Question on US Social Security and Canadian Residency -
Mr. David
I’ve seen your reply posts on
centipede.centa.com and impressed with your knowledge. I have a question and
hope you can respond.
I’ve been working on H1B in the USA for 6 years
and almost made 24 Social Security points along with retirement fund up to $50K.
I’m Canadian Immigrant too and kept coming back and forth to USA and Canada.
I’ve passed the Canadian citizenship test but they asked me to prove the
residency that I’m going to do soon. I don’t know if they will award me
citizenship or not. I’m originally from Pakistan. Lets say if Canada didn’t give
me Citizenship and I don’t get a GC in USA, how would I recover the money I
contributed in the Social Security in the US?
Thanks for answer in
advance.
Brooklyn
This is a problem. although the US has now signed Social Security Totalization Agreements with 20 countries, Pakistan is NOT one of them.
Therefore, if you end up back in Pakistan with less than 40 credits, you will not qualify for Social Security unless you stay away for a year and then return on another H1-B.
On the other hand, Canada does have a treaty. If you are going to leave the USA anyway, I would advise you to get back to Canada and get your citizenship by living an working here. Once you have your Canadian Citizenship, you can work in the USA under TN (Treaty NAFTA) status.
In spite of postings on some sites, you can NOT get your Social Security Tax Payments back If working on an H1 or H2 basis. It is possible to exempt Social Security Payments if you are from a Tax Treaty Country on an L visa and expected to be in the US for less than five years.
And a TN visa holder who continues to live in Canada and commutes to work in the USA on a 1099 contract basis without a fixed base of operations in the USA can be exempt from paying Social Security AND Federal Income Tax under the US/Canada Tax Convention and the US Canada Social Security Totalization Agreement. This is a rare occurrence but does happen.
If you have been living and working in the USA for the last six or seven years, you have likely abandoned your Canadian status because you have to have been in Canada for 24 out of any past 60 month period to maintain your PR status UNLESS you are married to and living with a Canadian citizen spouse in the USA OR you were transferred to the USA by / and are working for a Canadian company.
Canadian Citizenship requires you to have been resident in Canada for 1,095 days out of the last 1,460 (3 out of 4 years).
Of course, you can leave the US for a year and qualify for another round of H1 visas in the future.
I know you are from Pakistan but I am always reminded of one of my favourite client's opinions.
He said that the best life was:
1. An Indian wife
2. A British house
3. Chinese Food
4. An American salary
He and his family have taken a year off and returned to India for a year to requalify for another round of H1's.
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David Ingram wrote:
However, I regularly search for the words"PAYING CUSTOMER" and
always answer them first if they did not get spammed out. As an example, as I
write this on June 28th, since June 16th (12 days), my 'spammed out' box has
7,118 unread messages, my deleted box has 2630 I have actually looked at and
deleted and I have answerd 63 email questions I have answered for clients and
strangers. I have also put aside 446 messages that I am maybe going to try
and answer because they look interesting.
Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office)
$1,600 would be for two people with income from two countries
David Ingram expert income tax and immigration help and preparation of US Canada Mexico non-resident and cross border returns with rental dividend wages self-employed and royalty foreign tax credits family estate trust trusts income tax convention treaty
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It is very unlikely that blind or unexpected email to me will be
answered. I receive anywhere from 100 to 700 unsolicited emails a
day and usually answer anywhere from 2 to 20 if they are not from existing
clients. Existing clients are advised to put their 'name and PAYING
CUSTOMER' in the subject and get answered first. I also refuse to be a
slave to email and do not look at it every day and have never ever looked at it
when i am out of town.
Therefore, if an email is not answered in 24 to 36 hours, it
is lost in space. You can try and resend it but if important, you will
have to phone to make an appointment. Gillian Bryan generally accepts
appointment requests for me between 10:30 AM and 4:00 PM Monday to Friday
VANCOUVER (Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles) time at (604) 980-0321
David Ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
David Ingram's US / Canada Services
US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
4466 Prospect Road
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7
Cell (604) 657-8451 -
(604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325
Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 9 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office)
Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed
information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general
comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice
in any particular circumstances. No contract exists between the reader and the
author and any and all non-contractual duties are expressly denied. All
readers should obtain formal advice from a competent and
appropriately qualified legal practitioner or tax specialist
for expert help, assistance, preparation,
or consultation in connection with personal or
business affairs such as at www.centa.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be
included."
David Ingram gives expert income
tax & immigration help to non-resident Americans & Canadians from
New York to California to Mexico family,
estate, income trust trusts Cross border, dual citizen - out of
country investments are all handled with competence &
authority.
Phone consultations are $400 for 15
minutes to 50 minutes (professional hour). Please note that GST is added if
product remains in Canada or is to be returned to Canada or a phone consultation
is in Canada.
This is not intended to be definitive but in
general I am quoting $800 to $2,800 for a dual country tax return.
$800 would be one T4 slip one W2 slip one or two
interest slips and you lived in one country only - no self employment or rentals
or capital gains - you did not move into or out of the country in this
year.
$1,000 would be the same with one rental
$1,200 would be the same with one business no
rental
$1,200 would be the minimum with a move in or out
of the country. These are complicated because of the back and forth foreign tax
credits. - The IRS says a foreign tax credit takes 1 hour and 53
minutes.
$1,500 would be the minimum with a rental or two in
the country you do not live in or a rental and a business and foreign tax
credits no move in or out
$1,600 would be for two people with income from two countries
$2,800 would be all of the above and you moved in
and out of the country.
This is just a guideline for US / Canadian
returns
We will still prepare Canadian only (lives in
Canada, no US connection period) with two or three slips and no capital
gains, etc. for $150.00 up.
With a Rental for $350
A Business for $350 - Rental and business likely
$450
And an American only (lives in the US with no
Canadian income or filing period) with about the same things in the same range
with a little bit more if there is a state return.
Moving in or out of the country or part year
earnings in the US will ALWAYS be $800 and up.
TDF 90-22.1 forms are $50 for the first and $25.00
each after that when part of a tax return.
8891 forms are generally $50.00 to $100.00
each.
18 RRSPs would be $900.00 - (maybe amalgamate a
couple)
Capital gains *sales) are likely $50.00 for
the first and $20.00 each after that.
Just a guideline not etched in
stone.
This from "ask an income trusts tax and immigration expert"
from www.centa.com or www.jurock.com or www.featureweb.com. David Ingram deals on a daily
basis with expatriate tax returns with multi jurisdictional cross and
trans border expatriate problems for the United States, Canada, Mexico,
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