Moving Back To Toronto....I just Bought a Car, What Now?

[shanehsmp]

Hey all - I am on a TN visa and recently left my job. I also recently purchased a car. I no longer want to be in the US so I am not seeking other employment here. Now I have imported a car before when I was in school on a F-1 visa. At that time I was not asked to pay any taxes on the price of the car, just the regular import fee of $182 (or whatever it was). Actually they didn't ask me to even import the car at the border - I had to do that 2 months later.

Now that I have purchased another vehicle and I have lived here for a year and a half, do I still need to pay the taxes on this vehicle?

Also, after I have left my job - how long do I have before I must leave the US?

[Reba]

AFAIK, you have to leave the US immediately if you have left a TN job for any reason.

As for the car, you may or may not have to pay taxes on it, and may or may not need to have modifications done for Canadian safety and emmissions (day time running lights, dash board guages to metric etc etc), find out from the manufacturer (call their head office in the US) they should know what you'd need.

[Steven]

If the car is part of your personal effects, there is just the RIV import fee. Check www.riv.ca for the specifics on what paperwork you need. You also need to declare the vehicle on CBSA Form B4A with your personal effects to avoid the duty.

[dgrumm]

I am in a similar situation, and am going to import a car and boat to Canada that I purchased in the US.
My question is, if I have paid state tax on them in the US, why do I also have to pay GST and PST when I bring them home to Canada. I knew I had to pay GST, but PST too! That is 3 taxes (plus duty).
The PST is paid when the vehicle is registered in Canada. right?
Can someone tell me if I am understanding this wrong?

Thanks

[Steven]

I assume you're talking about Ontario. Ontario charges PST on used car sales, you'd have to talk to the Ontario DMV about whether you're liable or not. I'm sure the trick is to have the car declared on a CBSA Form B4 as part of your personal effects. This avoids GST and duty.

I see lots of people on here talking about the reverse situation, i.e. being charged import duty at the US border and then sales tax when they register the car - cars that form part of your personal effects are exempt from duty if you take them into the US, and sales tax (if any) in the State where they are registered.

The real question is how they come to form part of your personal effects. It has to have been in your possession for 12 months (and you have to prove it) whether it's the US or Canada. In the US you have to claim it under HTSUSA 9804.00.35 - tell the CBP guy to look it up in his HTSUSA book if he doesn't believe you. Get a receipt, this is what you use to avoid paying sales tax when you register it in the US.

[dgrumm]

We had no problems changing the titles of our vehicles to US and registering them. No taxes paid.
I believe that when we go back to Canada, there is only "free entry" on items upto $10k. Any single item over $10k gets charged tax (ie. $30k car then you have to pay tax on $20k). No limit to how many items. I don't think there is anyway around the GST and duty.
Apparently, CBSA will charge GST and PST and duty. The PST should not be charged if you had the vehicle registered in the US. I spoke to Rev Canada and they agreed. I told them that CBSA collects the PST regardless. They just got back to me and said that if CBSA insists on collecting PST, then pay it and file for a rebate. They agreed that it should not be charged.

[Steven]

There is no limit, you car can be worth anything and it is duty free provided it is part of your personal effects and has been for the past 6 months and you have been non-resident for at least 12 months.

I really don't know why everyone is so keen on paying duty and other taxes they don't have to!

Read the instructions on the back of CBSA Form B4.

Even if the car wasn't part of your personal effects, if the car was made in North America it's exempt from duty under NAFTA. Also, if the car was previously exported from Canada then all liable taxes were already paid, they don't have to be paid twice.

You show up with your B4 (and any other Transport Canada paperwork required - I'm just talking about taxes here), the CBSA officer makes sure what is on the B4 matches the vehicle, he signs the form off and gives you a form that says "tax paid: $0.00" and you drive off to Canadian Tire to have the headlights sorted, if it's a US spec vehicle.

Like I said, the only thing I'm a bit unsure about is whether Ontario might charge PST on it because they have some funky rules for PST on vehicles.

[dgrumm]

Are you speaking from experience, or is this your interpretation of the rules? It seems pretty clear in the paperwork, and from phoning CBSA that there is a cap on each items value of $10k. After that, you pay tax and duty. I hope you are right, but everything else I read says different. The $10k rule came in the late 90's I think.