Bird Talk Dear Bird Talk, My father-in-law would like to transfer ownership of his property in Florida to my wife and me. We are thinking of joining the title with all three and, upon his passing, it would pass to my wife and me as surviving owners. Will that work to avoid capital gains or gift tax? Neil Garbe Bradford, ON Ed.: The objective can be accomplished, but you need professional help to avoid the pitfalls. Capital gains tax is not payable on the passing of your father-in-law, but is deferred until and unless the property is eventually sold. Only $16,000.00 in value can be given to each of you and your wife in a year (2022). However, with proper structuring, gift tax on the balance can be avoided. Dear Bird Talk, I’ve just become aware of the form 8840. Do I need to complete the form if I don’t meet the substantial presence test for time in the U.S.? Also, can I add all three of my children to our U.S. property deed to avoid probate taxes when my husband and I die? Jodi Dewar Ontario Ed.: Completing and submitting the form 8840 is never going to hurt you. You are declaring a closer connection to Canada to avoid paying U.S. tax on your worldwide annual income. If you don’t meet the substantial presence test, you don’t NEED to file it, but it doesn’t hurt. It is also a good idea to make a copy and keep it in your border-crossing file folder with other proof-of-residency documents to help you cross the border into the United States. You can add one or all of your children to your deed, but you will require legal assistance in order to do it properly. Dear Bird Talk, We were updating our will in Canada and our lawyer advised us to make a will in the U.S. as well, because we own property in Arizona. Is this common? If not, we do not want to spend thousands in the U.S. to do a second will. Does anyone have any ideas? Jeff Fearn Calgary, AB Ed.: It is probable that your property in the U.S. is held in joint tenancy such that it would pass by succession outside any will provisions. Secondly, if any other assets were held jointly, these would pass to the survivor. Our position is that there is no NEED for a U.S. will, although one does have the choice of making one. Provision can be made in the Canadian will to cover any U.S. assets, and that is sufficient. Dear Bird Talk, I am reading my summer 2022 edition and I thought that it would be very interesting to follow your advice and obtain my travel history on i94.cbp.dhs.gov. I retrieved it, except that the results are totally inaccurate! Not sure what conclusion to reach! Best regards Louise Horlington (no location provided) Ed.: You are not the only snowbird who has reported inaccurate or incomplete departure and arrival information on the I94 website. As far as we know, it is still a work in progress and not every border agent at every border crossing is as diligent as the next one when it comes to recording information. You shouldn’t be concerned; it is just one of the MANY indicators that are used to permit entry. Dear Bird Talk, My wife and I have a U.S. bank account (at Wells Fargo) in the U.S. We opened the account in about 2010, when we purchased property in Florida. We sold our Florida property in 2021 and changed our address with the bank to our permanent residence in Canada. We recently received an email from the bank indicating that we have to either close the account or provide a valid U.S. address. We no longer own property in the U.S., but we do “winter” in the U.S. for three months. Keeping a U.S. bank account would be very convenient for us for our spending in the U.S. Can you make any suggestions regarding how we can either keep our Wells Fargo account or such at another bank in the U.S. that would accept us as non-resident account holders? (There are no Canadian banks in the vicinity where we spend our winters.) Douglas Manning Kelowna, BC Ed.: I would suggest using the address of a friend or neighbour, with their permission of course, and switching your account settings to paperless. This can all be done using the Wells Fargo app on your smartphone or tablet. 8 | www.snowbirds.org
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