Converting an Ontario G2 Driver's Licence to Californian one

This is the reason I always think it's stupid to make people take the full test. I know someone who moved to California a few years back and they just put a sticker on their old DL saying: "not valid in California". Whether that would happen to you I don't know. It may depend on whether your Province has a reciprocal agreement with California.

However if you maintain a Canadian DL you can get hammered on taxes if you move your tax home to the US, according to caselaw. Guy moved to Dubai I think it was, kept his Ontario DL, kept his furniture in storage, CRA decided he had residential ties to Canada and the court forced him to pay back taxes for all the years he was outside the country.

Thanks for the reply Steven.

I plan on keeping my tax base in Canada, since I'll only be in the US for maybe two years on a TN.

In that case, when I apply for my California DL, I won't even tell them that I already have a Canadian DL. I really don't want to deal with the PITA of losing my Canadian DL, and the hassles/money involved in getting a new DL when I move back to Canada.

Quick question:

Does California take away your Canadian DL when you apply?

If they do, and since California considers your Canadian DL to be useless, wouldn't it make more sense to tell them you don't have a Canadian DL?

This way, you can hide away your Canadian DL in a safe place for when you move back to Canada.

California does not take away your Canadian DL. Since they don't recognise it as valid (once you are a resident), you get to keep it.

Thanks for the info RevRandy!

I plan on keeping my tax base in Canada, since I'll only be in the US for maybe two years on a TN.

Bear in mind it also works the other way around, if you get a California DL, the IRS consider that a residential tie for tax purposes. This is why it's generally not a good idea to ever have two DLs. There is however a calculation used in the tax treaty to determine residency status, a DL is not the only factor.

What I do know is I got a nasty letter from the IRS after I'd been filing as a non-resident for several years asking for proof that my tax home was not the US, and they wanted copies of various things like my DL to prove it was not my principal residence.

Coincidentally the company I was working for went bust a couple of weeks later so I had to leave anyway.

Based on my experience and Randy's comment I think all that will happen if you show them your Canadian DL is that they will put a sticker on it saying it's not valid. Which you can peel off when you move back.

If you're there temporarily though you don't actually legally need a California DL as you are not a resident, but obviously it comes in handy for various things.

I'll also confirm that, the guy at the DMV handed my Ontario license back to me and said 'this isn't valid anymore' . I'm assuming the DL number is in their system as being invalid (in case you get pulled over in CA).