*sigh...

Well it's been a very very stressful week for us. My Grandmie passed away last week and we're just getting home. I know there is an inheritance coming for me from her estate and what I want to know tonite is how the #*$& is the IRS going to deal with that? It will be paid out in CDN funds and probably sent to my CDN account and applied to CDN bills and purchases and not taken "over the border" in that sense- so will I need to claim that on 2008 tax returns? I hate taxes and all things governmental pretty much...

So no ideas huh guys?

I'm totally lost on this one!

I have no idea in terms of tax stuff .... but just wanted to say I am sorry for your loss.

Thanks girl.. it's a tough one.. she was so alive and independent and was taken from us so quickly..

I wish I could answer your question, but I have no idea. I too wanted to say that I'm sorry for your loss.

Not sure either sweetie, but sorry about your grams....

Sorry to hear about your grandmother

You might be able to go on here and ask your question http://forums.serbinski.com/index.php?sid=...9e0066bcbee3f79

Sorry to hear about ur grandma

Thanks everyone.. Appreciate the sentiments..


I'll look up that forum Flames Merci!!

Awww I'm so sorry for your loss Emancipation. I can't answer any of your questions either. When you do find out, it would be great if you posted here, so that others would know. Take care m'dear.

Hugs

Sorry to hear of your loss, Michelle. I have sent you a PM.

What about giving a Canadian tax preparer /accountant of some type a call back home? On the surface, it appears to be Canadian income...can't remember off the top whether or not it's taxed and whether you would file a Canadian tax return for it...it is a 'gift' of sorts.

I know while in Canada last year....I received $$$ from my grandma's estate - a nice, but not insane amount of cash - it would pay off a credit card or 2 also my parents gave us a nice chunk as a wedding gift Together,they've made up the majority of the money we've used while I've been off work here. I sent my fiancé money orders and he deposited them.

All this tax crap is so cloudy

RIP

Thanks for all your thoughts everyone.. I appreciate it so much!! I did call the Tax Office about it and this is what i've determined..

The estate money - money from my Grandmother's personal account won't be taxable.. as it's already been taxed.. and in the US I believe the threshold is 100K for reporting to the IRS.. so we're not talking that kind of money.

For right now it's the RIF's that are posing the problem as they have never been taxed.. so that has to happen is within 10 days of me receiving the funds: I have to complete and submit via registered mail to the province from which the funds were disbursed (in my case PEI) form #T2062 - and request a certificate of compliance.. basically I think this document identifies where you are living and how much you received. The Certificate is granted when you have paid taxes on this money (in my case it won't be until 2009 when I file my 2008 CDN tax return. Yep that's right, it's another CDN tax return for me!! So.. if you fail to file this Form #T2062 within 10 days of getting the funds you are slapped with a 1000.00 fine from CRA.. nice.. so for anyone who inherits $$ from Canada who is not a resident and it needs to be taxed.. be forwarned.. The guy I spoke with today said he just had a person who called the international tax office with a fine.. UGH.. last thing I need right now...

That's what I know for now.. I'll update as I complete this process.. from what I understand the Ch'town office will call me after I submit this form and let me know what I need to do from there, and if I have to submit any more paperwork. Hopefully they'll give me an idea at that time what I will owe for taxes so I can set that aside for next year!

Thanks for the update. One never knows when one will be in need of this information.

So i filed Form #T2062 within 10 days of me receiving my disbursement to the Charlottetown tax office. I got a call almost a month ago which hubby failed to tell me about. I just called the tax office this morning after listening to the message on our voicemail, and the lady seemed confused. T2062 (which I was told to fill out) deals primarily with land, bonds, and those kind of inheritances, and not really cash. She couldn't understand why the Bank didn't tax the money coming out of the estate- she said "there are laws about that kinda stuff".. So I sicked the CRA lady on the inept worker at the Royal Bank that I "dealt" with.. This lady was a "Royal" pain in the butt for my entire family- would you believe she disbursed checks that BOUNCED for my Grandmother's estate? *sigh.. so frustrating..

I explained to the lady from CRA what I was trying to do - trying NOT to get the $1,000.00 fine and to notify CRA that I FULLY intend to pay taxes on the money when the T4A is issued in the new year.

Anyway, it's all good, the lady from CRA was helpful but very confused as to what to do next.. hopefully I'll have more information soon. Sure helps anyone else who's in a similar situation down the road.

Sure appreciate the updates E. They make it more complicated than they should. I would have thought that it would have something to do with the $$ amount of the money involved. You're talking about $1000.00? Now, if you were in Canada, and you received money from a RIF, or RRSP, the money would be deducted from the source, before you ever saw it. So, I don't know that you'd have to report the money to be taxed on again would you? You're going to fill out a tax form next year for an income of $1000.00? Sorry, maybe the $1000.00 is from the account, and not the RIF. I may have it wrong.

It does depend on the amount of $ you receive. This money (RIF) money was never put into the estate to my knowledge, it was willed to us and we had the choice to take the money or roll it into another retirement product (which no one did), but because no one had ever paid taxes on this money it had to be taxed. Because the amount I (a non resident of Canada )received (under 10K) was low they figured it would be taxed around 18%.. it's an equation that is a bit complicated - something like a percentage and then a percentage of that percentage again - WHY didn't I write that down. Anyway, the international tax office knew right away what the amount would be, so there are rules out there governing it. So to my knowledge this is standard income tax on the amount I was given - T4A stuff, not necessarily "inheritance tax" per se. I could be out to lunch but that's how i'm understanding it

Okay, that explains it better, thanks. I'm wondering in future, for others, if at all possible, given you're in the US and are therefore taxed different, if it wouldn't be adventageous for your Canadian based family to take your share and pay the reduced tax on the money. Personally, I think that the Royal Bank will end up having to just send you a slip that you'll file with your taxes next year and you'll pay the tax that way. I guess I'm likening it to my EI. I have three months worth from early 2008 before my claim was finished. CRA advised that I wouldn't submit an Income Tax form for 2008 unless I received any other monies they didn't know about because they'd already taken their share off the EI before I got it. Therefore, I've paid the taxes on the money I received from Canada.

Yes well the whole issue of this money is that the Bank didn't take anything out in taxes. for my family back in Canada - that's no big deal because they will have to file a tax return as residents, the only one it really made a difference to was me as a non-resident, because CRA is afraid that I won't ever file a tax return on the money and try to get it "tax free". So you have to file a form #T2062 that states that you know about the debt owing to the CDN gov. and as soon as you receive your T4a from the bank you will pay back the CDN gov the amount owed to them. It's a certificate of compliance I believe, and if you don't apply for that certificate if you owe taxes as a non resident for these types of circumstances you can be fined. UGH.. I didn't even know that as the Bank was useless in helping me with the implications of my Grandmie's money, and the woman who actually was in charge of disbursing the estate completely messed up at every turn of the process.