ROEs in paper format in the last 52 weeks. However, if your employer submits your ROE to Service Canada electronically, you do not need to submit a copy of your ROE to Service Canada, since we will have received it from your employer. On the same day your employer submits it, you will be able to view and print copies of your ROE online using My Service Canada

If you are residing outside Canada in a country other than the United States, you may be eligible for maternity, parental or compassionate care benefits only.  Regular benefits are not payable to a person residing in a country other than Canada or the United States.

All claims received from people residing outside of Canada are processed by the office in Belleville, Ontario. For more information, please call the toll-free number 1 877 486-1650.

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Residents of the United States  

Regular benefits:

If you are living in the United States, Regular benefits can be paid to you up to a maximum of 36 weeks. The number of weeks payable is based on the number of insurable hours that you have accumulated in Canada during the last 52 weeks or since your last claim.

To be eligible for regular benefits you must show that you:

  • have worked in a job that is insured under Canada’s EI Program; and
  • in the last 52 weeks or since your last claim, you have worked between 420 and 700 hours. 
  • In some instances, a minimum of 910 hours may be required to qualify. For example: 
    - if you are in the work force for the first time;
    - if you are re-entering the work force after an absence of two years. However, if you have received at least one week of maternity or parental benefits in the 208 weeks preceding the 52-week period prior to the qualifying period, you will require between 420 and 700 hours to qualify for regular benefits. For more information, please call the toll-free number 1 800 206-7218 ;
  • You must also provide proof that you are legally authorized to work in the United States. 

The number of hours required is based on the regional rate of unemployment in the economic region where you last worked in Canada.

Particular situations : Effective December 11, 2005, if you are living in one of the 23 participating economic regions, you could qualify for regular benefits with a minimum of 840 hours instead of 910 hours. To know more...

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Number of hours of insurable employment Number of weeks of benefits

420 - 489

10

490 - 559

11

560 - 629

12

630 - 699

13

700 - 769

14

770 - 839

15

840 - 909

16

910 - 979

17

980 - 1049

18

1050 - 1119

19

1120 - 1189

20

1190 - 1259

21

1260 - 1329

22

1330 - 1399

23

1400 - 1434

24

1435 - 1469

25

1470 - 1504

26

1505 - 1539

27

1540 - 1574

28

1575 - 1609

29

1610 - 1644

30

1645 - 1679

31

1680 - 1714

32

1715 - 1749

33

1750 - 1784

34

1785 - 1819

35

1820 and more

36

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Maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits  

Maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits can be paid to you if you are living in the United States as long as you meet the requirements for these benefits.

To be eligible for maternityparental, sickness or compassionate care benefits you must show that you:

You may file your claim for Canadian EI maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits online. For more information, please call the toll-free number : 1 800 206-7218 .

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Canadian government and Armed Forces personnel posted in the United States  

You may be entitled to regular, maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits if you or your dependants are posted in the United States and working for the Canadian government or for the Armed Forces. Dependants include your spouse, unmarried children under 21, unmarried full-time students under 25, and unmarried disabled children.

You may file your claim for Canadian EI benefits online. For more information, please call the toll-free number : 1 800 206-7218 .

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Your permanent residence is in a country other than Canada and the United States  

If you are permanently residing in a country other than Canada or the United States, you may be eligible for maternity, parental & sickness and compassionate care benefits if you have worked in a job in your country of

For example, you may be a spouse of a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and working abroad for the Canadian government. If you become ill and are unable to work, you can apply for sickness benefits if you meet the requirements.

You may file a claim for Canadian EI maternity, parental, sickness or compassionate care benefits online. For more information, please call the toll-free number 1  800 206-7218 or write to the following address:

Service Canada  Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
1 North Front St. 
P.O. Box 4800
Belleville, Ontario
K8N 5E2

If you normally reside outside Canada or the United States and your last employment was in Canada, you are eligible for maternity, parental or compassionate care benefits only.

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You are a commuter  

Commuters are Canadian or American persons who regularly cross the Canada/United States border between their residence and workplace.

If you are an American living near the Canadian border and you usually commute to Canada to work, you must file a claim for Canadian EI benefits at the nearest Service Canada Centre. Your claim will be treated like that of any resident of Canada, therefore, you may be entitled to receive regular benefits or maternity, parental & sickness or compassionate care benefits.

As well, if you are a Canadian living near the American border and you usually commute to the United States to work, you must file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits at the nearest "State Workforce Development Agency".

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SUGGESTED PRICE GUIDELINES - Aug 5, 2008
 
david ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
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My Home office is at:
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North Vancouver,  BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325

Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week  Vancouver (LA) time -  (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) expert  US Canada Canadian American  Mexican Income Tax  service help.
pert  US Canada Canadian American  Mexican Income Tax  service and help.
David Ingram gives expert income tax service & immigration help to non-resident Americans & Canadians from New York to California to Mexico  family, estate, income trust trusts Cross border, dual citizen - out of country investments are all handled with competence & authority.
 
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.

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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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