Bird Talk Featuring the letters & concerns of our members SEND YOUR LETTERS TO Bird Talk, c/o CSANews 180 Lesmill Road Toronto, Ontario M3B 2T5 Online at www.snowbirds.org/bird-talk or by e-mail: csawriteus@snowbirds.org Bird Talk Ed.: We will be sure to pass that along. Robert Wiersema does a great job recommending engaging books to read. Dear Bird Talk, We are just looking to confirm that we can be away from Nova Scotia and be in the U.S. for a total of seven months now without losing our medical coverage in Nova Scotia? To the best of my knowledge, this used to only be 180 days, not seven months? Steve Bones Halifax, NS Ed.: You are permitted to be out of Nova Scotia for up to seven months in a 12-month period. However you are only permitted to visit the United States for up to six months in any 12-month period. Two different jurisdictions, two separate sets of rules. Dear Bird Talk, If your home in Florida is the only residence you own, can it be claimed as your permanent residence? John Willmott Burlington, ON Ed.: No! You are a Canadian citizen and your permanent residence is in Canada, whether you own it or not. Furthermore, you must maintain your residential status in order to enjoy the benefits of your OHIP coverage, which validates your travel medical insurance when you leave Canada. Dear Bird Talk, If I go into the U.S. for a month, then go to Mexico for three months, then back to the U.S., do the three months count in my time allowed in the U.S.? I get entrance and exit stamps from Mexico. Heather Cowan Maxville, ON Ed.: No. Since you will have been out of the United States for more than 30 days, your B-2 visitor visa will have expired. When you enter the United States from Mexico after 90 days, a new B-2 visitor visa will be issued. The 90 days in Mexico would not be counted as days in the U.S. Dear Bird Talk, Last year, we bought a car in Florida with the hope of leaving it there while we are back home. When we went to get our insurance, boy, were we shocked. I guess we underestimated how expensive it would be. The annual cost – which included six months of “vacation” – was more than double what we pay in Canada for two vehicles with more coverage. Has the CSA ever researched car insurance and if there are companies with reasonable rates? Any advice would help. Jamie Ballem Marshfield, PE Ed.: I suspect that the cost of automobile insurance in the state of Florida is much higher than insuring a vehicle in Prince Edward Island. We have found that local Allstate agents typically offer fair treatment to Canadian visitors upon presentation of a Motor Vehicle Record and a clean loss history report from your Canadian insurer. Dear Bird Talk, Hello. I do enjoy reading “Bird Talk.” However, as a retired CPA, I do shudder at times with your advice regarding transfers of U.S. property to children or sales to outside parties. I am not an expert on U.S. tax rules or any differences between houses on leased land versus freehold properties. I do know for certain that the CRA will be looking for taxes on gains on either property when sold or when gifted to children. I have written to you about this in the past but received no answer. I would appreciate a response, even if you do not wish to publish this. Thank you, Dennis Zinger Elora ON. Ed.: When you sell a property in the United States and pay capital gains taxes to the U.S. government, you would report that tax payment when you file your taxes in Canada. There is a tax treaty between Canada and the United States which is in place to prevent double taxation. You would report the gain on your Canadian tax return, as well as any capital gains taxes paid in the United States. If the taxes paid in the United States were sufficient to meet the taxes payable for the capital gain to the CRA, then no further taxes would be payable. If the taxes paid in the United States were not sufficient to meet the tax obligation on the capital gain to the CRA, then you would pay the CRA the difference. Dear Bird Talk, Thank you very much to the book reviewer (I don’t have his name in front of me) who recommended the Kelly Armstrong Rip Through Time series. What an outstanding recommendation! I’m enjoying the books immensely! Valerie Candelaria Guelph, ON CSANews | FALL 2024 | 7
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