Quote:
Originally Posted by DemolitionCat
Canadians pay taxes based on residency, not citizenship, but to make good use of the US tax code you really need to be a permanent resident or naturalize in the U.S. The number of deductions you can claim on an H1 is pretty limited and I don't think there is any point for Canadians to be in the US on any other visa unless you're a full time student. Your tax exposure of course depends on a lot of factors, but the highest brackets are inevitably going up to higher than Alberta levels. If you own a business in the US, you can get away with hardly paying any income tax at all. If this fellow's wife is going to be an employee of some company, it's not that great. I also don't recommend a sponsored green card since someone else will always own you. I recognize not everyone has the resources to self sponsor.
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Residency for tax purposes is based upon the number of days you are in the country (ie. over 183 days). I'm on a TN visa and don't have a problem making use of the US tax code to my advantage. Don't mix up a green card with a visa. If you are on a visa your employer owns you. You can't just switch jobs etc. However, once you have a green card you are classified as a permanent resident and you can switch employers at any point in time and you are not owned by your employer.