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Canadians working for a US Company
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To legally live and work in the US, Canadians must obtain a work visa unless they have dual citizenship with both countries. There is one nuance here:
if you work remotely, you do not need a work visa to work in the US.
How to report US income on your tax return
As a Canadian freelancer or business owner in Canada, you are required to report any and all income you earn throughout the year to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA), regardless of the source, which means that no matter where you earn money: through contracts or full-time employment, you must report it to the CRA on your income taxes. Don’t forget! You must report this in Canadian dollars when submitting your T1.
For US tax reporting, if a US company employs you, you will receive a
W-2 form at the end of the year that outlines all your earned income in USD.
As a Canadian, you must take these figures and convert them into CAD from USD to report them to the CRA. When filling out your T1 return, make sure to document all foreign income on
line 104. We suggest using an accredited bank's exchange rate, such as the
Bank of Canada. Exchange rates fluctuate and change depending on the day, but using an accredited institution can help you feel secure in the amounts that you report.
Have you received various amounts of US income throughout the year? No problem. You can use this list of
annual average exchange rates when converting multiple amounts you've earned from throughout the year.
Sometimes the W-2 form you are provided from your US employer includes information around deductions such as US taxes, benefits, or retirement plans. If this is the case, ensure that you have this information on line 207 of your CRA tax return, as you may be able to deduct these contributions under the Federal Foreign Tax Credit.
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Do I pay Canadian tax on US income?
Canadian freelancers or independent contractors with an American client/work with a US company are exempt from paying US taxes.
As you are a self-employed worker in the eyes of the CRA, you still must report all income in your tax return no matter where your clients are located.
Are you a self-employed worker? Classification is paramount here.
Start off by being clear. Knowing what your status is with the company employing or contracting you before you begin work will be helpful to avoid future issues. For example, if you commute to work for a company located in the US, or if your company provides you with benefits and work equipment and controls specific aspects of your day-to-day, you are most likely a full-time employee of the company and cannot classify yourself as self-employed. Need more information? We dive deep into employee/employer relationship classification in this helpful
blog from Knit Payroll.
US companies must automatically withhold tax on all payments made to their employees, which means that as a Canadian employee, freelancer or contractor, you could find yourself in a position of being taxed twice: in both Canada and the US. This is where the
W-8BEN form comes in. Canadians who work for US employers should make sure to fill out this form to avoid double taxation from the CRA and the IRS.
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Are you a Canadian working for a US company? Then you are probably wondering how you manage and navigate your tax obligations.
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