Dual Citizen working in US, living in Canada, -

Hi David, I was told at the San Francisco International Airport that it is illegal not to declare all citizenships when entering the US (i.e. both my Canadian and US Passport). QUESTION: I'm thinking about working in the US and commuting from my Vancouver (Canada) home. Perhaps renting in US and coming home (Canada)on weekends.I hold both US and Canadian citizenship and understand the tax ramifications when working/living in Canada as a US citizen but what about working in US and living in Canada? Should I use the US passport at border both ways or Canadian? And, of course, when you do this, you know where to send your return.

 ---------------------------------------
david ingram replies:

 You show your US passport entering the US and your Canadian passport
 coming back to Canada. You have to sleep in BC 183 nights to keep your
 BC medical alive.

 You will pay the US tax first and then claim a foreign tax credit in
 Canada for any Federal and state tax you pay plus the Social Security
 and Medicare taxes you  will pay as an employee.

This older question might help

QUESTION:

Good day,

You have undoubtedly been asked this question on numerous occasions. 
My wife works in the United States, but we reside in Canada.  She
recently has become a permanent resident in Canada, but has yet to
receive a SIN.  We know she must file a tax return in Canada (under the
deemed resident statute) however since she does not earn an income in
Canada, and her salary is in US$ what amounts do we fill on her
Canadian income return??  Can my salary (which is less than hers)
somehow be applied on her return as well??  Does she as well get a 2
month extension on her US return date in order to file her Canadian
return??

Thank you for your time a nd consideration.

Best regards,
____________________________________________________

david ingram replies:

If you are commuting to work in the USA, you must file a US tax return
first and then refile the same amounts in Canada.  You would convert
the US earnings to Canadian dollars and put the amount on lines 104
(not 130) and 433 (schedule 1) of your Canadian T1 return.  You then
claim the Federal tax, State tax, FICA (social security) and Medicare 
paid to the US as a foreign tax credit on line 431 of your Canadian
return after filling in form T2209.  If there is anything left over you
can apply it as a provincial foreign tax credit on line 48 of
provincial form 428 after filling in form T2036.  (If you are in
Quebec, You would use Quebec form TP-772-V to calculate and put the
credit on line 409 of your TP1. 

She should file US form 4868 to extend her time to file the US return
which is due at midnight April 17th otherwise and, of course, her
Canadian in due April 30th.

You know where we are if you need help.

She will get a little more by going to 
"http://www.centa.com"
and reading the US/Canada Taxation section in
the second box down on the right hand side.  She should also read the
Oct 93 (dual citizenship) and Oct 95 newsletters in the top left hand
box.
----------------------------------------------
I'm a US citizen and live in Canada
(permanent resident).  This past year I took a job working in Point
Roberts WA.  I'm married to a Cdn citizen.  If my status is married,
filing separately, do I have to include my husband's Canadian income on
my US tax return?  Are there separate tax forms for US citizens living
outside of the US?  Should I use my US address to file?  Or (since I
live in Canada) should I be using my Canadian address?</font></div>

Any information you can provide will
be greatly appreciated!

 -------------------------------------------------------------
 david ingram replies:

You will file your US tax return on a US 1040 as MFS OR, if you have
children, you can file as Head of Household.  You do not need to
include his income or take it into account in any manner.  in fact, if
none of it comes from the USA, you can claim him as a dependent even if
he earned $1,000,000.

Then, after calculating the tax actually paid (not what was deducted),
you will report the US income again on a Canadian T1 return and claim
the total of tax paid + Social Security (FICA) + Medicare as a foreign
tax credit on  line 431 of Canadian Schedule T2209 and put the result
on line 405  of  Schedule 1 of your T1.  If there is anything left over
(there will be usually), the excess goes on line 3 of form T2036 and
the result on line 49 of your Provincial form 428 (a bit different for
the province of Quebec).

Use your Canadian Address, that's where you live.
---------------------

-