EatsCrayons: shortymac: I recently got engaged to a Canadian and we plan on staying in Canada. Apparently, I would have to pay tax on our house, any retirement account in my name, any bank account, etc. I won't be able to open any new bank accounts so it'll have to be in my husband's name. It's insane!

You sound like you may be confusing FBAR reporting requirements and income tax obligations. Of course you can open bank accounts in your own name! But if the total you hold in your Canadian accounts exceeds $10,000, you have to let the Treasury Department know those accounts exist - all of them - and if you have signatory authority on your husband's accounts you'll have to list those too. You're not being taxed on them, you are reporting their existence.

You don't think that after the IRS has a nice list of people who have over 10k per account that they WON'T find a reason to tax it?

shortymac: Flab: shortymac: Other countries may require you to file a native income of 0, but won't tax you on foreign income.

As a Canadian being taxed by Canada (and Uncle Sam) on my US income (earnings on US shares), I can tell you that you are either wrong, or may wish to rephrase that sentence to properly reflect what you meant.

I meant foreign income earned while NOT living in Canada. If you are living there it's different.

Gotcha.

There's certainly a lot of ass kissing in thie thread towards those 1% scumbags that talk about leaving the country.

shortymac: EatsCrayons: shortymac: I recently got engaged to a Canadian and we plan on staying in Canada. Apparently, I would have to pay tax on our house, any retirement account in my name, any bank account, etc. I won't be able to open any new bank accounts so it'll have to be in my husband's name. It's insane!

You sound like you may be confusing FBAR reporting requirements and income tax obligations. Of course you can open bank accounts in your own name! But if the total you hold in your Canadian accounts exceeds $10,000, you have to let the Treasury Department know those accounts exist - all of them - and if you have signatory authority on your husband's accounts you'll have to list those too. You're not being taxed on them, you are reporting their existence.

You don't think that after the IRS has a nice list of people who have over 10k per account that they WON'T find a reason to tax it?

They don't tax the US accounts, why would they tax the foreign ones?

J B: The problem some people in Canada are apparently having is that they thought they didn't have to file if they didn't owe anything.

It sucks that it's not always easy to find such info, ignorance of the law is not an excuse.

It's the same thing for Canadian law. If I ever move abroad, I'll have to keep abreast of Canadian fiscal laws.

EatsCrayons: Flab: They don't tax the US accounts, why would they tax the foreign ones?
They don't.

That's my point.

In theory, anything in the account would already have been taxed. Eg/ my paycheck is deposited in my account, my paycheck is already taxed via income tax.

Agreed.

There are some types of investment accounts for which dividends/interest is "tax deferred" meaning Canada won't tax you until you withdraw the money, and those are not recognized as tax deferred in the U.S.. But even then, for most of those you can file paperwork to get them recognized as extra-special.

I can see why that would be a complex issue. but It's still not impossible to solve. I sold a bunch of the aforementioned US stock a few years ago to make a nice downpayment on my house. Getting the US cap gains and Canadian cap gains /losses right was a nightmare considering the huge difference in exchange rate between the time I bought most of those shares and the time I sold them, and I managed to do it all on my own like a big boy...

Moopy Mac: bhcompy: Moopy Mac: Mart Laar's beard shaver: What I can conclude from this thread is that is made up of people who did not RTFA, are mouth-breathers without passports, or 'screw the rich types.'

Several people have spoken up how this screws the little guy, with concrete reasons. But hey, USA! USA! Obama is my mama!

I'm not sure how it "screws the little guy". Doesn't the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion exclude the first $95,100 (plus housing allowances) you make abroad?

Sure, but there are various currencies that when exchanged put you over that mark eventhough you're still a little guy, plus, if you're a US citizen that moved abroad for work, I've generally seen that you're getting a big premium to do it(particularly in China and the Middle East in the past few years).

I'm not sure where a single person who makes more than $95,100 (plus housing allowances up to an extent) is a "little guy" in the sense that the tax laws are screwing "little guys" just trying to make a living.

/Lived and worked in the most expensive city and country in the world for the last four years.

A lot of the problem is dual citizens who never knew they had to file, like the poster who moved to Canada when he was 5 or the kid whose Dad is an American and ergo he is. I think we can all agree if you have never lived in the US or left before 18 you shouldn't have to file, even if you are a US citizen.

Also the filing of over 10k was something not really mentioned* or the IRS even cared about until the american dollar tanked and it became a lucrative revenue source. There's HUGE fees for not filing, something like 10k per offense, multiply that by years, and you can come up with a 200k fine fast.

Pre-internet a lot of this bureaucracy wasn't widely know, hell my fiancee's grandpa was technically an illegal immigrant and a nation-less person for decades!

He was born in the US in 1929 to Canadian parents, a year later they moved back. He then renounced his US citizenship during Vietnam because he was afraid of getting drafted. BUT because his parents never filled out a "cert of foreign birth" form he technically wasn't a Canadian citizen, and when he renounced his US he had no nationality. Didn't discover this until he was 60 and applied for a passport.

*The consulate in toronto will not help you with your taxes or give you tax advice

Warlordtrooper: The US Constitution only applies to US citizens, You want to renounce your citizenship, guess what. You no longer have the protections afforded in the Bill of Rights.

I don't think this is the selling argument you think it is.

orclover: So i'm stuck in Texas

oh man, that's your problem right there, Tejas is hardly the U.S.

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Quote 2012-01-19 06:13:39 PM Ignore User
que.guero: The US doesn't allow you credit for taxes paid in your home or any other country

Yes they do

- you have to pay the US on all of your income

No you don't.

Really, don't make shiat up.

You sound like someone who's never lived outside the US.