Tax Questions (US/CA)- Do I need to file?

[epmarshall]

Hi all,

I just recently became a PR, which I'm very relieved about! But now I'm wondering about taxes for last year.
I hope this isn't too off-topic, but this is the forum I have the most trust in, so I wanted to ask here and maybe someone can share some info with me.

Up until now, I had assumed I didn't have to file for 2017, since last year I wasn't able to work in Canada, so no income. But I was reading up on it and now I'm not sure since I'm seeing things about "non-resident alien" spouses and having to disclose bank accounts, etc.

So basically my situation is that I (US citizen) had no income for last year and was supported by my common law partner (Canadian citizen). I do have a shared bank account with him. He's already filed his Canadian taxes. Do I need to file for either Canadian or US taxes? Does he need to file anything simply because he's my common law partner?

Also, the year before that, I filed because I made a small amount online and they didn't even ask me for a foreign bank account or anything. So if I was supposed to give them that info, that didn't happen. Do I need to correct this?

Thanks for any advice, everyone. I definitely appreciate the continued help from this forum, even after I'm done with the PR process.

 

[scylla]

You need to file US taxes each year for the rest of your life regardless where you live and work. Your spouse does not need to file US taxes.

 

[CdnwifeUSwife]

You need to file US taxes each year for the rest of your life regardless where you live and work. Your spouse does not need to file US taxes.

What? the rest of life? I was told that my US wife is to file taxes in US for the first 3 years only.

 

[scylla]

What? the rest of life? I was told that my US wife is to file taxes in US for the first 3 years only.

Haha - no. I wish. Americans have the "privilege" of filing US taxes for life regardless of where they live. The US takes this very seriously and if you fail to file taxes, you may have issues getting a US passport renewed, face penalties, etc. The only way to get rid of this "privilege" is to renounce US citizenship.

 

[scylla]

To add to the above, I actually have several friends who have renounced their American citizenship for this very reason. If you want to go that route, expect it to take time and cost you thousands.

My American (also now Canadian) husband has been an expat for most of his adult life. He's only lived in the US for a handful of years out of the last three decades. He's been required to file each and every single year (and has filed).

Canada has a non-resident rule regarding taxes (meaning you don't have to file if you are living outside of the country and are classified as a non-resident). The US has no such allowances. Again, wish they did. Hate doing two sets of taxes each year...

 

[epmarshall]

To add to the above, I actually have several friends who have renounced their American citizenship for this very reason. If you want to go that route, expect it to take time and cost you thousands.

My American (also now Canadian) husband has been an expat for most of his adult life. He's only lived in the US for a handful of years out of the last three decades. He's been required to file each and every single year (and has filed).

Canada has a non-resident rule regarding taxes (meaning you don't have to file if you are living outside of the country and are classified as a non-resident). The US has no such allowances. Again, wish they did. Hate doing two sets of taxes each year...

Thanks for the info, scylla. But just to make sure I'm understanding this completely, does all of this apply even if I had no income last year? Do they really just want me to submit a return with nothing on it? Does CRA want me to do that as well or is that just US?

 

[CanadianZenGirl]

From the CRA website: Non-residents of Canada are not required to file a Canadian tax return if their only income from Canada is from certain types of passive income, such as dividends, and pension income. In such cases, tax is withheld at source by the payer when the amount is paid to the non-resident.

 

[epmarshall]

From the CRA website: Non-residents of Canada are not required to file a Canadian tax return if their only income from Canada is from certain types of passive income, such as dividends, and pension income. In such cases, tax is withheld at source by the payer when the amount is paid to the non-resident.

Thanks CanadianZenGirl! So it looks like at least I don't have to file Canadian taxes.

 

[KBH]

Thanks for the info, scylla. But just to make sure I'm understanding this completely, does all of this apply even if I had no income last year? Do they really just want me to submit a return with nothing on it? Does CRA want me to do that as well or is that just US?

Scylla is spot on, but you do not actually have to file if you don't meet the income threshold (just like you wouldn't have to file if you didn't meet the income threshold and you were living in the USA). So if you had zero income, you likely would not need to file, although I don't know the specifics of your situation, you can check out this page to determine whether or not you need to file. https://www.taxesforexpats.com/expat-tax-advice/minimum-filing-requirements.html

 

[epmarshall]

Scylla is spot on, but you do not actually have to file if you don't meet the income threshold (just like you wouldn't have to file if you didn't meet the income threshold and you were living in the USA). So if you had zero income, you likely would not need to file, although I don't know the specifics of your situation, you can check out this page to determine whether or not you need to file. https://www.taxesforexpats.com/expat-tax-advice/minimum-filing-requirements.html

Thanks for the extra info, KBH. I've been talking to a few expat tax places and they've all said I don't need to file due to lack of income. I will read up on it more and check the link you sent. I appreciate the help.

 

[CdnwifeUSwife]

Scylla is spot on, but you do not actually have to file if you don't meet the income threshold (just like you wouldn't have to file if you didn't meet the income threshold and you were living in the USA). So if you had zero income, you likely would not need to file, although I don't know the specifics of your situation, you can check out this page to determine whether or not you need to file. https://www.taxesforexpats.com/expat-tax-advice/minimum-filing-requirements.html

From the CRA website: Non-residents of Canada are not required to file a Canadian tax return if their only income from Canada is from certain types of passive income, such as dividends, and pension income. In such cases, tax is withheld at source by the payer when the amount is paid to the non-resident.

To add to the above, I actually have several friends who have renounced their American citizenship for this very reason. If you want to go that route, expect it to take time and cost you thousands.

My American (also now Canadian) husband has been an expat for most of his adult life. He's only lived in the US for a handful of years out of the last three decades. He's been required to file each and every single year (and has filed).

Canada has a non-resident rule regarding taxes (meaning you don't have to file if you are living outside of the country and are classified as a non-resident). The US has no such allowances. Again, wish they did. Hate doing two sets of taxes each year...

Thank you so much for all the information. This helps a lot. So glad I found the forums and learned a lot from y'all!

 

[steaky]

From the CRA website: Non-residents of Canada are not required to file a Canadian tax return if their only income from Canada is from certain types of passive income, such as dividends, and pension income. In such cases, tax is withheld at source by the payer when the amount is paid to the non-resident.

Still they have to file a Canadian tax return for non resident purposes