Clarity at last for US citizens in Canada that have not filed their tax returns

by | Jul 4, 2012 | Taxation, Uncategorized | 0 comments

Fear and Uncertainty.  These two words were very representative of the general environment of US citizens in Canada that needed to catch up on US income tax return filings.  Until recently, that is.

If you are a US citizen living in Canada and have not filed your US returns for years, good news!

The IRS recently announced a new procedure for its citizens to come forward and comply.  The finer details have yet to be released, but most individuals will need only file three years of returns and six years of Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBARs”).  The exact details of the procedures are scheduled to be released September 1, 2012.  For those individuals who want to come clean, and expect to owe $1,500 or less of taxes per year on their US tax returns (to be calculated by their tax preparers) this is great news. Prior to this announcement US citizens had no guidance on how far back they needed to file, and whether Canadian residents who had always been filing returns in Canada would receive leniency.

The combination of the recent IRS release and the December 2011 pronouncement that penalties will not apply in all cases means that fear and uncertainty should no longer be representative of the general environment.

Tax Fraudsters Beware!

Written by: by Anjuli Gustafson, Sept., 2020 Over the past few months, the CRA has successfully prosecuted a number of individuals found to have committed tax fraud. In May of 2020, the CRA announced that Damien Edward Reynolds was sentenced to a conditional sentence...

Behind in your taxes? There are remedies. You can do this!

What happens when you fall behind in filing your taxes? How can you catch up if you have not filed for a few years? Gustafson Accounting wants to help you figure out how to catch up on your filings when you are behind. We know that people are busy and that things can...

Budget 2019 Tax changes of Note

The Department of Finance introduced a number of changes to the tax laws in 2019, here are some things you may need to know about the 2019 budget: Enhanced Canada Pension Plan: The Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) is gradually being enhanced as of 2019. This means that the...

The End of Tax Integration?

As many of you have no doubt read or heard by now through various media sources, the Federal Government is in the midst of proposing changes to the Canadian Income Tax Act that have been described by others as the most significant in the last 50 years. In all my years...

New Tax Measures Provide Planning Opportunity for Families

Its always nice to get good tax news to pass along, such as those impending tax changes recently announced by Government, but not yet enacted. For the first time, families will have direct access to income splitting savings that have heretofore been restricted to...

CRA cries Mea Culpa

I suppose this belongs in the category of 'we didn't need a report to tell us that', but the Canada Revenue Agency recently released an internal report that found its own communications were "poorly organized, confusing, unprofessional, unduly severe, bureaucratic,...

Never Too Late to File Your Taxes

Over the years I have helped many people to catch up on their taxes, in some cases going back the maximum allowable of ten years.  Yes, you can file tax returns as far back as 10 years and they will be accepted by the CRA. In many cases I have met people who had...

Year end is Donation time

It is year-end time again but it is not too late to make your 2012 donations. Any donation receipted by a registered Canadian charity on or before December 31 will be eligible to claim on your 2012 tax return.  If you are uncertain as to the eligibility of the charity...

Good news for new OAS Applicants

new oas rules to benefit those now turning 65

Clarity at last for US citizens in Canada that have not filed their tax returns

Fear and Uncertainty.  These two words were very representative of the general environment of US citizens in Canada that needed to catch up on US income tax return filings.  Until recently, that is. If you are a US citizen living in Canada and have not filed your US...