I am currently living in Canada with my wife, but I have family in Boston.
My current status is that I have a Visitor Record valid for another 3 months, then I will have to renew (currently waiting for outland immigration process to finish). I am working legally for a U.S. company remotely while here in Canada.
For the Thanksgiving holiday, I would like to drive down to visit family but also take advantage of the "Black Friday" sales just after thanksgiving day.
If I were to purchase say for example a $1,000 t.v. while on the trip, and drive it back into Canada- what would I have to do for Customs declarations?
Since it would be MY purchase, and I'm not yet a Canadian P.R., would I be exempt from having to pay duties?
Hi
quote=cinjoe;49823]I am currently living in Canada with my wife, but I have family in Boston.
My current status is that I have a Visitor Record valid for another 3 months, then I will have to renew (currently waiting for outland immigration process to finish). I am working legally for a U.S. company remotely while here in Canada.
For the Thanksgiving holiday, I would like to drive down to visit family but also take advantage of the "Black Friday" sales just after thanksgiving day.
If I were to purchase say for example a $1,000 t.v. while on the trip, and drive it back into Canada- what would I have to do for Customs declarations?
Since it would be MY purchase, and I'm not yet a Canadian P.R., would I be exempt from having to pay duties?[/quote]
1. Duty, Taxes (PST+GST) less your duty free allowance. Phone
[FONT=verdana,geneva]1-800-461-9999 and ask what the rate is.[/FONT]
PMM
Thanks, I will call that number tomorrow.
I was just wondering if anyone knew whether or not I would be subject to paying duty as I am still TECHNICALLY living in the U.S.- just "staying" with my wife in Canada.
Hi
cinjoe Wrote:Thanks, I will call that number tomorrow.
I was just wondering if anyone knew whether or not I would be subject to paying duty as I am still TECHNICALLY living in the U.S.- just "staying" with my wife in Canada.
Except technically you are still importing the TV to Canada.
PMM
As PMM points out: you are importing it. Your status is irrelevant.
You may have to pay a duty (I don't know, some items yes, many no, could depend on where it was manufactured), but you are most likely to have to pay the GST and PST (if coming into Ontario or another province that charges PST . . . though Ontario is planning on going to the HST next year, basically a merger of GST and PST).
If you are legally allowed to be in Canada for your work, then you should legally be allowed to bring your personal effects in Canada, but you may have had to declare those all when you came over originally - no?
I'm not sure how it works for people working in Canada temporarily for their foreign employers but I found this
http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/publications/...1-eng.html for people immigrating permanently to Canada. There is also a form to fill in all your belongings for your "goods to follow". To me it seems to indicate you have to declare all your stuff up front (including serial numbers for electronics/vehicles/bicycles, etc) and that stuff must be used, but you would have a year to bring over your things.
So if you find good deals, why not take advantage of the sales, leave the things with family in Boston and then bring it over when/after you land? Or is that too much time apart for you and your new TV... ;-)
Cheers,
TLH
The Littlest Hobo Wrote:but you would have a year to bring over your things.
Actually, you have as long as you want, to bring them over. If I recall correctly, other than wedding gifts (if you were married within 3 months of coming to Canada), everything is supposed to be at least a year old.
My husband is going up to Canada in a few weeks, leaving me to sell the house, etc. I couldn't believe that I had to list EVERY SINGLE THING, so I called the border. Talked to a real nice guy who explained it this way: The reason the border guys want everything on a list when the first person moves in is because they don't want the trailing spouse to go around buying up all kinds of stuff and importing it by saying it's a personal effect. So as long as it's on the list, with serial numbers, you are fine with taking it in--you have a record that you already owned it.
I asked if I had to count the number of spoons and put in every scrap of lace and he said no. I don't have to write down the title of each book, but the boxes should read USED BOOKS. And it's fine if you strike stuff off the list, if you ended up selling it or giving it away. You just can't take anything new in. He seemed particularly interested in more valuable items--things with serial numbers.
anitsirK Wrote:Actually, you have as long as you want, to bring them over. If I recall correctly, other than wedding gifts (if you were married within 3 months of coming to Canada), everything is supposed to be at least a year old.
Nope, maybe the rules have changed but I read it yesterday. For newcomers to Canada it only has to be used "for a period of time", so for clothes and things without serial numbers there is no way to prove it normally, unless the tags are still on or the soles are still pristine. (I have the odd skirt or pair of shoes that are several years old and never worn because... well, just because! I didn't have the right outfit... or whatever :))
For returning Canadians, to prevent us buying a bunch of things to bring back right before our move, the stuff has to be 6-months old.
It also specifies a limit of 1 year for goods to follow but I forget if that was for new or returning canadian residents, or both.
I'm sure it's the big ticket stuff they're interested in, of course. Items worth more than $750 each. (since that's your normal maximum duty free allowance)
Thanks for the post PCP, good point I hadn't thought of that. I expect that they won't open and inspect every moving container unless the x-ray gives them a reason to, but since 9/11 it's getting more and more frequent. I wonder how this will work out because our moving company will label the boxes (in German!) so we cannot tell them to write "used" next to all the stuff... hmmm... I also had the same question in my mind about how to put the quantity of things: e.g. 1 box of clothes? 1 wardrobe full of clothes? 1 box of shoes or 10 pairs of shoes? 2 pairs of rollerblades + pads + helmet + etc... vs 1 box of sports equipment?
But you have to do it for the moving insurance anyways - it's just a huge hassle to add to the exhausting process of moving.
Sorry to the OP for getting way off your topic
TLH
The Littlest Hobo Wrote:Nope, maybe the rules have changed but I read it yesterday. For newcomers to Canada it only has to be used "for a period of time", so for clothes and things without serial numbers there is no way to prove it normally, unless the tags are still on or the soles are still pristine. (I have the odd skirt or pair of shoes that are several years old and never worn because... well, just because! I didn't have the right outfit... or whatever :))
Sorry, I mis-remembered. The rule is that you can't sell anything you import, within Canada, within 1 year of importing it, or you have to pay the appropriate duty & taxes.
The Littlest Hobo Wrote:It also specifies a limit of 1 year for goods to follow but I forget if that was for new or returning canadian residents, or both.
The only thing (other than what I mentioned above) that I see that has anything to do with 1 year is that you have to have been out of the country for at least 1 year to be able to import anything tax-free as a returning resident. Could you point me to where you found this rule? They specifically told us at the border when my husband landed that there was no time limit. If there is such a rule, we're in trouble, because he still has a number of power tools at his house in the US that his brother is renting from him. I looked VERY carefully for any issues back when we went through this, and I really hope I didn't miss something.
Oh, I also see that it says that as a new resident, you have to be settling in Canada for at least 12 months, but that goes hand-in-hand with the rule above about not selling/disposing within 12 months of importing.
Ooh could I please have more info about legally working for a US company remotely in Canada? It would help us out a lot if I could do something like this, since my VR also forbids me from taking a Canadian job here.
This is a query you need to ask in a separate thread of its own.
As for working remotely . . . it can be complicated. And what is technically OK might not always be treated that way.
Overall it really depends on what you mean by working remotely. Your primary place of doing business cannot be in Canada. But travelers are allowed to bring their laptops and do some of their stateside work while in Canada, for example . . . though if one admits to this at the border, the border officer may not understand things that way.
You cannot, for example, simply set up a home office in Canada where you do work for American employers . . . not legally anyway, not without paying Canadian taxes, and meeting other technical requirements.
What amounts to your primary place of work or doing business depends. It is a fine line that can be walked . . . with some risks.