I will be filing my first US tax return this year. I received EI from Canada during the beginning of the year and was wondering whether I include that in my US tax return. If not, do I need to file a Canadian tax return just for the EI I received? Will I receive a version of a W2 (I forget what they're called in Canada!) from the EI office? I don't know how this goes!

Hi,

Yes, you do include your EI income. You should probably also file a Canadian return for your EI income as you are taxed on it.

The slip you should receive from EI for your Canadian return is the T4E.

Please correct me if I'm wrong...but if the income you made was in Canada, you need to fill out a Canada Income Tax Return. My understanding is that you also fill out a form, that Tax Treatsie form (can't remember what number???) and then while you include your Canada income in your Return here in the US (married, filing jointly), you claim that amount and your exempt from paying taxes on it here. (As you've already paid the taxes on it, in Canada).

There is lots of good tax info here in the Canada forum. Do a search in this forum, or I do believe zyggy had lots of info he's posted, you could search his threads.

file ur cdn taxes as per normal, but there is a form (form 217) that may work to ur advantage! if it does, use it, if not DONT! its up to you (I called revenue Canada)
You dont always have to file cdn taxes. But u must file cdn taxes the year u departed. On the first page of the CDn taxes,there is a questions. When u became or CEASED to become a Cdn resident. put in the date u left canada!

There is a place on the IRS forms to include your EI, and it takes into account the taxes already paid in Canada, so you dont get double taxed. I cant recall how to do it exactly, and I would look, but have no clue where my previous years taxes are, sorry!! And i have a pile of reading for school,lol
And yes, EI wil send you forms for tax purposes stating how much u made and were taxed!

Yes, that is the F2555 - you can probably use the F2555ez if you just have EI.

Yep, 2555 (or 2555ez) is the one!!

I lived in the States for the whole year of 2007 (I moved here Oct 2006 so I filed CDN taxes for 2006). I received EI from Canada while I was here in the States in 2007.

Ok, so let me see if I've got this right... I'm still a bit confused. Do I:

A.) File only my US tax return (as there is a section in there where I can put in EI income) AND fill out form 2555ez, or
B.) File a US tax return (leaving out income from EI) AND file a CDN return (only including my EI income)

Also, do we have to file married, filing jointly? My husband and I make too much money combined and would put us in the higher tax bracket. Would it be beneficial for us to file separately? What are the advantages of filing jointly? In the last tax year (2006), I only filed my exit return for Canada and didn't file a US return, and my husband filed in the US married, separately.

- File a U.S. return, include the EI and use the form 2555ez - U.S. tax requires you to claim the EI.

and

- File a Canadian return for the EI.

I don't know the answer to the filing jointly/separately question

ok, on ur 2006 did u file state on it that you departed canada(its on the very first page of the tax form)?? if so you DON"T have to file cdn taxes!! You can if it WORKS to your advantage, in another words, ur getting a refund!! no refund, you dont have to report. I called revenue canada and thats what they told me, becuase they already took off 25% in taxes off your EI payments! Always good to verify, so give them call. they seem to be better than the IRS,lol

This seems strange to me because let's say you filed that return and stated your departure date from Canada, if you had say, some other income, other than say EI, you would still have to file, as a non-resident perhaps, but you would still have to file.

Hmm. Then again, since it is EI and only EI and they have already taken the 25%, they have taken the maximum you would be required to pay anyway. Just thinking outloud here. I would be interested to know what the refund would be (if anything) if you were only receiving EI - what is the non-resident tax rate?

As a resident of the United States, you are taxed on your worldwide income. So, if you have income from Canada, you will need to claim it in the US. However, you are allowed to claim the taxes paid on the income in Canada as either an Itemized Deduction on Schedule A or as a tax credit on form 1116. You might want to use a CPA or other tax professional for this year.

You should file the Canadian forms first and then use the taxes paid in Canada as the tax credit or tax deduction. The tax credit is available to all, while claiming it as a deduction may not help you. Don't forget to convert the Canadian dollars to American dollars.

I collect a monthly company retirement pension which is administered and paid by a Canadian financial institute. It's deposited monthly into my bank acct. in Canada.
After this year's tax filing will I still have to file a Canada Tax return each year on that pension income earned in Canada

I'm really lost on how this tax stuff is suppose to work with 2 countries involved

The best bet for at least the first yr to see how it is done correctly, is to find a competent accountant that knows Canada/USA tax treaties!
Last yr, my inlaws suggested they get their accountant to do our taxes! I had cashed in my RRSP's so wasnt sure 100% on how to do them! The fines can be extremely high if you do them wrong! So their accountant said sure we can do them!! But their accountant really had no clue at first, so had to spend a lot of time researching!! Their research cost my inlaws like $2000, plus another $500 for the tax prep itself!! crazy!! So take some time and find one that knows how to do it!!

I'm eager to see a comment on whether my husband should file as married or single for this past year. We were married in Nov 2007 so obviously Ihave zero US income and will not file a US tax return. I will however do Canadian with an exit date.

If he fiels as married, does this mean he needs to put my Canadian income or what? Sorry...I could probably search and read a million posts.

I've been doing lots of the research you speak off and still a bit unsure on some issues lol lol
I think I did read that if you file jointly he has to put down your world wide income. I may be wrong stating this and if so hopefully someone will correct me
Good luck in figuring this tax year all out

Form 2555 is only good for income that was earned when you were a resident outdie of the US. If you earned the income while you were in the US, then you cannot use this form.

One only has to file if they meet the green card test (if you got a green card anytime in 2007, you must file) or the continuous presence test (present in the US for more than 6 months)... If you meet either of these tests, you must file as a US resident for the entire tax year.

For Canadian taxes, you have the choice of fining for all Canadian you earned up to the date that you left...

Or you can file for the entire tax year under Section 210 but must include all of your worldwide income. Depending on how much you made in the Canada and how much you made in the US in excess of EI, this way may be more beneficial and get you more back.

All EI income that was earned in the US after you arrived must be reported at other income on the 1040. As a previous poster mentioned, the taxes Canada took can be either claimed as an itemized deducation or as a foreign tax credit

I just finished doing my U.S. taxes all 3 ways (married filing jointly, married filing separately, and head of household). All three versions get me the same refund from the Feds within ~$50. I elected to file as head of household this year since my Canadian husband doesn't have his ITN or SSN yet and this way, I can file electronically and be done with it.

I think you mean Section 217 in Canada.

So I'm reading up on this page, http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/intern...d=96960,00.html, trying to get a little clarity regarding Form 2555. It's obvious that I qualify under Bona Fide Residence since my residence began the day I was born until I moved to the U.S. last October and included an uninterrupted period that includes an entire tax year. However, for the sake of the 2007 tax year, I would like some input on how any of you folks filled out line 14, columns (a) - (d). I had a small part time job for the year (for which I'm taking the exclusion) and I was fortunate to be able to visit my fiancee for a few extended periods throughout the year up until October. I understand that I must make a list of these visits on line 14.