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Frequently Asked Tax Questions

U.S. Aliens and Citizens Living Abroad - Canadian & U.S. Tax Issues

  1. I am a U.S. citizen. If I move to Canada to live and work there as a Canadian permanent resident, do I pay both U.S. and Canadian taxes?
  2. Are the Canada Pension Plan and Canadian Old Age Security benefits taxable? If they are, please tell me where they should be entered on Form 1040.

Rev. date: 12/19/2012

I am a U.S. citizen. If I move to Canada to live and work there as a Canadian permanent resident, do I pay both U.S. and Canadian taxes?

As a U. S. citizen living in Canada you:

Rev. date: 12/21/2012

Are the Canada Pension Plan and Canadian Old Age Security benefits taxable? If they are, please tell me where they should be entered on Form 1040.

The taxation of payments received from Canadian retirement programs that are similar to the U.S. Social Security system receive special tax treatment due to an income tax treaty between the United States and Canadian governments. The way this income is taxed depends on the recipient’s residence.
The special tax treatment applies to payments receive from the following Canadian retirement programs: Canada Pension Plan (CPP), Quebec Pension Plan (QPP), and Old Age Security (OAS)
NOTE:  Refer to Tax Topic 423 for information about determining the taxable amount of your benefits.