Dual US/Canadian Citizenship

[ERJOPA]

I am still waiting for oath date (grrr), but afterwards I will be dual US/Canadian citizen.

Besides filing taxes (with the exemptions) and showing your US passport when entering the US, are there any other items that I should be aware of being a dual national of these two countries?

Any other US/Canadian duals have any items or experiences that would be noteworthy?

 

[annoying001]

I am still waiting for oath date (grrr), but afterwards I will be dual US/Canadian citizen.

Besides filing taxes (with the exemptions) and showing your US passport when entering the US, are there any other items that I should be aware of being a dual national of these two countries?

Any other US/Canadian duals have any items or experiences that would be noteworthy?

You should be ok. As far as I know, there are no other significant obligations.
Just remember in case of crossing land border, do not drive a Canadian licensed vehicle with an US passport and vice versa, which may cause problems if I remember it right.
(My wife and I are US permanent residents. I am Canadian citizen and my wife is becoming one in 10 days)

 

[alphazip]

Tax issues are the main thing. Basically, if you have over US$10,000 in a Canadian bank account, invest in Canadian stocks, have a TFSA, etc., various IRS forms are required. In fact, having a TFSA is more trouble than it's worth, because the amount you earn tax free in Canada, isn't tax free in the U.S. Of course, all these issues don't just start once you have dual citizenship, but rather once you're a U.S. citizen and residing anywhere outside of the USA. It makes having a normal financial life (how many people have to watch their bank account to make sure it never hits $10,000?) rather difficult. Other than that, I can't think of any major impact on my life in having dual citizenship, other than the ability to live in either country.

 

[alphazip]

You should be ok. As far as I know, there are no other significant obligations.
Just remember in case of crossing land border, do not drive a Canadian licensed vehicle with an US passport and vice versa, which may cause problems if I remember it right.
(My wife and I are US permanent residents. I am Canadian citizen and my wife is becoming one in 10 days)

Yes, there is an issue with cars, but not exactly as you wrote. A person can show a U.S. passport on the U.S. side while driving a Canadian-plated car, as long as he is a resident of Canada. We do it all the time. However, I have a friend who drove into Canada and showed his PR card, while driving a U.S. car, and he had to turn around and take it back to the U.S. The issue there was that he had not properly imported it. So, he left it in the U.S. and simply sold it. Another friend who lived in Canada still had his U.S. driver's license and tried to drive his spouse's Canadian-plated car into the U.S. He was also turned back, again over the importation issue. So, in summary, a U.S. citizen who lives in Canada can drive a Canadian car, and a Canadian citizen who lives in the U.S. can drive a U.S. car. You just can't say you live in Canada, yet drive a U.S. car (or vice versa).

 

[nope]

Just for the record, what you say is correct about the TSFA and other registered savings accounts, but I think you're wrong about the general bank accounts. It's not 10,000 in any bank account, it's a total of 10,000 in all of them combined -- but if you go over, it's not a big deal, you just have to fill out the FATCA form online. It's annoying, but if you get your info arranged ahead of time it only takes a few minutes.

Of course, if you want to avoid FATCA legally, then you have to keep your banking assets below 10,000.

 

[alphazip]

Just for the record, what you say is correct about the TSFA and other registered savings accounts, but I think you're wrong about the general bank accounts. It's not 10,000 in any bank account, it's a total of 10,000 in all of them combined -- but if you go over, it's not a big deal, you just have to fill out the FATCA form online. It's annoying, but if you get your info arranged ahead of time it only takes a few minutes.

Of course, if you want to avoid FATCA legally, then you have to keep your banking assets below 10,000.

Yes, it's a total of $10,000 (example: $6,000 at TD, and $4,000 at BOM =$10,000), but for simplicity* I said $10,000 in a bank account. It is not a FATCA form, but an FBAR. (FATCA is something different: a U.S. law that Canada has agreed to follow, which involves Canadian banks identifying accounts held by U.S. citizens and reporting that information to the CRA, which in turn passes it on to the IRS.)

As I said, "IRS forms are required;" I didn't say it can't be done. If you keep on top of things and you're good with figures, it may not be a "big deal." If you're an average person, you'll likely need a tax expert/accountant who is familiar with cross-border tax issues, which can be expensive. I know a number of U.S. citizens here in Canada. Some (especially "accidental" Americans or Americans by descent) simply ignore U.S. tax rules, others go to Canadian tax preparers who don't understand the U.S. rules and give bad advice, and some actually find people who know what they're talking about. Of course, that advice comes at a price, which non-duals don't have to deal with.

*For simplicity, I also didn't mention that if you have $50,000 on the last day of the year...or $75,000 at any time...in a Canadian bank account (or maybe I had better say accounts), yet another IRS form, an 8938, must be filed in addition to the FBAR.