After the Process is Over???? (US citizen married to Canadian Citizen)

[ovasquez1]

Is there a site or company or organization or another forum for after you land?

My husband and I have questions about:

how to get settled? the health insurance in Canada? the SIN number? what happens to my SS# in the states?

places or sites to look for jobs for Americans in Canada? (to continue my profession I would have to return to school for a year in Canada and get re-certified, what other options are there for me, perhaps with my experience (5 years in Education) or my education (a bachelor's) I can find a different or start a new career)

about American and Canadian taxes? (any recommendations of company to use...should I do my own taxes?...I'm doing my own taxes in the US)

about citizenship for children born with an American and Canadian Parent? (steps, paper work to fill out?)

Banks for the US and Canada? (We opened a TD account, sounds promising but we are curious about other banks)

Insurances for both the US and Canada?

Owning Property in the US and Canada? (I have property in the States)

Or can I ask all these questions on this forum? Should I just look it up or research it?

Any advice or links or anything would be most helpful...

 

[Hnhkrk]

Is there a site or company or organization or another forum for after you land?

My husband and I have questions about:

how to get settled? the health insurance in Canada? the SIN number? what happens to my SS# in the states?

places or sites to look for jobs for Americans in Canada? (to continue my profession I would have to return to school for a year in Canada and get re-certified, what other options are there for me, perhaps with my experience (5 years in Education) or my education (a bachelor's) I can find a different or start a new career)

about American and Canadian taxes? (any recommendations of company to use...should I do my own taxes?...I'm doing my own taxes in the US)

about citizenship for children born with an American and Canadian Parent? (steps, paper work to fill out?)

Banks for the US and Canada? (We opened a TD account, sounds promising but we are curious about other banks)

Insurances for both the US and Canada?

Owning Property in the US and Canada? (I have property in the States)

Or can I ask all these questions on this forum? Should I just look it up or research it?

Any advice or links or anything would be most helpful...

I'm an American Citizen that has had PR in Canada for over a year so I can help you with some of these questions, though my experience will vary a bit since I'm in Quebec.

Is there a site or company or organization or another forum for after you land?

My husband and I have questions about:

how to get settled? the health insurance in Canada? the SIN number? what happens to my SS# in the states? I went to the service Canada closest to me to get my SIN card the day that I landed... it took 5 minutes. I haven't gotten my health insurance card yet as I have private insurance so I can't help you with that... but when it comes to the #SS in the US nothing happens to it. You're still a citizen of the US and therefore you still have social security. In fact, if the taxes in the US ever get higher than the taxes in Canada, you'll have ot pay in both countries.

places or sites to look for jobs for Americans in Canada? (to continue my profession I would have to return to school for a year in Canada and get re-certified, what other options are there for me, perhaps with my experience (5 years in Education) or my education (a bachelor's) I can find a different or start a new career)? This depends on what province you live in, as each province has different standards for equivalents. Either way, you need to search for your province's immigration services (Quebec is the MICC) and apply for an equivalence of your diploma(s).

about American and Canadian taxes? (any recommendations of company to use...should I do my own taxes?...I'm doing my own taxes in the US) I'm still not 100% sure about this, all I know is that the only you end up paying taxes to the US is if the tax rate in Canada is lower than the tax rate in the US. You can find more information on that here

about citizenship for children born with an American and Canadian Parent? (steps, paper work to fill out?) Again, I need you to specify here if you already have children or you're talking about the future.

Banks for the US and Canada? (We opened a TD account, sounds promising but we are curious about other banks) I actually just kept my US bank account and use BMO while here in Canada. The only two I know that do it are TD and RBC

Insurances for both the US and Canada?: Are you talking about health insurance? Because if so, it doesn't really exist. If you want ot have health insruance while in the US you can purchase traveller's insurance.

Owning Property in the US and Canada? (I have property in the States): You can keep owning your property as long as you pay the taxes and what not.[/b]

I hope I helped! Try to clairfy what you can.

 

[uskyoot]

This Forum has all the answers you need. Just scroll down a little further on the Home page

 

[keesio]

about American and Canadian taxes? (any recommendations of company to use...should I do my own taxes?...I'm doing my own taxes in the US) I'm still not 100% sure about this, all I know is that the only you end up paying taxes to the US is if the tax rate in Canada is lower than the tax rate in the US. You can find more information on that here

It's very tricky. All US citizens (and permanent residents) must file taxes regardless of where your residency is. In most cases you don't pay any US taxes if you live in a country with higher taxes (like Canada) since you can get a credit for taxes paid in your country of residence. There is also something called FEIE which exempts you from owing any taxes on income below a certain threshold.

But the cross border tax issues are very complex. And there are a lot of "gotchas". Like how the IRS views a TFSA and RESPs (as a trust whose earnings are taxable). Extra paperwork for RRSPs. How mutual funds are a pain in the ass to have here.

I would strongly recommend getting an accountant who specializes in cross border taxes. It is worth the price.

 

[ovasquez1]

I'm an American Citizen that has had PR in Canada for over a year so I can help you with some of these questions, though my experience will vary a bit since I'm in Quebec.

Is there a site or company or organization or another forum for after you land?

My husband and I have questions about:

how to get settled? the health insurance in Canada? the SIN number? what happens to my SS# in the states? I went to the service Canada closest to me to get my SIN card the day that I landed... it took 5 minutes. I haven't gotten my health insurance card yet as I have private insurance so I can't help you with that... but when it comes to the #SS in the US nothing happens to it. You're still a citizen of the US and therefore you still have social security. In fact, if the taxes in the US ever get higher than the taxes in Canada, you'll have ot pay in both countries.

places or sites to look for jobs for Americans in Canada? (to continue my profession I would have to return to school for a year in Canada and get re-certified, what other options are there for me, perhaps with my experience (5 years in Education) or my education (a bachelor's) I can find a different or start a new career)? This depends on what province you live in, as each province has different standards for equivalents. Either way, you need to search for your province's immigration services (Quebec is the MICC) and apply for an equivalence of your diploma(s).

about American and Canadian taxes? (any recommendations of company to use...should I do my own taxes?...I'm doing my own taxes in the US) I'm still not 100% sure about this, all I know is that the only you end up paying taxes to the US is if the tax rate in Canada is lower than the tax rate in the US. You can find more information on that here

about citizenship for children born with an American and Canadian Parent? (steps, paper work to fill out?) Again, I need you to specify here if you already have children or you're talking about the future.

Banks for the US and Canada? (We opened a TD account, sounds promising but we are curious about other banks) I actually just kept my US bank account and use BMO while here in Canada. The only two I know that do it are TD and RBC

Insurances for both the US and Canada?: Are you talking about health insurance? Because if so, it doesn't really exist. If you want ot have health insruance while in the US you can purchase traveller's insurance.

Owning Property in the US and Canada? (I have property in the States): You can keep owning your property as long as you pay the taxes and what not.[/b]

I hope I helped! Try to clairfy what you can.

Thanks for replying...Thanks for the link ...that helps...I was talking about future children....I don't have any now....

 

[ovasquez1]

It's very tricky. All US citizens (and permanent residents) must file taxes regardless of where your residency is. In most cases you don't pay any US taxes if you live in a country with higher taxes (like Canada) since you can get a credit for taxes paid in your country of residence. There is also something called FEIE which exempts you from owing any taxes on income below a certain threshold.

But the cross border tax issues are very complex. And there are a lot of "gotchas". Like how the IRS views a TFSA and RESPs (as a trust whose earnings are taxable). Extra paperwork for RRSPs. How mutual funds are a pain in the ass to have here.

I would strongly recommend getting an accountant who specializes in cross border taxes. It is worth the price.

Yeah I was thinking about that...I kind of want a professional to handle it to make sure my taxes are done correctly uno...

 

[Hnhkrk]

Yeah I was thinking about that...I kind of want a professional to handle it to make sure my taxes are done correctly uno...

I suggest that, that's what I'm going to be doing.