XXXXXXX XXXXX XXXX wrote:
Dear sir, I write to ask you if I can carry forward
medical expenses from past years? I paid out S110,000 CAD in medical
expenses in 2008/2009. My income for this tax period is nil, thus it makes no
sense to me to claim it. Can you offer any advice? I also paid out $230,000
in relocation costs for the same period. A bad year ...
XXXXXXXXXXX
david ingram replies:
This is the kind of question you might want to ask the phone in show tonight at 7 PM, Wednesday, April 15, 2009. At 6 PM, we are interviewing Kenji Okuda about his experience as a Nisei Student at the University of Washington in 1942. Kenji was one of the American born of Japaneses Ancestry people rounded up after Pearl Harbour and shipped inland, I was born in BC, because my father was also involved in that process in Canada and one of my more moving television programs in the past was when David Suzuki told the story of his being rounded up in Vancouver at the age of 12.
At 7 PM we will have Dan Walkow talking about US Canada Investments, cross border RRSP's, IRA's, etc.
at 8 PM we will have Dr Paul Swingle about
Wednesday, April 15TH at
8pm
Anxiety Disorders: Alcoholism/Addictions, Headache and Sleep Disorders, Panic Disorders, Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Immune Deficiencies
All this at www.david-ingram.com - (Works with Internet Explorer and Google.Chrome but not Firefox at the moment.)Call 1-866-980-0499 to talk to Kenji, Dan or Paul or David
And then, do not forget to go to www.centa.com and click on the Howe Street Media link to register for the Money EXPO Show in Langley this Sunday, April 19th. . I will be speaking along with Garth Turner and numerous others about After the Crash which just happens to be the subject of Garth's newest Book. You can go directly to the Free Registration at
http://www.moneyexpo.ca/index.php/register/attendee -
see you there - Oh yes, I am going to talk about the tax implications of cross border investing or living, particularly as it applies to real estate.
------------------------------------------
Back to your question -
I do not have a complete answer because I do not have enough information.
Medical expenses can be a 12 month period ending in the year of claim.
Therefore, you can claim expenses from Jan 2m 2008 to Jan 1, 2009 in the year 2009.
Also, in the case of a death, two years of medical expenses can be added together.
Relocation expenses can only be used against a move for a new job or self-employment.
If you moved on Dec 28, 2008 for a new job starting in 2009, file the T1M for 2008 and carry the expense over to 2009.
Sent: Monday, March 23, 2009 5:26 AM
Subject: US CANADA Tax Filing Deadlines - US and Canada - david
ingram expert cross border non-resident income tax help and preparation by five
tax experts with years of experience with Canadian and American and Mexican
income tax
Do you happen to have a link to a good site that pulls together a multitude of deadlines? I have the US but could use a quick and dirty list for Canada.
Working late again huh????
--------------------------------------------------------------------
david ingram replies:
The following is a reply I sent out
last year a couple of weeks from now and I have added a more extensive list in
front as well.
---------------------------
Dec 31st of the year before to file
Canadian Form NR-6 to elect to only pay tax of 25% of the net rent for a
Canadian rental owned by a foreign person.
Jan 15th - Deadline for filing last
quarterly tax payment for previous year for the US for a US filer
Jan 31st - deadline for mailing of W2
and 1099 Forms in the US.
Feb 15th - Your deadline to file a new
W4 form with your US employer
Feb 28th, the Deadline for Canadian
employers to send out T4 slips and Canadian payers of interest or dividends to
send out T5 slips
Mar 1st - US farmers and Fishermen
deadline to file tax return AND PAY TAX to avoid penalty for late paying.
If YOU made regular installment penalties, your deadline is April 15th or Oct
15th if you filed an extension
Mar 15th - for a calendar year C
Corporation, this is the due date for tax and filing unless you file form 7004
to extend the deadline - if you file 7004, you must make an estimated tax
payment with the extension.
Mar 15th - For a calendar year
S-Corporation, this is the day - send any tax due as well - Each
shareholder should receive a copy of the 1120S and a K-1 showing their share.
You can also file a 7004 to extend the deadline but must pay the estimated tax
with the 7004
Mar 15th is also the day to file form
2553 to make the S corporation election. If it is late, you get taxed as a
C Corporation with its usually higher tax treatment.
Mar 15th - is also the date for sending
each member of a partnership the copy of his or her 1065 K1 This applies even if
the partnership has applied for an extension.
Mar 15th is the first installment
payment due date in Canada as well
Mar 31st Deadline for
Canadian Trusts, most mutual funds and non resident rental agents to file T3 or
NR4 forms
April 15th - Deadline for US resident
taxpayers to file their Federal and most state returns.
April 15th - deadline to file US
automatic extension until Oct 15th - no signature needed but interest will be
charged for late paying if tax has not been paid by April 15th. some states
honor this extension but others such as California have their own form - CHECK
CAREFULLY the penalties are large. Note that although the Federal 4868
does NOT require you to send money, some states such as California DO and it
will be invalid without money paid.
April 15th is also the deadline for
making an IRA payment and also the deadline for opening a new IRA or ROTH
IRA
April 15th is the date for your
quarterly installment of US Income Tax
April 15th is the deadline for filing
schedule H with your tax return if you were a HOUSEHOLD Employer in the US and
pay any payroll taxes for that employee.
April 20th - some state tax returns
such as Hawaii - check your state - some states
April 30th - this is the
deadline for Canadian tax returns for employees or retired people who are not
self-employed or married to a self employed person
June 15th - Deadline for US citizens
who do not live within the United states or who were out of the country from Feb
15th to April 15th of the filing season - those individuals get an
automatic extension to June 15th. IF, HOWEVER, you still cannot file on
that date, you must file a form 4868 now to get an extension until Oct
15th.
June 15th is also the deadline for
self-employed Canadians and their spouses to File their self-employed tax
returns
June 15th is also the date for paying
US and Canadian installment payments of quarterly income tax
payments
June 30th is the deadline for
non-residents of Canada with rental properties in Canada to file their Section
216(4) rental tax returns.
June 30th - Deadline for Canadian
Corporations with calendar year ends. fiscal year ends are due within 6
months of the year end. i.e. a June 30th year end is due on December
31st.
Sept 15th is the deadline for US and
Canadian taxpayers to make their quarterly installment payments
Oct 15th is the final deadline for US
taxpayers to file that tax return after filing form 4868. there is NO
method of extending this deadline UNLESS you are living out of the country and
can possibly file form 2350 (look it up on www.irs.gov).
Dec 15th is the deadline for Canadian
quarterly installment payments - US is Jan 15th of next year)
Dec 31st - the last day for Tax Agent
for non resident owners of Canadian rental real estate to file form
NR-6.
Dec 31st - the last day to make a Keogh
plan contribution for the current tax year
The following is what i sent out last
year on or about April 9th. I include it here because it has a couple of
good points in it.
I will likely do it again this April
10th which happens to be Rita's birthday (extraneous material here)
---------------
The deadlines coming up have left my life in a mess
here.
I am so far behind that I expect to file over 100 US extensions in the next 6 days.
Here are the deadlines for our clients filing Canadian and US returns
April 15, 2008 US citizens or US residents in the USA for their 2007 1040, 1040NR and most state returns..
I am not going to get 100 or so done by April 15th. I will file a form 4868 for an automatic extension. We will also be finishing another 75 or so in the next 6 days (there are 4 1/2 of us here). we will automatically file an extension for each one of these because they are being couriered out to places like Ne York, San Francisco, Houston, Kansas City, Tulsa, San Diego, Hyattsville, Newark, Boston, Hawaii, etc. To avoid possible late 'filing' penalties, we will send in an extension as we mail or courier the return off.
April 20, 2008 Some State tax returns such as Hawaii - check your state.
April 30, 2008 Canadian employee returns - Does not apply if either member of a married, civil or other marital type union is self-employed part or full time.
June 15, 2008 Deadline for US filers living outside the physical United States. US filers in Dubai, Saudi, Greenland, Indonesia, Japan, and Canada, etc need to file by June 15th to avoid late filing penalties. Note that if you owe tax, late 'paying' penalties and interest will apply from April 15. If installments were supposed to have been made, there will also be installment interest assessed.
June 15, 2008 Deadline for Canadian returns for both spouses when one or both is self-employed. If you owe tax, interest will apply from April 30th.
But let me make a point. even if you owe $10,000 and the penalty for late paying is 2%, that is only $200.00
I might charge you 5 x's that much for priority processing to meet the deadline. Far far far better to file an extension.
------------------------
Why are we so late? (2009 - this is worse this year with added requirements for the TDF 90 forms)
Every return is taking half an hour to two hours longer and I have never seen a year when we have done so many returns two or even three ways.
For instance, A couple leaving Washington state are saving over $4,000 because in the year of leaving, they have to file a dual status return in this case. A dual status return without making an election to include world income cannot be a joint return. By filing two MFS returns and splitting the husband's W2 between both people, they are saving over $4,000 in tax. To understand why we split the W-2, you have to understand community property rules. If you look at pages 8, 9 and 10 of Publication 555, you will get the idea.
See pages 8, 9 and 10 at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p555.pdf
In another case, moving to the US with three kids and electing to file a Joint return with 10 months of Canadian income added to the US return resulted in over $4,000 more refund because they were able to claim the full Child tax benefits of $1,000 per child even though there was only 2 months of US income.
In other cases, different US tax rates on qualified dividends and different Canadian rates on Eligible dividends and the different capital gains tax rates are wrecking havoc with my foreign tax credit calculations.
This year, when real estate has collapsed in most of the US, I have been swamped with taxable home sales as US citizens in Canada have sold their Canadian homes with big profits and owe anywhere from $54,000 to $300,000 in tax to the IRS on the sale of their Canadian home.
Anyway, file your extensions and take it easy if you have not got your return finished yet. this is not the time to expect the best service from your tax overworked preparer. I got 1 1/2 hours of sleep on Sunday night and I am not going to do that again - life is too short
find US form 4868 at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
And remember, if you send in money with the 4868, it will stop any late paying penalties on that amount so make a guess and send it in.
Since Canada's CRA has not become sophisticated enough to come up with the equivalent of a 4868, you have to file an actual tax return to avoid an actual late filing penalty.
File a partial return with PROFORMA written on it. Proforma means that one or more figures is guessed at and not accurate. Then, as soon as possible, finish the return after April 30th and send in a form T1-Adj to bring the final figures up to date.
Do NOT expect it to be dealt with immediately. On June 15, 2006 I sent in a PROFORMA 2005 Canadian return for a fellow the with a $272,000 US W2 (lived in Canada, worked in the US), a Canadian Proprietorship and a US rental house. We then sent in an amendment with a T1-ADJ on October 10, 2006 when we finally got all the information for this gentleman who was working in the US, Canada and Asia.
The CRA finally sent a reassessment for the 2005 return on March 10, 2008.
So, if we file an extension for your return, you will know why but I guarantee you will get a better job if we finish it in a reasonable and timely fashion than if we stay up 23 hours a day and finish it off bleary eyed to catch a April 15th Midnight artificial deadline.
Remember, BE ALERT, the World needs more "LERTS".
---------------------------------------------------
I am so far behind that I expect to file over 100 US extensions in the next 6 days.
Here are the deadlines for our clients filing Canadian and US returns
April 15, 2008 US citizens or US residents in the USA for their 2007 1040, 1040NR and most state returns..
I am not going to get 100 or so done by April 15th. I will file a form 4868 for an automatic extension. We will also be finishing another 75 or so in the next 6 days (there are 4 1/2 of us here). we will automatically file an extension for each one of these because they are being couriered out to places like Ne York, San Francisco, Houston, Kansas City, Tulsa, San Diego, Hyattsville, Newark, Boston, Hawaii, etc. To avoid possible late 'filing' penalties, we will send in an extension as we mail or courier the return off.
April 20, 2008 Some State tax returns such as Hawaii - check your state.
April 30, 2008 Canadian employee returns - Does not apply if either member of a married, civil or other marital type union is self-employed part or full time.
June 15, 2008 Deadline for US filers living outside the physical United States. US filers in Dubai, Saudi, Greenland, Indonesia, Japan, and Canada, etc need to file by June 15th to avoid late filing penalties. Note that if you owe tax, late 'paying' penalties and interest will apply from April 15. If installments were supposed to have been made, there will also be installment interest assessed.
June 15, 2008 Deadline for Canadian returns for both spouses when one or both is self-employed. If you owe tax, interest will apply from April 30th.
But let me make a point. even if you owe $10,000 and the penalty for late paying is 2%, that is only $200.00
I might charge you 5 x's that much for priority processing to meet the deadline. Far far far better to file an extension.
------------------------
Why are we so late? (2009 - this is worse this year with added requirements for the TDF 90 forms)
Every return is taking half an hour to two hours longer and I have never seen a year when we have done so many returns two or even three ways.
For instance, A couple leaving Washington state are saving over $4,000 because in the year of leaving, they have to file a dual status return in this case. A dual status return without making an election to include world income cannot be a joint return. By filing two MFS returns and splitting the husband's W2 between both people, they are saving over $4,000 in tax. To understand why we split the W-2, you have to understand community property rules. If you look at pages 8, 9 and 10 of Publication 555, you will get the idea.
See pages 8, 9 and 10 at: http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p555.pdf
In another case, moving to the US with three kids and electing to file a Joint return with 10 months of Canadian income added to the US return resulted in over $4,000 more refund because they were able to claim the full Child tax benefits of $1,000 per child even though there was only 2 months of US income.
In other cases, different US tax rates on qualified dividends and different Canadian rates on Eligible dividends and the different capital gains tax rates are wrecking havoc with my foreign tax credit calculations.
This year, when real estate has collapsed in most of the US, I have been swamped with taxable home sales as US citizens in Canada have sold their Canadian homes with big profits and owe anywhere from $54,000 to $300,000 in tax to the IRS on the sale of their Canadian home.
Anyway, file your extensions and take it easy if you have not got your return finished yet. this is not the time to expect the best service from your tax overworked preparer. I got 1 1/2 hours of sleep on Sunday night and I am not going to do that again - life is too short
find US form 4868 at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4868.pdf
And remember, if you send in money with the 4868, it will stop any late paying penalties on that amount so make a guess and send it in.
Since Canada's CRA has not become sophisticated enough to come up with the equivalent of a 4868, you have to file an actual tax return to avoid an actual late filing penalty.
File a partial return with PROFORMA written on it. Proforma means that one or more figures is guessed at and not accurate. Then, as soon as possible, finish the return after April 30th and send in a form T1-Adj to bring the final figures up to date.
Do NOT expect it to be dealt with immediately. On June 15, 2006 I sent in a PROFORMA 2005 Canadian return for a fellow the with a $272,000 US W2 (lived in Canada, worked in the US), a Canadian Proprietorship and a US rental house. We then sent in an amendment with a T1-ADJ on October 10, 2006 when we finally got all the information for this gentleman who was working in the US, Canada and Asia.
The CRA finally sent a reassessment for the 2005 return on March 10, 2008.
So, if we file an extension for your return, you will know why but I guarantee you will get a better job if we finish it in a reasonable and timely fashion than if we stay up 23 hours a day and finish it off bleary eyed to catch a April 15th Midnight artificial deadline.
Remember, BE ALERT, the World needs more "LERTS".
---------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------
How much do your services cost.
This is a hard question so I hope the following will give you
an idea.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
SUGGESTED PRICE GUIDELINES - Oct 21,
2008
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.
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:
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) expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican Income Tax service help.
pert US Canada Canadian American Mexican
Income Tax service and
help.
David Ingram gives expert income tax
service & 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 $450 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. ($472.50 with GST for in person or if you are on the
telephone in Canada)
expert US Canada Canadian American Mexican
Income Tax service and
help.
This is not intended to be definitive but in general I am
quoting $900 to $3,000 for a dual country tax return.
$900 would be one T4 slip one W2 slip one or two interest
slips and you lived in one country only (but were filing both countries) - no
self employment or rentals or capital gains - you did not move into or out of
the country in this year.
$1,200 would be the same with one rental
$1,300 would be the same with one business no
rental
$1,300 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.
$1,600 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
$1,700 would be for two people with income from two countries
$3,000 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 $200.00 up.
However, if you have a stack of 1099, or T3 or T4A or T5 or K1 reporting forms,
expect to pay an average of $10.00 each with up to $50.00 for a K1 or T5013 or
T5008 or T101 --- Income trusts with amounts in box 42 are an even larger
problem and will be more expensive. - i.e. 20
information slips will be at least $350.00
With a Rental for $400, two or three rentals for
$550 to $700 (i.e. $150 per rental) First year Rental - plus
$250.
A Business for $400 - Rental and business likely
$550 to $700
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 $900 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.
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.
This is a guideline not etched
in stone. If you do your own TDF-90 forms, it
is to your advantage. However, if we put them in the first year, the computer
carries them forward beautifully.
--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 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 or www.garygauvin.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included." -
--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 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 or www.garygauvin.com. If you forward this message, this disclaimer must be included." -
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