# Urgent tax question for Canadians working in US daily.



## ompuri (Feb 4, 2012)

Hi,

I work as an employee in the US and return back to Canada where I live daily. I am a Canadian citizen and do not live in the US. Could anyone tell me if I must file taxes in US or Canada or both. I plan to do masters in the future and I cannot save much if i pay taxes in both countries. 

Please advise me as to how I should approach filing for taxes.

Thanks


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## AltaRed (Jun 8, 2009)

There is a lot of information in the forums here http://forums.serbinski.com/

Bottom line is you have to file tax returns in both countries but how it is done depends on whether you are considered a resident of USA or Canada for tax purposes (which can be different than where you sleep each night). The Canada US tax treaty has the tie breakers to determine where you are a tax resident.

That said, if you are deemed to be a resident of the USA, you will file a 1040 tax return. Any tax you pay there will be considered a FTC (foreign tax credit) on your T1 Canadian tax return to limit, or eliminate, double taxation. The same thing happens in reverse.

You need to find yourself a good cross-border tax accountant to ensure this is done properly.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

i don't think I want to know which border crossing is so porous that one can do this legally.


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## HaroldCrump (Jun 10, 2009)

^ OGG, as far as I know, this is totally legal, assuming one has appropriate work permit/authorization for the US.
Such authorization could be a TN visa, an H-1 or L-1 visa or a couple of other possibilities.
US work authorization does not compel the worker to live in the US as well.


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Yes, but one wonders how one obtains such an authorization, wihout being given information about the tax implications of cross-border work.


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## Square Root (Jan 30, 2010)

On a related topic even if you travel to the US for a few days a year on business the IRS may require you to file with them. The year before I retired I needed to tell the IRS how many days I was in the US on business. My associates who are still working all file both returns now. A real pain.


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