Tag Archive for Canada

Form 2555: Keep More Of Your Foreign Earned Income As A U.S. Expatriate

Living and working abroad comes with many exciting benefits. In addition to exploring new lands and learning about new cultures, expats often earn additional income beyond just their regular salary. Foreign earned income can come in many forms. In addition to the wages that are earned, those who are working outside the United States also must declare as income bonuses, tips, commissions, and the like.

It is also common for expats working overseas to have non-cash income as part of their employment package.
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Written by | Posted in Foreign Earned Income

Missed The March 15 1042-S Filing Due Date? Better Hurry Up!

The following penalties apply to the person required to file Form 1042-S. The penalties apply to both paper filers and electronic filers. Late filing of correct Form 1042-S. A penalty may be imposed for failure to file each correct and complete Form 1042-S when due (including extensions).

The penalty, based on when you file a correct Form 1042-S, is: $50 per Form 1042-S if you correctly file within 30 days after the required filing date; the maximum penalty is $545,500 per year; if you file after August 1 or you do not file correct Forms 1042-S; the maximum penalty is $3,275,500 per year. If you intentionally disregard the requirement to report correct information, the penalty per Form 1042-S is increased.
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Written by | Posted in Canada • Form 1042-S • TaxConnections

How Does The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion Work?

Living and working abroad comes with many exciting benefits. In addition to exploring new lands and learning about new cultures, expats often earn additional income beyond just their regular salary. Foreign earned income can come in many forms. In addition to the wages that are earned, those who are working outside the United States also must declare as income bonuses, tips, commissions, and the like.
It is also common for expats working overseas to have non-cash income as part of their employment package.

Read More

Written by | Posted in Foreign Earned Income • Foreign Earned Income Exclusion • TaxConnections

Tax Consequences For Corporate Entry Into Canada

A company is considered to have immigrated to Canada if the corporation’s central management and control has moved to Canada, regardless if initially incorporated in Canada or not. Therefore, when a business owner moves to Canada, so does the business.

When the company enters Canada, the company is deemed to have disposed of and reacquired all of the company’s assets and liabilities at their fair market value (FMV) right before coming to Canada. As the assets and liabilities of the company are being re-valued at the FMV, this is considered to be the company’s valuation date. Read More

Written by | Posted in Canada • International

Non-Active Canadian Corporations Are Not Required To File A Corporate Tax Return…Or Are They?

Non-resident corporations that have no activity in Canada during its fiscal year are not required to file a Canadian corporate tax return. However, without filing a Canadian corporate tax return, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) will not know that you did not have activity in Canada. Therefore, CRA may send you a letter requesting that a return is required to be filed.

If CRA requests that a return be filed, even though your company had no activity in Canada, you may be tempted to file a return in order to be in compliance. Read More

Written by | Posted in Canada • International • Tax Refund

Foreign Earned Income Exclusion For U.S. Expatriates

Even if you have left the United States for a brighter future elsewhere, you  (something not as strong) take a moment and think about any obligations you have towards the IRS. The US retains its right to tax globally its citizens and resident aliens who are a citizen or national of a country with which the United States has an income tax treaty in effect. Only two countries have such a citizenship-based taxation system: the United States and Eritrea.

What Is A Foreign Earned Income Exclusion For U.S. Expats?

The Foreign Earned Income Exclusion (FEIE) is offered to US citizens and resident aliens that are living abroad on a consistent basis, have earned income in a foreign country and can prove that they have done so for the past tax year by satisfying either the Physical Presence Test or the Bona Fide Residence. Read More

Written by | Posted in Expatriate • Expatriate Taxes • Foreign Earned Income Exclusion

US Tax Reform: 5 Things Americans Overseas Need To Know

What Are The Important Updates One Needs To Know About U.S. Tax Reform?

The New Tax Bill “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” presents the first major overhaul of the United States federal income tax system in more than three decades. The major benefits will be mostly felt by the large and small businesses. But what’s about tax reform’s impact on Americans overseas?

What Has NOT Changed For Americans Overseas?

  1. You can still use Foreign Earned Income Exclusion or Foreign Tax Credit to lower your tax bill. In 2018 a U.S. expat can exclude up to $104,100 of foreign earned income.
  2. The reporting requirements for FBAR stay in place: you need to file FinCEN Form 114 if you have an aggregate value of over $10,000 in any foreign financial accounts you own or have a signature over.
  3. FATCA and Form 8938 also didn’t have any changes (unfortunately).

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Written by | Posted in Expatriate Taxes • Tax Cuts Jobs Act • Tax Reform • TaxConnections

Formula For Success: Tax = Money X Politics

The Income Tax Act (ITA) is a lot like those word problems we all remember from grade school math. The word problem is a story told in numbers. Tax is a story told in numbers but the characters in the story are real life politicians and voters.

Let us take a humorous approach and give a real life example. Imagine you are a politician looking to get re-elected. You have the power to change the ITA because you currently hold office. You decide to change the ITA to encourage voters to vote for you. Let’s say you want to get young families to vote for you. You introduce a new tax credit that only young families can use. The tax credit gives a tax refund to families with children in registered sports activities. The formula in your head is: Read More

Written by | Posted in Income Tax • Income Tax Act

Tax Cuts And Jobs Act Withholding Calculator And New W-4

The Internal Revenue Service this week released an updated withholding calculator and a new version of Form W-4. The calculator and new W-4 can be used to ensure 2018 individual tax withholding amounts are accurate in light of the recent tax law changes.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act made changes to the tax law, including increasing the standard deduction, removing personal exemptions, increasing the child tax credit, limiting or discontinuing certain deductions and changing the tax rates and brackets. Read More

Written by | Posted in IRS • Withholding Calculator

FBAR Must Be Filed Electronically Through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System, Not With The Federal Tax Return

FBAR must be filed electronically through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System. The FBAR is not filed with a federal tax return.

Public Law 114-41 mandates a maximum six-month extension of the filing deadline. To implement the statute with minimal burden to the public and FinCEN, FinCEN will grant filers failing to meet the FBAR annual due date of April 15 an automatic extension to October 15 each year. Accordingly, specific requests for this extension are not required.

Thus, before the FBAR extended due date of October 15, file streamlined FBARs for each of the most recent 6 years for which the FBAR due date has passed (i.e., is delinquent, and of course timely file the current year FBAR too). Read More

Written by | Posted in Canada • FBAR • Federal • Tax Return

Unintended Consequences Of Tax Jobs And Cuts Act On Canadian Citizens And Others Abroad

“This legislation is being interpreted by a number of tax professionals to mean that individual U.S. citizens living outside the United States are required to simply “fork over” a percentage of the value of their small business corporations to the IRS. Although technically “CFCs” these companies are certainly NOT foreign to the people who use them to run businesses that are local to their country of residence. Furthermore, the “culture” of Canadian Controlled Private Corporations is that they are actually used as “private pension plans”. So, an unintended consequence of the Tax Cuts Jobs Act would be that individuals living in Canada are somehow required to collapse their pension plans and turn the proceeds over to the U.S. government” -John Richardson Read More

Written by | Posted in British Columbia • Canada • Tax Cuts Jobs Act

British Columbia Budget 2018

It’s that time of year again. Government budget season is upon us.  British Columbia is the second province to bring down a budget this year. The focus of their budget was child care, affordable housing and services. There was some provincial sales tax (PST) changes announced to help fund these initiatives. British Columbia imposes a tax on passenger vehicles based on the value of the vehicles. Graduated tax rates, or luxury tax rates, start where the vehicle is valued at $55,000 at which point there is an additional 1% tax applied at the time of sale of the vehicle for a total tax of 8%. The current luxury tax rate for vehicles valued at $57,000 and over carries a 10% tax (12% for gifts and private sales). The British Columbia budget added two additional categories of luxury tax rates as follows: Read More

Written by | Posted in Budget
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