Agree, both customs are always asking first question "where do you live?" to identify residency . It's easy for me - dual US/CAN citizen to live in Canada and work in US, but probably not so for H4 holder.
Daily commute (Detroit-Windsor) (H1b and Canada PR)
- Thread starter prudhvi
- Start date
Request inputs on my scenario .. I am so confused reading this
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html
Can some one please point to good cross border tax consultant.. I am so confused
Background
My spouse has been working in Canada on work permits since 2022 and paying taxes. I have been working in USA on H1b and visiting her less then 183 days in year on tourist visa and I am resident of USA for tax purposes.I got copr approved in Nov 2023 and landed in Jan 2024 as Pr . In next 2 years my spouse will be able to apply for citizenship and then will come to USA . In two years I am going to try to acquire as much time for my Pr renewal as possible but not spending not more then 183 in Canada in a year to avoid paying high taxes.. I am not targeting citizenship for myself..
Question
1.For year 2023 I am considered non resident of Canada for tax purposes even though I have residential ties spouse living in Canada on work permit ?I landed as PR in Jan 2024
2.In year 2024 if I plan to come to Canada on (Friday and leave Monday ) .Such that I spent less then 183 days In Canada and more time in USA then in such case do I need to pay tax in Canada for income I earn in USA? Or I would be considered non resident of Canada for tax purposes?
3.If I do daily commute from Windsor to Detroit than I understand I would be considered resident for tax purposes in Canada.And take tax credit of tax already paid in USA.
https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/determining-your-residency-status.html
Can some one please point to good cross border tax consultant.. I am so confused
Background
My spouse has been working in Canada on work permits since 2022 and paying taxes. I have been working in USA on H1b and visiting her less then 183 days in year on tourist visa and I am resident of USA for tax purposes.I got copr approved in Nov 2023 and landed in Jan 2024 as Pr . In next 2 years my spouse will be able to apply for citizenship and then will come to USA . In two years I am going to try to acquire as much time for my Pr renewal as possible but not spending not more then 183 in Canada in a year to avoid paying high taxes.. I am not targeting citizenship for myself..
Question
1.For year 2023 I am considered non resident of Canada for tax purposes even though I have residential ties spouse living in Canada on work permit ?I landed as PR in Jan 2024
2.In year 2024 if I plan to come to Canada on (Friday and leave Monday ) .Such that I spent less then 183 days In Canada and more time in USA then in such case do I need to pay tax in Canada for income I earn in USA? Or I would be considered non resident of Canada for tax purposes?
3.If I do daily commute from Windsor to Detroit than I understand I would be considered resident for tax purposes in Canada.And take tax credit of tax already paid in USA.
Read and re-read memo about residential ties and domicile , etc. Especially about "Deemed non-resident of Canada" topic. It's a bit of greay area, but I ( but what do I know?) would consider yourself as a "Deemed non-resident of Canada", even if for whatever reason others could say that you are "factual resident", because of residential ties... You have primary home in US and your all vital interests are in US, etc. Again, this is my personal opinion and not a suggestion.
Hi, I am Canadian citizen and I have F2 visa status in US waiting for my green card application to be approved. For my work, I am planning to do daily commute to Windsor. My Immigration Attorney is telling me that should not be a problem but I was wondering if anyone was in a similar situation?
Attorneys are right. please follow their suggestion.
Its difficult to answer without mentioning at what stage of GC are you in.
Thanks for your reply. After my I-140 was approved, I applied through IVP process and am awaiting for my visa interview appointment.
Here is my experience. H1B visa and Canadian PR with a mix of Indian and US citizenship(kids). Soft landed on Dec 8 2023 at the tunnel. Got our goods to follow list. You should be able to get the list even after you land but before you move. Made few trips to Canada after that to visit family, see houses in Windsor, Opened bank and credit card account using Newcomer package. Downtown Windsor has cheaper home rents but everyone said it’s not a safe area.
We moved in mid Jan near Walkerville and used one way Uhaul rental. Applied for health card right after.
I commute every alternate days (one night stay in Windsor and other in MI) using the tunnel as i heard bridge people are not friendly and scrutinize a lot which I always experience. I got Nexpress for toll. I was forced to import my car even when I am yet to export from the US. To make things worse, CBSA at the bridge asked so many questions and if we are going to find an employment in Canada and if we are doing this to just to maintain residency. So far we had good experience with CBP and we only use the tunnel. I believe once we get our PR cards and license plates switched to ON, it should get better. I always have a bad experience at the bridge with cbsa compared to the tunnel. We also bring groceries and always declare. Due to personal exemption limit of 200 or 800, we have never paid any tax. You can pretty much bring in anything but always declare. We found that some items are cheaper in Canada and some in the US.
Can anyone suggest a good tax person in Windsor? I know that the chances of additional document request is almost 100%
How difficult can I expect at the border especially at the Canadian side? I mean will they create a hard time if we don’t work in Canada. My kids currently go to Daycare in the US due to waiting game in Windsor. I know they won’t deny entry.
We moved in mid Jan near Walkerville and used one way Uhaul rental. Applied for health card right after.
I commute every alternate days (one night stay in Windsor and other in MI) using the tunnel as i heard bridge people are not friendly and scrutinize a lot which I always experience. I got Nexpress for toll. I was forced to import my car even when I am yet to export from the US. To make things worse, CBSA at the bridge asked so many questions and if we are going to find an employment in Canada and if we are doing this to just to maintain residency. So far we had good experience with CBP and we only use the tunnel. I believe once we get our PR cards and license plates switched to ON, it should get better. I always have a bad experience at the bridge with cbsa compared to the tunnel. We also bring groceries and always declare. Due to personal exemption limit of 200 or 800, we have never paid any tax. You can pretty much bring in anything but always declare. We found that some items are cheaper in Canada and some in the US.
Can anyone suggest a good tax person in Windsor? I know that the chances of additional document request is almost 100%
How difficult can I expect at the border especially at the Canadian side? I mean will they create a hard time if we don’t work in Canada. My kids currently go to Daycare in the US due to waiting game in Windsor. I know they won’t deny entry.
As a person living in East Windsor for 5 years ( moved from MI) - agree with you 100%. The commute to me is easier since I am dual citizen driving ON plated car with US passport and Canadian citizenship card, always use the tunnel. My spouse came here as PR, never traveled back to US, never worked in Canada, no questions asked, became Canadian citizen in Sep 2022.
At the border it's always the same question - "where do you live?". If you live in Windsor and drive Canadian plated car - no issues, the same no issues if you live in MI and drive US plated car. US customs do not care about cars, Canadian customs always watching to get the possible import duties.
thanks for response.. I myself consider myself as deemed non resident.But not sure as it is grey area.. When person is deemed non resident tie breaker rule come to play to decide on residency and as per that looks like I am tax resident of USA..
Extract from treaty
- he shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State in which he has a permanent home available to him ( I have rental home in USA on my name and in Canada on my wife name so this not decide for my situation)
- if he has a permanent home available to him in both States or in neither State, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests) (I have family in canada but job and bank account in USA. So this does not decide for my situation)
- if the Contracting State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be determined, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State in which he has an habitual abode (a place where he or she sleeps regularly);
Please Advice
@harirajmohan @justinline
My employer is not based in Detroit ..and does not allow remote work from Canada. To fulfill residency requirement of Canada I am planning to work and stay in USA on H1b from M to F and going to Windsor and staying there with my family( Fri, Sat , Sun) and coming back to USA on Monday.. I have few questions around it
1 Does CBSA ask to change car plates to Canada if I am traveling over weekend to meet my family? Does it matter it is every weekend or alternate weekend
2 if I change car plates then it will be considered am residing in Canada even though I am spending 4 nights ( M to Thursday) in USA? If it is considered residing in Canada then does that impact my spouse H4 visa . Can she face issue when traveling to USA one a while ?
3 i know I will meet substantial presence test in USA( resident alien) and also tax resident of Canada (given that my family stays there and I am commuting weekly )then for USA tax do I need to file form 1040 or 1040 Nr with form 8833 or just 1040 NR ?
My understanding is that I can’t do form 8833 online .. If I file USA tax return as paper file then it will take around 4 months to get it processed .. By the time I file canada tax return I won’t have IRS transcripts to claim foreign tax credit.
4 I know person can claim federal and state tax in Canada tax return as foreign tax credit..Can person claim foreign tax credit for 401k contribution first year becomes Canada tax resident? Also I read that we can claim social security tax and Medicare tax . Is it correct?Can claiming SSn tax trigger Audit
@harirajmohan @justinline
My employer is not based in Detroit ..and does not allow remote work from Canada. To fulfill residency requirement of Canada I am planning to work and stay in USA on H1b from M to F and going to Windsor and staying there with my family( Fri, Sat , Sun) and coming back to USA on Monday.. I have few questions around it
1 Does CBSA ask to change car plates to Canada if I am traveling over weekend to meet my family? Does it matter it is every weekend or alternate weekend
2 if I change car plates then it will be considered am residing in Canada even though I am spending 4 nights ( M to Thursday) in USA? If it is considered residing in Canada then does that impact my spouse H4 visa . Can she face issue when traveling to USA one a while ?
3 i know I will meet substantial presence test in USA( resident alien) and also tax resident of Canada (given that my family stays there and I am commuting weekly )then for USA tax do I need to file form 1040 or 1040 Nr with form 8833 or just 1040 NR ?
My understanding is that I can’t do form 8833 online .. If I file USA tax return as paper file then it will take around 4 months to get it processed .. By the time I file canada tax return I won’t have IRS transcripts to claim foreign tax credit.
4 I know person can claim federal and state tax in Canada tax return as foreign tax credit..Can person claim foreign tax credit for 401k contribution first year becomes Canada tax resident? Also I read that we can claim social security tax and Medicare tax . Is it correct?Can claiming SSn tax trigger Audit
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All these intersting questions, not clear to me "To fulfill residency requirement" - for US or for Canada?
As far as "car plates" for CBSA and CBP - their main question is "where do you live?". If you live in US - you drive US plated car to, let say, your "vacation home" in Windsor. If you live in Canada - you drive your Canadian plated car to work in US and after that return back home to Canada.
As far as deductions on Canadian taxes the 401k ( or IRA) contribution in US - I think first year you cannot deduct anything, it has something to do with RRSP "room" for current year, which is based on data from the previous year. You deduct something on the second year in Canada. Sucks.
Thanks for response..I edited my post..It is for Canada I am trying to understand If I work and stay in USA on weekdays and go to Canada on weekends (not daily commute)then what is correct answer to where do I live ?
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This is just my opinion ( not suggestion) - in this case I would consider myself US tax resident, living in US and just to visit Canada.
Despite family ties to Canada I still would consider myself "Deemed non-resident of Canada".
Again, my personal opinion, not financial/immigration suggestion.
Can some please help me with tax form question(3) hold high yield bank account in USA that is allowed only for resident alien..Not sure how can I report interest in 1040 NR