Moving from US to Canada and working for the same employer

[bkbk8]

First of all, I understand I may need to contact an expert and discuss with the legal department of my company to get further details but wanted to throw out some questions in hopes that someone gone through a similar situation can shed some light and set my expectations.

I worked for a US major bank as a full-time employee in the states (they do have branches in Canada) under a work visa which has expired. Given that I have my Canadian PR, I moved to Canada and my employer is asking that I continue working as a FTE remotely. I will continue getting paid in USD at my US bank. I had a few questions:

1. Are there any legal implications if I continue being paid in my US bank account while not physically present in US with a proper visa (any IRS issues?) Contacted the bank they had no issued with regards to maintaining an immigration "status".
   
   
2. Do I need to file US taxes if I am a non-resident/citizen?
   
   
3. Does my employer have to modify anything in their reporting/payroll/system/immigration given that I am not physically present in the US but working remotely and being paid in USD?
   
   
4. Will taxes need to be withheld from my pay given that I am not a resident in US?
   
   
5. Are there any regulatory measures I need to be thinking of?
   

Just to highlight, this is a full-time role that gives 401k, benefits, etc as is with other FTE roles in US, and my employer cannot move my payroll to the Canadian payroll for several reasons.

 

[canuck78]

First of all, I understand I may need to contact an expert and discuss with the legal department of my company to get further details but wanted to throw out some questions in hopes that someone gone through a similar situation can shed some light and set my expectations.

I worked for a US major bank as a full-time employee in the states (they do have branches in Canada) under a work visa which has expired. Given that I have my Canadian PR, I moved to Canada and my employer is asking that I continue working as a FTE remotely. I will continue getting paid in USD at my US bank. I had a few questions:

1. Are there any legal implications if I continue being paid in my US bank account while not physically present in US with a proper visa (any IRS issues?) Contacted the bank they had no issued with regards to maintaining an immigration "status".
   
   
2. Do I need to file US taxes if I am a non-resident/citizen?
   
   
3. Does my employer have to modify anything in their reporting/payroll/system/immigration given that I am not physically present in the US but working remotely and being paid in USD?
   
   
4. Will taxes need to be withheld from my pay given that I am not a resident in US?
   
   
5. Are there any regulatory measures I need to be thinking of?

Just to highlight, this is a full-time role that gives 401k, benefits, etc as is with other FTE roles in US, and my employer cannot move my payroll to the Canadian payroll for several reasons.

This isn’t possible unless you are legally able to work in the US. You no longer have a visa. You can certainly still be paid in US dollars but you are going to have to be paid in Canada and work in Canada. There a few ways you can set yourself up as basically a consultant.

 

[bkbk8]

This isn’t possible unless you are legally able to work in the US. You no longer have a visa. You can certainly still be paid in US dollars but you are going to have to be paid in Canada and work in Canada. There a few ways you can set yourself up as basically a consultant.

Thank you so much for the reply! Could you tell me the reasoning behind why it is not possible? I am no longer physically present in the US so I do not require work authorization while overseas. Unless I am missing something, please highlight. Unfortunately the option of becoming a consultant/contractor is off the table. This will only be a FTE role. I've seen others on the forum going through a similar situation but not sure if they set up a corporation in Canada and worked as a Consultant.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you so much for the reply! Could you tell me the reasoning behind why it is not possible? I am no longer physically present in the US so I do not require work authorization while overseas. Unless I am missing something, please highlight. Unfortunately the option of becoming a consultant/contractor is off the table. This will only be a FTE role. I've seen others on the forum going through a similar situation but not sure if they set up a corporation in Canada and worked as a Consultant.

Most have an visa others are working as consultants. You can’t work and be paid in the US without a visa even if you are working remotely.

 

[bkbk8]

So I just spoke to two immigration attorneys specializing in Canada-US immigration and similar to what you mentioned, they informed me that I do not require a U.S. visa to be working and being paid in USD through the same bank account in the US. But to avoid any tax issues, it is best to open up a USD Canadian Account.

Short story:
- no US immigration issues
- payments can be made in USD to either a US or Canadian based account


Hope this helps everyone else.

 

[canuck78]

So I just spoke to two immigration attorneys specializing in Canada-US immigration and similar to what you mentioned, they informed me that I do not require a U.S. visa to be working and being paid in USD through the same bank account in the US. But to avoid any tax issues, it is best to open up a USD Canadian Account.

Short story:
- no US immigration issues
- payments can be made in USD to either a US or Canadian based account


Hope this helps everyone else.

Basically what I said. You are not working in the US. You are working as a consultant through Canada (various ways to do this). You can still be paid in US dollars but into a Canadian based US account. The taxes are the huge issue. Your employer can’t do payroll like every other US employee who is a resident where they take off the normal US taxes and you have to arrange to pay the various Canadian taxes. You would then only file Canadian taxes.

The big issue is that you said you can’t operate as a consultant or open your own corporation. There are a few more options.

 

[bkbk8]

Basically what I said. You are not working in the US. You are working as a consultant through Canada (various ways to do this). You can still be paid in US dollars but into a Canadian based US account. The taxes are the huge issue. Your employer can’t do payroll like every other US employee who is a resident where they take off the normal US taxes and you have to arrange to pay the various Canadian taxes. You would then only file Canadian taxes.

The big issue is that you said you can’t operate as a consultant or open your own corporation. There are a few more options.

Luckily, my employer has branches in Canada, the only problem is the "entity" I report to in the US is different than the one in Canada. My manager wants to always play by the rules and HR is not pursuing the matter in details into what other options are viable and so I am trying to find a way to convince them and make it work. Thanks for your responses.

 

[DEEPCUR]

As you found out, there are no immigration issues in physically working from Canada and getting paid in USD. And there are no problems working for US entity and there is no need to get transferred to Canadian entity.. you don't have change yourself to a contractor and can remain FTE if your company allows it.

Regarding taxes.. you won't need US Canada bank account too. you just need to file taxes in both US and Canada while filing tax returns for a year. You will pay taxes to US and claim the credit in filing Canadian returns. After claiming credit, if you you still owe taxes as per Canadian tax laws, you need to pay the tax for differing amount in Canada as well. that is all it takes.

 

[Alex54321]

You said "I worked for a US major bank as a full-time employee in the states... under a work visa which has expired.". If your work visa expired - you cannot be on US payroll. Regardless of what your company says - now you are working without authorization and company could pay big penalty for doing that. That's my opinion.