Moving from USA(H1B) to Canada(PR)

[backupoption123]

Hello friends,
So glad I found this thread Like most people here, I am an Indian citizen, on a H1B, working in a SV based company. My wife and I recently got ITA for Canadian PR in the FSW stream (Round 65, she is the primary applicant). Our plan is to (assuming nothing goes wrong in our application) land in Canada to activate our PR sometime during the summer of 2018 and then move permanently to Canada after a couple of years; say around late 2020/early 2021, so as to meet our residency obligation. We do not have any relatives in Canada, nor do we own any property/ have any address in Canada.
I have a couple of questions:
1. From 2018 to the time we finally move to Canada, will we have to pay Canadian tax on our US income?
2. When we do move to Canada, how do we move our US savings? Will that be taxed at that point? Or can we move our savings to Canada tax free?
Looking forward to replies from anyone who has knowledge about such situation. Thanks.

****

Canadian residents working in the United States
If you’re a resident of Canada but work in the United States, the Canada-US Tax Treaty provides special rules to determine how you are taxed. Provided you’re not a US citizen, you’ll be exempt from US taxation on employment income earned in the United States if either of the following conditions is met:

• Your US employment income does not exceed US $10,000.
• You are present in the United States for less than 184 days in any 12-month period beginning or ending in the fiscal year concerned, and your remuneration is not paid by, or on behalf of, a person who is resident in the United States and is not borne by a permanent establishment in the United States

If you do not meet either of the above tests, you must pay US federal and, if applicable, state income tax in the United States on your US-source wages (income is sourced to the jurisdiction where the services are performed, not where you’re paid from). You will also have to report this income on your Canadian tax return. To avoid double taxation, you will generally be allowed to claim a foreign tax credit on your Canadian return for any tax you pay to the United States. You should note that the individual US states are not bound by the treaty. Therefore, even though you may be subject to an exemption from US federal tax under the treaty, there is no guarantee that you will not be subject to a state’s income tax. If you do any significant amount of work in the United States, it’s best to consult with your tax adviser to determine your Canadian and US filing requirements.

If you’re self-employed, the rules are different. US-source self-employment income is not subject to US tax if you do not have a fixed base or permanent establishment in the United States. In such cases, you’ll be required to file a treaty-based return if you are relying on the treaty to exempt you from US tax. Again, you may be subject to a state’s income tax even if you are exempt from US federal tax under the treaty. However, you should keep track of the number of days you are present in the US as you may be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the US if you or your employees spend significant time in the US in any twelve month period.

*****
You can always move you money, it won't be taxed. Interest earned in Canada on that money would be.

 

[backupoption123]

1) Does the nights and weekends spent in Canada while working a day job in US counts towards your PR renewal or Citizenship , or both?

2) Where should I apply the NEXUS card from? US or canada? (H1B (140 approved ) + CanadaPR)
2a) Which number plates to use for my car ( canada or USA ) ? If canada, is it advised to export/import the US car or just buy one in Canada?

Anyone?

 

[chikoo1985]

Hello everyone,

Seems like many of the people here from IT background moving to Canada and soon Canada will see IT growth like US considering the workforce that is migrating. Well that's good news for the economy in some way.

I am from marketing & advertising and wife has background in stock broking. Do you guys have any opinion about these files in Canada in terms of Job market and salary. Which would be the best town to settle to get in to these fields?

Thanks,
Chikoo

 

[Classic Chucks]

Hello everyone,

Seems like many of the people here from IT background moving to Canada and soon Canada will see IT growth like US considering the workforce that is migrating. Well that's good news for the economy in some way.

I am from marketing & advertising and wife has background in stock broking. Do you guys have any opinion about these files in Canada in terms of Job market and salary. Which would be the best town to settle to get in to these fields?

Thanks,
Chikoo

Go to Job Bank and select Explore Careers, from there you can gather Labour Market Information on a specific field you'd like to know more about.

 

[bourne5144`]

Hi Friends,

Need some opinion on my situation.

I am on H1b with PD of Nov 2016. My employer who is a Canadian is moving all the IT jobs to Canada, they have given me a option to Intra company transfer to Canada with bit reduces salary than USA. I also got a new job in USA and they are willing to transfer my H1b.

As all these delay in getting GC and more stringent condition for H1b, should i move to Canada and get PR later or should continue in USA.

Please let me know your thoughts on this

 

[Classic Chucks]

Hi Friends,

Need some opinion on my situation.

I am on H1b with PD of Nov 2016. My employer who is a Canadian is moving all the IT jobs to Canada, they have given me a option to Intra company transfer to Canada with bit reduces salary than USA. I also got a new job in USA and they are willing to transfer my H1b.

As all these delay in getting GC and more stringent condition for H1b, should i move to Canada and get PR later or should continue in USA.

Please let me know your thoughts on this

USA, but that's just me. Good luck on your career.

 

[vishalkesar]

This is an excellent thread. I got answers 50% of my questions.

Current Work Status: H1B with PD of July, 2015
Current Residence: In PA, US

Canadian Status: PR, landed on August, 2015

I'm planning to move before end of this year with my family to Toronto. I plan to keep my job and travel(air/road) to work every alternate week from Monday-Thursday.

Does anybody know if there's any obligation to keep my US health insurance active? I pay about $800 per month on that after my employer's 50% contribution.

Thanks
Vishal

 

[scylla]

This is an excellent thread. I got answers 50% of my questions.

Current Work Status: H1B with PD of July, 2015
Current Residence: In PA, US

Canadian Status: PR, landed on August, 2015

I'm planning to move before end of this year with my family to Toronto. I plan to keep my job and travel(air/road) to work every alternate week from Monday-Thursday.

Does anybody know if there's any obligation to keep my US health insurance active? I pay about $800 per month on that after my employer's 50% contribution.

Thanks
Vishal

I would assume you will need to keep your US health insurance active since Canada won't cover you for anything that happens while you are in the US.

 

[DEEPCUR]

This is an excellent thread. I got answers 50% of my questions.

Current Work Status: H1B with PD of July, 2015
Current Residence: In PA, US

Canadian Status: PR, landed on August, 2015

I'm planning to move before end of this year with my family to Toronto. I plan to keep my job and travel(air/road) to work every alternate week from Monday-Thursday.

Does anybody know if there's any obligation to keep my US health insurance active? I pay about $800 per month on that after my employer's 50% contribution.

Thanks
Vishal

If you file your taxes in US as US resident, you need to keep the insurance. If you are filing as Canadian resident, you may or may not keep it. But as syclla said, coverage part is crucial. If there is a ER visit, you will be slapped with $10 to $15 k worth of bills easily for attending.

 

[mshaikh]

Just an FYI guys, - PD Jan 2013.
H1 is active and stamped until end of 2019.
Canada landing date sept 2014. I am moving to Canada next week. Don't have a job lined up.
Wish me luck !

Biggest hurdles in moving -

1. Low Canadian pay and smaller job market in IT (makes you a little worried)
2. Exporting car (man is that tough) and other stuff and uprooting everything in USA in general
3. My wife has to go through spousal sponsorship since she was already here on H4 EAD - this is not ideal

We'll see how it goes..

 

[DEEPCUR]

Just an FYI guys, - PD Jan 2013.
H1 is active and stamped until end of 2019.
Canada landing date sept 2014. I am moving to Canada next week. Don't have a job lined up.
Wish me luck !

Biggest hurdles in moving -

1. Low Canadian pay and smaller job market in IT (makes you a little worried)
2. Exporting car (man is that tough) and other stuff and uprooting everything in USA in general
3. My wife has to go through spousal sponsorship since she was already here on H4 EAD - this is not ideal

We'll see how it goes..

Great! First person to boldly jump in the water and move beyond this discussion!

Don't worry, you will be fine and you are certainly going in right direction! Many have confirmed has people in IT with experience land in jobs quickly. Low pay will be offset by better job stability as they have much lesser layoff culture compared to US. You may pace up your pay standards as well over the time with more Canadian experience.

 

[mshaikh]

Great! First person to boldly jump in the water and move beyond this discussion!

Don't worry, you will be fine and you are certainly going in right direction! Many have confirmed has people in IT with experience land in jobs quickly. Low pay will be offset by better job stability as they have much lesser layoff culture compared to US. You may pace up your pay standards as well over the time with more Canadian experience.

Hope so

Thanks for kind and encouraging words..

 

[aj970031]

Lots of folks in the same boat. I just filed my application for PR. On H1-B (IT guy) and wife is on H4. My question is - my PR application has my wife added onto it already. Is there another work permit that needs to be filed before she can pick up a job in Canada? (Assuming that my application comes through)

 

[francaispourquebec]

Just an FYI guys, - PD Jan 2013.
H1 is active and stamped until end of 2019.
Canada landing date sept 2014. I am moving to Canada next week. Don't have a job lined up.
Wish me luck !

Biggest hurdles in moving -

1. Low Canadian pay and smaller job market in IT (makes you a little worried)
2. Exporting car (man is that tough) and other stuff and uprooting everything in USA in general
3. My wife has to go through spousal sponsorship since she was already here on H4 EAD - this is not ideal

We'll see how it goes..

How's it going over there? Did you manage to find a job? All the very best either way.

 

[amit.r]

I am in US on L1 visa and moving to Canada soon. I have Permanent Resident visa for Canada. I am planning to work from Canada and visit US regularly for my current job as employer has agreed to this arrangement. Anything in particular I need to be aware of / take care of specifically ..