Matters that Snowbirds should be aware of

Before snowbirding to US vacation places, it would be appreciable if snowbirds check themselves to confirm whether they are aware of certain important matters such as...

• How to handle emergency situations like accidents or illness that may happen while they are in US.
• What are the tax implications on vacation home in US, if you own it.
• Will you have to file US tax return if you have earning from your US holdings.

How to handle emergency situations like accidents or illness
Emergency situations can be any thing like illness, accidents or baggage loss that may happen while you are travelling. So snowbirds  must make sure that they are well covered from all these. Provincial Health insurance will cover only a mere fraction of your outside country health care cost. Snowbirds are strongly advised to purchase an additional health insurance from a private insurance company before you leave your home province. Without insurance, an unexpected medical expense in the U.S could drain the savings of your life time.

Surveys of leading travel organization suggest that Comprehensive Coverage is the most important attribute to travel medical insurance. So find a reputable company that understands the risks of travelling with medical conditions, and that write insurance policies that actually cover insureds for such conditions, at reputable prices. Travel Organisations such as CSA(Canadian Snowbird Association) and Royal Canadian Legion recommends Medipac as a good option for travellers.

Declaration of foreign Property
Foreign property includes the US bank accounts and foreign stocks in your Canadian brokerage account. You have to mention this while you submit Your Canadian Tax return. in the form their will a question like -- "Did you own or hold foreign property at any time in 2011(Assessment Year) with a total cost of more than $100,000 (Cdn)?" -- and here you have declare your foreign property.

File US Tax Return and US Estate Tax
If you stay more than 122 days a year in US, then IRS (Internal Revenue Service) will treat you as a resident Alien. Submit IRS Form 8840, a Closer Connection Exemption Statement for Aliens to prove you are a resident of Canada so that you are exempted from filing Tax in US.

If you die while owning U.S. property worth of over 60,000 US Dollars, your executor will be required to file a U.S. estate tax return, whether or not any U.S. estate tax is payable. The typical Canadian snowbird's estate should be exempt from U.S. estate tax if the worldwide value is under 5 million US dollars. The exemption limit is changeable according to Government Decisions.