TN Visa & TAX advice

Hi All,
I am new to the US on my first TN Visa any my first real job. I worked jobs in Canada
from Jan to August 2007 in Canada and took a job from Sep 2007 - Present in the California.

I was wondering where I should file TAX. Please give me some advice.

I was wondering can I do it myself? Like just file the Canadian Tax in Canada and the US Tax in the US?

Like just use the T4s from Canada to file online and use the American T4s(or whatever they are called to file in the US) Would that be OK?

Also If I do end up going to H&R block, will they know what they era doing? Like I mean Canada US issues…I don’t really wanna go to an expensive accountant….I think I can do it myself justy need some info,

Also I have no real estate, no student loans etc. anywhere.

Thank you all!

The first year I started working in the US, I filed in both Canada and the US. In your case, your tax liability would go to Canada because you lived there for more than half a year. Since your tax situation seems pretty simple to figure out, software like TurboTax (USA) and QuickTax (Canada) can figure it out for you. Tip: You can try TurboTax online without paying - if you want to file, then you pay at the end.

I'd recommend waiting for others to respond too because I did the dual filing in 1999 and the rules may have changed since then.

Good luck!

I get asked almost daily at work "which is the best tax software to use", because I work in IT. Let me tell you: none. Get the forms and a pen and fill them in! Personal tax returns just aren't that difficult and when you have to file two and you're in a situation like this it's better to do it on paper, imo.

You need to file two tax returns, with your address in California on them. You also need to tell your bank in Canada that you are now non-resident if you have a Canadian bank account as they have to deduct Part XIII tax. QuickTax has no provision for the Part XIII deduction IIRC so that's another reason not to bother with software (This won't have any bearing on 2007 but it will on 2008).

Given that you were in Canada most of the year you also need to file Form 8840 with your 1040NR so that you don't get taxed twice. Once again, I don't think TurboTax has Form 8840 in it, so do it on paper.

Get an accountant who specialises in cross-border tax issues to help you if you're really stuck.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pub/tg/p151/p151-07e.pdf