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I'm a Canadian citizen who lived in the US for 8 months as a resident alien then moved back to Canada. Do I report the full or partial year's income?
I had had resident alien status from 1998 until September of 2016, when my green card expired. Unable to qualify for medicare and too old for non-Medicare health insurance, the Medicare premiums and cost of renewal of the green card, at age 74, drove me back across the border, leaving my wife and home behind. Now I need to know if the IRS requires me to list my income for the months after my green card expired and I was once again a Canadian resident.
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If you were a U.S. resident in 2016 but are not a U.S. resident during any part of 2017, you
cease to be a U.S. resident on your residency termination date. Your residency termination
date is December 31, 2016, unless you qualify for an earlier date as discussed next.
You may qualify for a residency termination date that is earlier than December 31. This date is:
2. The first day in 2016 that you are no longer a lawful permanent resident of the United States, if you met the green card test,
or
3. The later of (1) or (2), if you met both tests. You can use this date only if, for the remainder
of 2016, your tax home was in a foreign country and you had a closer connection to that foreign
country.
this statement and include a declaration that it is made under penalties of perjury. The statement
must contain the following information (as
applicable).
Your name, address, U.S. taxpayer identification
number (if any), and U.S. visa
number (if any). Your passport number and the name of the country that issued your passport.
The tax year for which the statement applies.
The last day that you were present in the United States during the year.
Sufficient facts to establish that you have maintained your tax home in, and that you have a closer connection to, a foreign country following your last day of presence in the United States during the year or following
the abandonment or rescission of your status as a lawful permanent resident
during the year.
The date that your status as a lawful permanent resident was abandoned or rescinded.
Sufficient facts (including copies of relevant documents) to establish that your status as a lawful permanent resident has been abandoned or rescinded.
If you can exclude days as discussed earlier under De minimis presence, include the dates of the days you are excluding and sufficient facts to establish that you have maintained your tax home in, and that
you have a closer connection to, a foreign country during the period you are excluding.
Attach the required statement to your income tax return.
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In general, you are still a resident alien, so you could file jointly with your wife, but you would have to report income from after leaving the US. However, you could use the foreign paid tax credit or utilize the US Canada tax treaty, depending on the type of income. See https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-publication-597
If you do not want to report your income after leaving the US, you would need to file as married filing separately, a dual status return and add a statement applying for an early residency termination date (see the other answer for details)