Canadian Full-Timers

sue.t wrote:
According to a 2014 article from Business News Network being in the U.S. or out of Canada too long can result in the following:

1. Banned from travel to U.S. if unlawfully present. Canadians who remain in the U.S. for more than 183 days in a rolling 12-month period risk being deemed unlawfully present, the consequences of which are: a) a 3-year travel ban if unlawfully present for between 183 and 365 days; and b) a 10-year travel ban if unlawfully present for more than 365 days.

2. Liability for U.S. income tax on worldwide income. The U.S. taxes American citizens and U.S. residents on their worldwide income. If the snowbird is present in the U.S. for too many days he risks becoming deemed a U.S. resident and therefore subject to tax on his worldwide income.

3. Liability for U.S. estate tax on fair market value of worldwide assets. The U.S. also taxes U.S. citizens and U.S. residents on the fair market value of their worldwide assets at death. Unfortunately the definition of U.S. resident for estate tax is fundamentally different than the definition for U.S. income tax purposes. The result is that the heirs of the uninformed snowbird can find their inheritance subject to the U.S. estate tax.

4. Liability for Canadian departure tax. Canada taxes its residents on their worldwide income. Once a Canadian resident is no longer a resident he is deemed to have disposed all of his assets (subject to exceptions), recognize the gain on those assets, and pay tax on that gain. Whether an individual is no longer a resident is a facts and circumstances test; however, a big factor in that analysis is day count. Therefore, the snowbird who spends too much time in the U.S. risks a nasty Canadian tax surprise.

5. Loss of provincial health care. Canadian residents are entitled to participate in provincial health services. Once an individual is no longer a resident of the particular province, he loses this entitlement. Of course, the rules for "residency" in the health care context are different than those discussed above.

Good post and covers things in point form. However, this is all aimed at the Canadians travelling in the US. Canada doesn't care or have any rules on how long you can leave the country. You may have some benefits suspended (not cancelled) but nothing that would hold you back from travelling around the world for a couple years. Health care in Canada is cheap so if you should need medical attention while waiting for the three months for the reinstatement of your benefits its probably not going to be a life changing bill. Heck, a doctors visit is 29 dollars in BC, Ultrasounds, 300 to 500 dollars, hospital 150 to 200 a day etc etc. Nothing that will break the bank. Better yet, let your provincial healthcare provider know you will be out of the province for a year or two or whatever. Most have provision for extended absence without losing your benefits. They will only let you do so often (think Alberta is once every 5 years for up to two years or something like that, its on their site).

Bottom line, stay informed, and watch the overstays in any country. It gets even trickier in Europe in the Schengen zone. 90 days in and 90 days out to a non schengen country. We will have to do this in a couple years when we go over to travel around europe in an RV for a year or so. Watch that calendar. Its called the schengen shuffle. :) Way fun.

Cheers.