Bird Talk Dear Bird Talk, I am a newmember, and just now getting up to speed on all things snowbird. Question: What are the requirements in the U.S. for how long after the scheduled return to Canada does the passport have to be valid upon exit from the U.S.? P.S.: have just finished reviewing “all” of the Bird Talk questions and answers! Anna Comanic South Bruce Peninsula, ON Ed.: Evan Rachkovsky, CSA’s resident researcher advises that as a general rule, passports must be valid for six months beyond the date that the traveller will exit the country being visited. U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has waived the “additional six months” rule for Canadians, which means that you can travel to the U.S. with your current Canadian passport, provided it will not expire until after you complete your trip to the United States. If you are not a Canadian citizen, however, and will be using a passport from another country to enter the United States, you will need to confirm that your country of citizenship is also being exempted from the six-month expiry date rule. Dear Bird Talk, [Regarding I-75 traffic]...it is also best to leave on a Saturday morning – no road work, nor business traffic. Stephen Morrison Mississauga, ON Ed.: One man’s opinion on when to head south for best results. I would add that you should check the weather forecasts all the way to your destination before setting out. Dear Bird Talk, In your answer to David Smith, you mention that returning to Canada for a week over Christmas or for a few days in Mexico should not be deducted from the six months…this may not be correct. I thought the same thing, that it had to be more than 30 days before not counting as time in the U.S., but I wrote to the immigration department and they toldme that in fact it does not have to be more than 30 days, and any time out of the country can be added to the six months. Thanks. M.D. British Columbia Ed.: We wish that this were true and, in many cases, it will be as all of this is left to the individual border-crossing agent to determine. We base our 30-day absence recommendation on an internal letter from the INS to its border-crossing offices, which basically states that a temporary absence cannot be deducted from eligible days. It specifically mentions the 30-day period. I will ask the CSA to get another formal opinion since there is a new regime in the U.S., as I am sure you are aware. This rule hurts the U.S. more than we snowbirds, of course. Dear Bird Talk, If you rent out your home in Florida and your rental income is less than your costs to maintain your home, do you pay tax on this income in the U.S.? E. Dell Toronto, ON Ed.: Any net income (rent less expenses) would be taxable in the U.S. If there is also personal use involved, the expenses are usually prorated for tax purposes. In any event, whether you are making money or not, you have to file a U.S. tax return for each of the owners on an annual basis. This applies to all states, to our knowledge. You must also be careful of several short-term rentals as these may attract “hotel” tax. Dear Bird Talk, After reading about the 180-day maximum vehicle insurance coverage period when in the U.S. in the last CSANews issue, I also contacted my Certas/State Farm agent, who was unaware of the 180-day limit but was subsequently advised by HQ that this is indeed (and has been) an annual maximum. He claims that this is a maximum out-ofcountry insurance limit for any car, from any company, and was rounded down from a 183-day out-of-country limit to maintain provincial licence plate validity, all of which was news to me. Perhaps this has been reviewed in the past by CSANews (I’m a fairly new subscriber) but, as a U.S. snowbird who usually drives, I have (in some years) apparently been without vehicle insurance for a couple of days. Especially with entry-and-exit data likely soon to be more broadly shared, this is an important piece of information for many snowbirds who may currently be focused on health insurance and on their 182-day annual and rolling year limit for a stay in the U.S. If the seven-months’ time allowance for some seniors is ever approved by Congress, things will become evenmore interesting with respect to this insurance issue. B. R. Close Ontario Ed.: I can’t believe that every insurance agent in Canada is not very, very aware of this restriction! But it gets worse. On your original application for insurance (which may have been completed many years ago), you would have to have told the insurer that your car was going to be in the United States for an extended period of time. If not, in the event of a claim (in the U.S.), the insurer would have the right to cancel your policy because they were not given ALL the facts of its use – and they would deny the claim, of course. Their position is that, if they had knowledge of your six months in the U.S., they would not have given you a policy in the first place. When taking your car to the U.S. for longer than 30 days, you MUST notify your insurance company. I would tell them that you do this every year and then you do not have to notify them again. In a perfect world, have them confirm in writing that you are covered. And it gets worse again…many insurers have much tighter restrictions than six months. Some say that you cannot have your vehicle outside of Canada for longer than three months, or even 30 days. Every insurer is different! And, of course, you will normally be charged an extra fee; sometimes a huge fee. Using the CSA’s Auto/Home program is a very good option. The insurer knows in advance that you will be away for extended periods. In provinces with government insurance, it is also important to notify your agent. Dear Bird Talk, Our mom passed away and dad’s been gone for 13 years. Mom did change the deed of her duplex in Florida into her three children’s names and removed her name from the deed three years ago. She was advised to do this by someone, but now we are not sure? We are wondering about capital gains taxes, etc. that will arise if we either keep it or sell it. We would like to keep our parents’ place in the family but may not be able to, depending on the amount of capital gains and taxes, etc. Mom and dad did do some kind of rate capital gains re-evaluation and payment in 1994 to save on capital gains in the future. The property was purchased in approximately 1978. Mom has always filed an 8 | www.snowbirds.org
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