Length of stay for Canadians in US - 240 days?

myredracer wrote:
Someone on this forum mentioned recently that you can only stay a max. of 120 days in the US. This would appear to be due to the IRS rules.

That is incorrect. If you're over '120 days' you must fill out form 8840 to prove a closer connection to another country otherwise you'll be liable for USA taxes.

Re the link I provided, in case you think the information is not current: the discussion in the comments section actually is current and ongoing. Kathy is continuing to regularly monitor this website and she answers questions posted in the comments section.

See this website for a lot of Q & A from a Canadian accountant about this:

http://www.mnp.ca/en/media-centre/blog/2011/2/1/canadians-wintering-in-the-us

The first section of this website explains it quite well. I think this is where people are getting the "you are only 'allowed' 120 days per calendar year in the U.S.". If you don't want to fill out the form 8840 as described in the above website, then keeping your days in the U.S. to 120 per year will ensure that you don't have to fill out that form. I personally know Canadians who stay in the U.S. for as long as U.S. immigration rules allow (180 days) every year and they file their 8840's and have no issues.

We are watching where this goes, with allowances being changed to 8 months. The immigration department may allow this, but the tax consequences need to be closely watched. Will the IRS change their rules to align with this as well?

There is also provincial health coverage to consider. Some provinces in Canada are allowing residents 7 months out of province. I don't know if any allow 8 months yet. Our province currently allows 6 months.

Here's the latest from the Canadian Snowbird Assoc., which is a lobby group for
Canadian travellers:
good luck,
Brian

CSA Clarifies U.S. Travel Rules
Release date : Jan 21, 2015


In a recent article which appeared on CBC News’ British Columbia website, it was suggested that Canadian citizens are only allowed to spend 120 days in the United States each year. For clarification purposes, the Canadian Snowbird Association would like to remind travellers to the U.S. that this information is incorrect.

Under current policy, eligible Canadian citizens may spend up to six months less a day, in the United States, in any 12 month period. From a tax perspective, long-term visitors who typically spend four or more months in the U.S. each calendar year may be deemed resident aliens for tax purposes. In order to be treated as a non-resident alien, these individuals need to claim a “closer connection” to Canada by filing IRS Form 8840 annually.

Further, the CBC News article also discussed the Entry/Exit Initiative, a bi-national border program in which entry and exit data will be shared on individuals travelling between Canada and the United States. While this initiative was scheduled to be expanded on June 30, 2014, to include Canadian and American citizens, the necessary legislative and regulatory changes have not been implemented. At present, the Entry/Exit Initiative is not fully operational.

If you have any questions related to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact the CSA office toll-free at 1-800-265-3200 or by email at csastaff@snowbirds.org.