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My question is: Applicable to both US and Canada
QUESTION: Hi !
I lost my job in California on April 3rd of this year and was
required to leave the US immediately(because I had a TN visa,
working there for 2 years).
Do I have to file form 1040-C or can I just file my return for
2003 as usual in April 2004 ?
Thank you very much
F XXXXXXXXXX
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david ingram replies:
Although there is a requirement for a 1040C, I have not done one
and have not seen one done since at least 1985.
I used to do them "all the time".
In 1985 there were likely only 16,000 Canadians working in the US
and they were on H1 or L1 visas and likely going to stay. There
was no such thing as a TN or TC until 1989 when 9000 visas 1 year
visas were issued.
Today, with over 65,000 TN and another 20,000 H1 and L1 visas
issued, there are thousands of people going back and forth across
the border.
At any rate the 1040C is an interim form and not the final form
that one would do.
So the answer is that you are supposed to but hardly anyone does
and I have never seen anyone fined for not filling it in.
I am sending this to my newsletter group to see if anyone else
knows of someone fined for not filling it in.
Even when you do fill it in, you are then required to file a 1040
or a 1040NR (or both if dual status) at the end of the year.
Interestingly, the Intuit Tax program I pay about $2,500 a year
for does not have a 1040C as part of it.
You can find the 2003 fillable form on the IRS site at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-fill/f1040c03.pdf
I could not find any 2002 or 2003 instructions. However, the 2001
instructions are at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040c01.pdf
and I do not imagine there are many changes. When you read the
instructions you will recognize the contradiction. The rules
require you to go to the IRS Field Assistance Area Director two
weeks before you leave. What is happening is that Canadians are
losing their job and being told to leave now. Technically
staying for two weeks past your lay-off is a serious offence so
everyone gets out of town and then they have left without their
compliance certificate.
Therefore, if you have already left the US, it is technically too
late to file the 1040C because it is required to be filed BEFORE
you depart which is why I think it is now generally ignored. By
the time anyone finds out about it, they have already left.
If you are still there, you should file it but you are breaking
US immigration law by still being there.
So, I assume you have left and how did you find out about 1040C?
Any comments from others would be welcome, particularly if anyone
knows of someone who has been penalized by the IRS for not
filing their 1040C.
david ingram - [email protected]
108-100 Park Royal South
West Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7T 1A2
(604) 913-9133 - (604) 913-9123 www.centa.com
Cell is (604) 657-8451 (10 AM to 10 PM seven days a week)
US / CANADA / MEXICO
Working Visa and Income Tax Specialists
Be ALERT, the world needs more "lerts"
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