badab1ng

Have been advised to fill one of these in as we are spending longer stays in the USA.
Anyone know the following:

1. Where it asks for Address in the US, is that the address of the last property we rented when in the US ?

2. Wife is Canadian citizen/passport holder, what type of visa will she have entered on ?

Many thanks for the help.

Siouxie

I would suggest you post this in the US forum as they are more likely to be familiar with it.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=57

Steve_

Don't bother with the address section or signing section of Form 8840, what you should do is complete a 1040NR-EZ and if you have no US-source income you write "PROTECTIVE" across the top, and you put your Canadian address and details on the top of that form.

You sign and date the 1040NR, answer question 1 and the questions regarding your residency on Schedule OI and then complete 8840. The rest of the 1040NR is blank. Note simple interest from a US bank account is not reportable, and attaching any 1042-S you get from the bank is not required (but you can if you want).

Theoretically you can file 8840 on its own but it's best to file a 1040NR with it, the reason being that if you file a tax return the IRS can only go back three years to audit you.

As far as your wife goes, if she was a visitor for pleasure, she entered as B-2.

Note this is a "catch you out" question as putting down anything other than B-2 or VWT means you have to file other paperwork, i.e. IRS Form 2063 (there is an exemption for visitors for pleasure who stay less than six months). If you actually have a tax liability you have to complete Form 1040-C prior to leaving.

More information is contained in IRS publication 513 (which appears to have been discontinued) and IRS publication 519 (which is a more heavy duty version). The CRA republishes 513 as publication 151: http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/p151/README.html

This is all a pain but it does have one very important advantage other than the obvious (exempting you from US tax residency) - you have proof you can show CBP that you are non-resident.

Steve_

I doubt it, Canadians are the ones who are most likely to need to do this.

Siouxie

Thank you and apologies - I knew it was an US IRS form which is why I made the suggestion - I stand corrected, lol.

badab1ng

Should I expect some receipt or acknowledgement from IRS ? I sent this away in January and not heard anything since.

Steve_

Not unless you owe them tax. You can phone them and ask if they got it.