International Income Tax! HELP!

Factual Questions
1

I apologise if this is posted to the wrong forum, and if not: HELP ME!

Okay. Here’s the situation:

I left Canada in December 2003, on what was supposed to be a vacation, however, in February 2004, got married to a US citizen, and have been working on my citizenship ever since. I filed my income tax last year to my old address in Canada (my parents’ home), because there was still a possibility that I would return there within the year to live/work, etc. However, plans changed, and I stayed in the US with my husband. Our petition for me to become a citizen of the US was approved in November 2004 (yeah, they’re behind). However, I did not receive a SSN, or Green Card, or any such thing; I am still not an actual resident of the US - am I? Am I a resident alien? Something else?

So, it’s tax time, whee! I make a few calls to Canada, asking how, if, where I could file my income tax. I am told I am definately a non-resident of Canada. So I do not file there. I am given an International Income Tax phone number, and I call them, and am also told I am a non-resident of Canada, and to call the INS to ask about my status as a US citizen. Or was it the IRS? Gah. I don’t know. (the guy had a heavy french accent, and I just took it for granted that I was working with the INS for my citizenship, so I’d assumed that’s what he’d said, until I hung up… now I feel like an ass).

One of the things he said was that there would be a day I became an official non-resident of Canada and I should report that… to who? Everytime I asked, he wouldn’t quite give me a straight answer. “Well, if you were in Canada, (gives a number I’d already called and dealt with), and if you were in the US, then you should call the (INS? IRS?) to figure out when you became a non-resident.”

I’m in limbo, folks - I’m not an official resident of either country… I don’t think. Who do I call? Who do I file with with? I haven’t worked a single day in either country since December 2003. Heck, not since October 2003 when I’d quit my last job and went on a long-needed vacation.

Has anybody else had to deal with this, or a similar situation? Is there a factual answer to my question, in simple, plain English?

Who? Where? How? HELP!!!

I apologise for any melodrama, I just got sick of sorting through hard-to-find information, speaking to hard-to-understand people, and decided to turn to the Dope in hopes of someone with some experience in these things.

2

If you didn’t work in 2004 and had no income you are not required to file income tax in the US. Don’t know about Canada’s rules, but I expect they would be similar.

3

I was just speaking to my husband on the phone, and he said the same thing… the fellow I spoke to earlier, when I told him I haven’t worked since October 2003, he said “Good for you!” Confusing, and not helpful… but I think he was saying “So what then? You don’t file.” Everyone else I have called has pretty much said the same thing: “You are a non-resident of Canada now, you have nothing to file.”

However, the one little tricky part that the french fellow kept saying, was: “Did you report your non-resident status to (someone)?” And that I’d have to know when I officially became a non-resident. Huh? I’m not sure how to find that one out, or who to report it to.

The only thing I’ve received in the mail was a little slip of paper, from Canada Revenue, with my NETFILE access code. Other than that, nothing.

Or, is this all a hullabaloo over nothing, since I haven’t worked since October 2003? And I don’t need to file anywhere?

4

Do you have your green card (aka Permanent Resident Card), or even an I-551 stamp in your Canadian passport? If so, then you are a U.S. permanent resident (which you seem to be confusing with citizenship, which is a whole other ball of wax), and should file your taxes as such (your U.S. taxes, anyway). If you don’t, that may be construed as a desire to give up your U.S. permanent residency, which could be a real pain in the neck if you didn’t mean to do that.

Any issues of whether to file as married filing together/separately, etc. or other strictly tax-related issues should be directed to a competent accountant.

Eva Luna, U.S. Immigration Paralegal

5

I do not have a green card, or an I-551 stamp on my Canadian passport. I do not have a US passport. The only thing I have so far is an approved petition to apply for Permanent Resident. It was the International Tax guy who brought up the green card, etc. I’m in limbo, it seems.

My husband finished his taxes already, and as far as I know, he claimed me… as what, I don’t know. Dependant? That’s what I would be, I think… I’ll talk to him when he gets home to see.

Thanks for the responses, and for the future responses, to this post. I’m still digging, but so far not coming up with anything. Taxes confuse me a bit normally, and this international thing is just confounding to me - there’s your daily obviousity bulletin for the day!

6

Greetings, I’m having the same issue.

I have legal alien status in the US and my greencard (but haven’t found work yet). However, I’ve been here since 2003 so according to the Revenue Canada site, I needed to fill out a form and they will tell me if I’m considered a non-resident of Canada or not.

The form I filled out was the NR73 Determination of Residency Status (Leaving Canada)

Some links from the website that may help:

Leaving Canada

IT-221R3 (Consolidated) Determination of an Individual’s Residence Status

I hope this helps!

7

Do you mean a Form I-130, Pettiion for Alien Relative? If you’re living in the U.S., married to a U.S. citizen, you can usually file that together with the I-145, Application for Adjustment of Status (green card application). Or did you do that, and the I-130 has been approved, but not yet the I-485?

There is some overlap in regs for residency between USCIS (formerly INS) and the IRS, but it’s not 100%.

8

Well, we found out the hard way that we did things “the long way”. We were completely clueless on how/where to begin, and so we just went to the INS website and began printing out all the papers we’d need. We originally filed I-485 around March of last year, but it was sent back with a bunch of other things with a letter stating “This is not needed at this time.” They kept one of our applications, which, I believe, was the I-130. So, we just said, fine, we’ll send them what they ask for, when they ask for it. The I-130 was approved, and I’m currently working on a large pile of papers, and one of those applications to be filed this time is the I-485. This is a whole other can of worms, but we’ve got it straightened out now. Many FAQ pages on the matter have been very helpful. We’re almost finished with this step for now, the next step will be things like the interviews, etc.

Gulo gulo, thank you for the links, I will be checking those out right now!

9

Welcome to the “Not a Resident of Anywhere” club.

First rule: Chill

Second rule: if you didn’t earn income, don’t file a return. Since I lived in the U.S. for 4 months in 2003, but could not work because I didn’t have a permit, I didn’t file a return-- easy peasy.

10

Thank you so much for your replies, folks, I’m much more at ease about this now. It seems I don’t have to fill out my income tax in either country. I’m going to keep digging a little more just to be sure, but it seems pretty straightforward. The most conusing part about the whole thing is the fact that it is so simple: I didn’t believe I wouldn’t have to file anything, anywhere.

The one thing I am going to do, however, is fill out that first form **Gulo gulo ** posted, just to be sure. If Canada wasn’t aware that I was a non-resident before, they will now, and I can be certain. I’ll fill it out and fax them this week, and it looks like that should be it.

My husband mentioned that if I had any reason to file income tax here, I should have been contacted by the IRS by now.

11

conusing = confusing, of course.

12

Not true. The IRS doesn’t have the time or resources to contact everyone that needs to file a tax return. However, in your case since you have no income you will be fine.

13

Remember - Google is your friend.

You might want to peruse International and non-resident and IT221R3 which the former links to. IANAL, but sure looks to me that you are not considered a Canadian resident for tax purposes, and if you have no Canadian income you shouldn’t need to file a Canadian return.

14

Yet another Doper recently moved from Canada to the US.

I hate forms. That said, I guess I have to get my Canadian taxes done. I’ll be getting a refund, so it’s not a big rush, but I have to do it soon, and I’ll send off that “I’m gone” form that Gulo gulo linked to. I still hate forms.

Thanks to Anastasaeon for the question, and everybody else for the answers!