Hi Mama,
Yes you can do 180 days. But the next year you can not as they "carry forward" some of the days. If you go each and every year the maximum stay ends up being 120 days per calendar year. You can stay longer--but there is a form that must be filled out for the US income tax folks where you must prove you have stronger ties to Canada than USA. If you are full time, as I am, that might get dicey.
MamaGoose wrote:
pianotuna wrote:
Hi PackerBacker,
As of June 30, 2014 the Border personnel have access to how many days you have spent in USA. This may cause some grief with the 180 day rule in the near future. The only way to avoid the paper work that I am aware of, is to limit stays to 120 days per calendar year.
The way I understand it is you are allowed 180 days (six months) in a rolling calendar year. That's immigration laws. If you return to Canada for less than 30 or 31 days during your trip, for immigration purposes that does not count as time in the U.S. Any less than that and they still consider it as time in the U.S. So for those people heading north for Christmas for a couple of weeks, it still counts as time in the U.S.
Tax issues, the IRS, that's a different thing and that goes by calendar year. That's probably been discussed on this board somewhere already. If you meet the substantial presence test according to the IRS formula, you need to file a form 8840 to prove a closer connection to Canada, otherwise you are a U.S. resident for taxation purposes.
