Canadians are getting a 20% raise! More people are driving down the south to pick up bargains. Crazy lineups these days.
However, if you are an American living in Canada or green card holder, you may encounter an unexpected surprise. If you haven't filed your US tax return, the border crossing guards now have access to these information and they may bar you from entry. It is no secret that CRA and IRS have been sharing tax information for years. But for the first time, these information are made available to the Homeland Security.
As a dual citizenship of Canada and US or a US green card holder, you have the obligation to file US tax return every year! We have a client who was born in the US and moved to Canada 25 years ago when he was 2. He found out the hard way when he was having trouble to apply for his US passport.
If you need help on filing your tax return, staff from YY consulting are specializing in the Canada-US cross border tax. And remember to check the border wait times before you go.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Higher Canadian Dollar Random Thoughts
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6 comments:
Is this for real?
What is the chance that they would actually not allow you to fly out of Vancouver?
My dad was in the canadian military and I was born in the U.S. does this mean I have to file?
I have my canadian citizenship card, passport and nothing else which indicates I am american.
What do I do to file?
Yes, you do need to file US return as a US citizen.
On you passport, it has your birth country.
However, it is a matter of enforcement on the US side.
Chances are you don't really owe any tax to IRS. But you still should file your return. Talk to an accountant or read my blog :-)
could they really bar me from entering the us?
Yes. They can deny entry for whatever reason they see fit.
However, if you are an American, you may be able to enter regardless... The question is whether they will sue you or detain you... I cannot answer that.
Having said that, your chance of being denied entry should be pretty low, IMO. Don't take my words for it.
So what would be involved then for me since I have never filed one and I don't have an SSN? How long of a process would this be?
The whole process could be done within a month depending on your income source, age and other factors. If you are interested, let's take this discussion off line. Send us an email to tax@yyconsulting.com with more details and we will go from there.
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