5 ms·

Ask HN: Will I have to pay both US and Canadian taxes if I work from Canada?

Let's say I work for a US company remotely from Canada. Will I have to pay both US taxes and Canadian taxes? I want to add that I'm a Canadian citizen.

EastOfTruth 5y ago
I don't think so, if you arent American and/or living in the states... just a guess. Better to check from a better source though...
- nassimsoftware 5y ago
  I'm a Canadian citizen.
  - frabbit 5y ago
    TL;DR You pay taxes where you are resident. If you are 183 days or more (or whatever the current requirement is ¹) present in Canada then you are a Canadian resident and must pay Canadian taxes. IANAL but I have been in this situation. 1. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/deemed-residents.html#dmdrsdnt https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/interna...
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
liamwestray 5y ago
Legally yes. There’s a tax treaty so you’ll get credit for any taxes paid in another country and only have to pay the difference.
lhorie 5y ago
Generally speaking, if you get a W-2, you should pay taxes to the US, and if you get a T4, you should pay taxes to Canada. If you're living long term in Canada, your employer should have a tax entity in Canada and issue a T4. If you're working in a US resident capacity as a Canadian (i.e. TN or H1B visa), US and Canada have a tax treaty so that you should not be double-taxed, but that assumes you live in US (and all visa-related fine print applies). If you're getting a W-2 and plan to live in Canada for more than 183 days in a year, then you'll probably want to talk to a tax lawyer and an immigration lawyer (preferably together w/ your employer) beforehand to avoid getting yourself and your company into trouble. What this scenario boils down to is that you cannot legally take an american job without proper work authorization as a foreigner, or you might run into issues with USCIS (e.g. being barred from entry into the US in the future). IIRC visas have even more restrictions on where you can work and how long you can live elsewhere, so I'd say if you plan to live in Canada longer than 30 days, you probably should figure this stuff out beforehand.
jleyank 5y ago
Are they withholding us taxes or things like social security or Medicare? Or are they withholding the Canadian equivalents? Contractor or on payroll employee? A us-ian files taxes to the us every year but I did not think others outside the us did so. But you would have to file to recover any taxes withheld or consider them as foreign taxes paid when filing in Canada. Canadian taxes are higher than the us so you should not end up paying the us anything.
andreareina 5y ago
I think you better ask a specialist, not random internet strangers.

Let's say I work for a US company remotely from Canada. Will I have to pay both US taxes and Canadian taxes? I want to add that I'm a Canadian citizen.

EastOfTruth 5y ago

I don't think so, if you arent American and/or living in the states... just a guess. Better to check from a better source though...

nassimsoftware 5y ago
I'm a Canadian citizen.
- frabbit 5y ago
  TL;DR You pay taxes where you are resident. If you are 183 days or more (or whatever the current requirement is ¹) present in Canada then you are a Canadian resident and must pay Canadian taxes. IANAL but I have been in this situation. 1. https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/deemed-residents.html#dmdrsdnt https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/interna...

deleted 5y ago

[deleted]

liamwestray 5y ago

Legally yes. There’s a tax treaty so you’ll get credit for any taxes paid in another country and only have to pay the difference.

lhorie 5y ago

Generally speaking, if you get a W-2, you should pay taxes to the US, and if you get a T4, you should pay taxes to Canada. If you're living long term in Canada, your employer should have a tax entity in Canada and issue a T4. If you're working in a US resident capacity as a Canadian (i.e. TN or H1B visa), US and Canada have a tax treaty so that you should not be double-taxed, but that assumes you live in US (and all visa-related fine print applies). If you're getting a W-2 and plan to live in Canada for more than 183 days in a year, then you'll probably want to talk to a tax lawyer and an immigration lawyer (preferably together w/ your employer) beforehand to avoid getting yourself and your company into trouble. What this scenario boils down to is that you cannot legally take an american job without proper work authorization as a foreigner, or you might run into issues with USCIS (e.g. being barred from entry into the US in the future). IIRC visas have even more restrictions on where you can work and how long you can live elsewhere, so I'd say if you plan to live in Canada longer than 30 days, you probably should figure this stuff out beforehand.

jleyank 5y ago

Are they withholding us taxes or things like social security or Medicare? Or are they withholding the Canadian equivalents? Contractor or on payroll employee? A us-ian files taxes to the us every year but I did not think others outside the us did so. But you would have to file to recover any taxes withheld or consider them as foreign taxes paid when filing in Canada. Canadian taxes are higher than the us so you should not end up paying the us anything.

andreareina 5y ago

I think you better ask a specialist, not random internet strangers.