changed countries of residence and job

[minkualver]

I moved from Japan to Canada in January 2021. I received payments from my old Job in 2021. My new job is independent consulting. I have been making some quarterly estimated tax payments to the USA, but not Canada. I anticipate filing both US and Canadian taxes for 2021 and not double paying due to tax treaties. Any thoughts on what order I should fill them out in?

[AR_CPA2]

I am assuming you're a US Citizen/Resident.  I am also assuming that all your income is from Canada and nothing from Japan since you moved to Canada in January of 2021.  So you will file a Canadian tax return and then fill out the US tax return.  If you pay any tax to Canada on the same income you should get Foreign Tax Credit on your US tax return.  That means your income will not be double taxed. 

Hope this helps.

[minkualver]

Unfortunately not so simple. I received substantial income in early 2021 from the U.N (about USD 200k).   The bulk of my 2021 income is this source.  This income is taxable in the USA, but not in Canada.  I have some minor additional income from Canada from consulting.  No income from the USA.   So I am thinking my US tax bill will be much higher than the Canadian one, so I should file the US form first, rather than Canadian?

[AR_CPA2]

I do not know the Canadian tax law.  But as per my knowledge, if you are a U.S. Citizen or Resident, you will need to file Canadian return first so that you can get a Foreign Tax Credit for taxes paid to a foreign country on the income that is going to be taxed on your U.S. tax return also.