I am filing as single for 2024. I am not a US Citizen or Permanent Resident. I have been a resident alien based on Substantial presence test since 2022. In mid July 2024, I moved from the US to Canada under a company internal transfer. My sources of income are:
According to Publication 519 - Chapter 1 - Dual-Status Aliens
I assume this current version of publication 519 also applies to tax year 2024, so I read 2023 as 2024, and 2024 as 2025.
Questions:
1. If I move back to the US in Oct 2025 which I cannot decide till May 2025, do I have to file as a Resident Alien?
2. If I stay in Canada throughout 2025, can I choose between filing as a Dual-status Alien and a Resident Alien? but if I visit the US for vacation, does that count for this "If you are a U.S. resident during any part of 2024" ?
Hope this makes sense. Thanks!
(a) the best US tax option would be for you to stay in Canada at least a full year or more . I say this because if you keep your residency then you possibly can have "foreign tax home and be able to exclude Candain income from US taxes ( Only be taxed by Canada ) This depends on the kind of accommodation with your employer.
(b) Yes you can give up your H-1B visa when you leave US and thereby be a dual status ---- By leaving in July of 2024 you would have met the SPT --- be taxed on world income during the "present " period. For the rest of the year you are Non-Resident ( not physically present -- NRA ) and be taxed ONLY on US sourced income.
Note that SPT is on an annual basis ( but in fact if you were a resident for the year before , you wil very easily meet the SPT for the current year ).
Is there more I can do for you ?
I was not on H1b though. My I20 was expired in June so I left in July within the grace period. I will definitely stay in Canada over a year. Anyways, so are you suggesting that I'd better go with Dual status this year?
@mokomoko , sorry , my assumption was wrong ( assumed H-1 and that your work visa had not expired ). Since that is the case , please tell me more :
1. Which country are you from ( citizen of ) ?
2. When did you arrive in the US , which visa and when did you exactly leave the USA ? Since you are talking about internal transfer , were you on L visa ? Why did your employer not try to extend that instead of transferring? Or were you on J visa.
3. Does your employer plan to bring you back to US ? What is your longer term plan ?
I am asking all these ( intrusive ) questions because I need to understand the situation -- am quite confused. If you are uncomfortable answering these in public forum , you can PM me.
1. see PM
2. 3. I was on F1 OPT for my job and failed to get selected for H1b. I became RA for tax in 2022. My I20 expired in mid June 2024 and I left the US mid July 2024. I got Canada PR in 2024 and my company transferred me to their Canadian entity. If I get H1b in 2025 or 2026, my company will want me to move back to the US whenever H1b starts which is normally Oct. so sadly I won't know the exact plan until I get selected.
let's say if I move back to the US because of H1b in Oct 2025, I guess I should be a US tax resident for both 2024 and 2025 based on publication 519 and SPT test. For 2024 and 2025, clearly I'm also a resident in Canada. Does it lead me to the tie breaker rule, hence Canada will take precedence?