thinking ... only THINKING of accepting PayPal

[muminlaw]

I would set it up to deposit into our account with the Bank of America in Wash. State. Some years the B. of Am. has required us to fill out a form for the IRS re doing business in the US and requiring that we explain deposits to this account to be sure we're not avoiding US income taxes.

Has anyone run into any problems with the IRS regarding deposits to their US bank account? I really don't want any hassle with the IRS. It's bad enough dealing with Canada's income tax department!!

Any and all opinions greatly appreciated.

Glenda

[amberwoodottawa]

We set up a US account with TD Waterhouse in New Jersey this past March and have not experienced any problems. We earn interest on our deposits and can invest funds into different long or short term securities.

While the income would have to be reported by TD Waterhouse, Canada and the US have a tax treaty and it is a simple matter of reporting your US income on your Canadian tax return.

There are additional reporting requirements with various agencies for specific dollar amounts. I believe that the once $10,000 amount has now changed to $5,000, such that any transfers of funds $5,000 or over has to be reported to US authorities.

It is not so much of a tax issue any longer but a means of curtailing money laundering and financing of terrorist activities.

For the most part, the onus of reporting and all the peperwork lies with the banks and not the customers.

We have similar reporting requirements for the same reasons in Canada but we are still at the $10,000 minimum

Malcolm

[muminlaw]

Thanks Malcolm - I appreciate the input. Anyone else, maybe someone who's had a US-based account for a couple of years or more? Pierre, are you here?

Randall, do you have any information on this??

Glenda

[www-labels4less-com]

Have had a TD waterhouse personal account in New Jersey as well for just about 2 years. Have never had any U.S. taxman contact me. I would have set up a business account with tdwaterhouse but only personal accounts were allowed by Canadians 😞
I think amberwood is right on the money on all counts.

[brcyclesalvage]

I have a US account and a US paypal account. I've never had any problems but I rarely use them any more. I did just get some forms to fill out (have to do it every 2 yrs I think) as Canadians are classed as non resident aliens. It has something to do with the tax laws...its just so the IRS doesn't take 1/3 of all deposits (or maybe it is interest)

Ryan

[acurael]

If you elect for a non interest bearing account, you have nothing to worry about.

If you don't then there's a form that you do need to fill out for the IRS and you also need to report the earned interest to CCRA.

It's too bad that waterhouse doesn't offer a business account 😞

[deltone]

I have an account in South Carolina and I too chose the non interest bearing account so that I wouldn't have any problems with the taxman down there. I figure paying the tax guy up here is plenty.........who needs more paperwork? LOL

[muminlaw]

Thanks for all your input. Our account is a non-interest so I guess it's just a matter of filling out the form periodically to keep the IRS happy. I was a little concerned that they might not differentiate between doing business in the US and doing business with the US when the bank account is in the US.

Glenda