Below is the result of your feedback form. It was submitted by
xxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxx on Friday, May 22, 2009 at 07:05:21
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My_question_is: Canadian-specific
question: Dear David,please tell me/us whether Canadians who temporarily work in the USA paying all taxes properly are eligible to receive Canadian EI in case their work in the USA got terminated?
thank you,
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david ingram replies:
The answer is yes but you start off dealing with Service Canada. see the website (I have reproduced most of it here) at
http://www.servicecanada.gc.ca/eng/ei/information/outside_canada.shtml
I have copied most of it here but you may want to go directly to their website. Depending upon the State, you may end up applying directly or through Service Canada as shown here:
Employment Insurance (EI) and Workers and/or Residents outside Canada
Employment Insurance (EI) online services
Do you have a question about the EI program? The frequently asked questions might help!
What
you should know...
Who
can apply
How
to file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits
How
to file a claim for Canadian EI benefits for people residing outside
Canada
Residents
of the United States
Maternity,
parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits
Canadian
government and Armed Forces personnel posted in the United States
Your
permanent residence is in a country other than Canada and the United
States
You
are a commuter
What you should know...
Certain persons working outside Canada may be entitled to benefits under Canada’s EI program. If you are working outside Canada for a Canadian company or the Canadian government, you are usually covered by EI. You will, however, not be insured by Canada’s EI program if your job is covered by the country in which you are working.
If you are not sure whether your job is insured under Canada’s EI program,
ask your employer. Ruling on employment insurability is the responsibility of Canada
Revenue Agency (CRA) , therefore, please call
the toll-free number 1 800 959-5525
for enquiries regarding the insurability of your employment.
Who can apply
Canada EI benefits may be paid to you when you reside outside Canada in the following situations:
- your last employment was in Canada, but you now reside in United States;
- your permanent residence is in a country other than Canada and the United States and you are applying for maternity, parental or compassionate care benefits;
- you are a commuter – a resident of Canada or the United States (U.S.) who regularly crosses the Canada/U.S. border between their residence and workplace.
American Unemployment Insurance benefits may be paid to you if your last employment was in the United States and you now reside in Canada. If you also had previous employment in Canada, you may be able to file a claim for Canadian EI benefits instead. You may be able to receive benefits from either Canada or the United States but not both at the same time.
How to file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits
To file a claim for American Unemployment Insurance benefits, you must contact the Telephone Information Service or go to your Service Canada Centre, you will be asked to give your name, address, phone number, Social Insurance Number (SIN) and Social Security Number (SSN) along with the name of the State from which you want to claim benefits. Depending on the State in which you last worked you may be able to file a claim directly with the State via the Internet or by phone. If the State does not accept claims via the Internet or by phone, information will be forwarded to a designated office responsible for handling such claims based on where you reside in Canada. You may also contact the designated Service Canada Centre directly.
You must provide proof that your employment in the United States was authorized as per American immigration regulations and that you are available for and actively seeking work in Canada. If you are not a Canadian resident you will be asked for proof that you are authorized to work in Canada.
A person who has worked for the American Armed Forces in the United States and wants to move or return to Canada, must file a claim for benefits at the nearest "State Workforce Development Agency" in the United States. Service Canada Centres in Canada cannot accept these claims for benefits.
All residents from: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Prince Edward Island
Service Canada Centre
Sub-Unit of interstate claim
processing
120 Harbourview Blvd.
P.O. Box 4000
Bathurst, N.B.
E2A
1R6
Phone: 506 548-7405 —
All Quebec residents
Service Canada Centre Ontario Region
Service Canada Centre Service Canada Centre British Columbia Region
All residents from: British Columbia and Yukon Service Canada Centre Phone: 1 866 483-6466 -
You may file your claim for Canadian EI benefits If you are residing in the United States and claiming regular benefits you
must be available and actively seeking work and, most importantly, you
must provide proof that you are legally authorized
to work in the United States. You will also need to submit your Record
of Employment from your Canadian employer. If your employers issue ROEs in paper format, you will need to
submit your ROEs from all your Canadian employers who issued ROEs in
paper format in the last 52 weeks. However, if your employer submits your ROE to
Service Canada electronically, you do not need to submit a copy
of your ROE to Service Canada, since we will have received it from your
employer. On the same day your employer submits it, you will be able to view and
print copies of your ROE online using My Service Canada
If you are residing outside Canada in a country other than the United
States, you may be eligible for maternity, parental or compassionate care
benefits only. Regular benefits are not payable to a person residing in a
country other than Canada or the United States. All claims received from people residing outside of Canada
are processed by the office in Belleville,
Ontario. For more information, please call the toll-free
number 1 877 486-1650. Regular benefits: If you are living in the United States, Regular benefits can
be paid to you up to a maximum of 36 weeks. The number
of weeks payable is based on the number of insurable hours that you have
accumulated in Canada during the last
52 weeks or since your last claim. To be eligible for regular benefits you must show that you: The number
of hours required is based on the regional rate of unemployment in
the economic
region where you last worked in Canada. Particular situations :
Effective December 11, 2005, if you are living in one of
the 23 participating economic regions, you could qualify for regular benefits
with a minimum of 840 hours instead of 910 hours. To know
more... Maternity, parental, sickness and compassionate
care benefits can be paid to you if you are living in the United
States as long as you meet the requirements for these benefits. To be eligible for maternity, parental,
sickness
or compassionate
care benefits you must show that you: You may file your claim for Canadian EI maternity,
parental, sickness and compassionate care benefits online.
For more information, please call the toll-free number : 1 800 206-7218 . You may be entitled to regular, maternity, parental, sickness and
compassionate care benefits if you or your dependants are posted in the
United States and working for the Canadian government or for the Armed Forces.
Dependants include your spouse, unmarried children under 21, unmarried full-time
students under 25, and unmarried disabled children. You may file your claim for Canadian EI benefits online.
For more information, please call the toll-free number : 1 800 206-7218 . If you are permanently residing in a country other than Canada or the United
States, you may be eligible for maternity,
parental & sickness and compassionate
care benefits if you have worked in a job in your country of
For example, you may be a spouse of a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and
working abroad for the Canadian government. If you become ill and are unable to
work, you can apply for sickness
benefits if you meet the requirements. You may file a claim for Canadian EI maternity, parental, sickness or
compassionate care benefits online.
For more information, please call the toll-free number 1 800 206-7218 or
write to the following address: Service Canada Centre If you normally reside outside Canada or the United States and your last
employment was in Canada, you are eligible for maternity, parental or
compassionate care benefits only. Commuters are Canadian or American persons who regularly cross the
Canada/United States border between their residence and workplace. If you are an American living near the Canadian border and you usually
commute to Canada to work, you must file a claim for Canadian EI benefits at the
nearest Service
Canada Centre. Your claim will be treated like that of any resident of
Canada, therefore, you may be entitled to receive regular
benefits or maternity,
parental & sickness or compassionate
care benefits. As well, if you are a Canadian living near the American border and you
usually commute to the United States to work, you must file a claim for American
Unemployment Insurance benefits at the nearest "State
Workforce Development Agency".
Sub-Unit of interstate claim
processing
2327 Bl du Versant Nord
Sainte-Foy, QC
G1N
4C2
Phone: 1 877
228-9769 — Fax: 418
Sub-Unit of interstate claim
processing
1 North Front St.
P.O. Box 4800
Belleville,
Ontario
Phone: 1 877 486-1650 - Fax: All residents from: Manitoba, Alberta, Nunavut, Saskatchewan and Northwest
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
6712
Fisher St SE
Calgary, AB
T2H 2A7
Phone: 1 866 483-6466
- Fax 403 509-1690
Sub-Unit of interstate claim processing
6712
Fisher St SE
Calgary, AB
T2H 2A7How to file a claim for Canadian EI benefits for
people residing outside Canada
Residents of the United States
- if you are in the work force for the first
time;
- if you are re-entering the work force after an absence of two
years. However, if you have received at least one week of maternity or
parental benefits in the 208 weeks preceding the 52-week period prior to the
qualifying
period, you will require between 420 and 700 hours to qualify for regular
benefits. For more information, please call the toll-free number 1 800 206-7218 ;
Maternity, parental, sickness and
compassionate care benefits
Canadian government and Armed Forces personnel
posted in the United States
Your permanent residence is in a country other
than Canada and the United States
Sub-Unit of interstate claim
processing
1 North Front St.
P.O. Box 4800
Belleville,
Ontario
K8N 5E2You are a commuter
US /
Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists
US / Canada
Real Estate Specialists
My Home office is at:
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) expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income
Tax service help.
$1,700 would be for two people with income from two
countries
Catch - up returns for the US where we use the
Canadian return as a guide for seven years at a time will be from $150 to
$600.00 per year depending upon numbers of bank accounts, RRSP's, existence of
rental houses, self employment, etc. Note that these returns tend to be
informational rather than taxable. In fact, if there are children
involved, we usually get refunds of $1,000 per child per year for 3 years.
We have done several catch-ups where the client has received as much as $6,000
back for an $1,800 bill and one recently with 6 children is resulting in over
$12,000 refund.
Email and Faxed information is convenient for the
sender but very time consuming and hard to keep track of when they come in
multiple files. As of May 1, 2008, we will charge or be charging a
surcharge for information that comes in more than two files. It can take
us a valuable hour or more to try and put together the file when someone
sends 10 emails or 15 attachments, etc. We had one return with over 50 faxes and
emails for instance.
--IRS Circular 230
Disclosure: To ensure
compliance with requirements imposed by the IRS, please be advised that any U.S.
tax advice contained in this communication (including any attachments) is not
intended or written to be used or relied upon, and cannot be used or relied
upon, for the purpose of (i) avoiding penalties under the Internal Revenue Code,
or (ii) promoting, marketing or recommending to another party any transaction or
matter addressed herein.--
-Disclaimer: This question has been
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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
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