Dual Citizenship (Oh Canada...) - Questions

Recently learned that one of my parents was a Canadian citizen at the time of my birth and it appears that I am eligible for dual citizenship as a result.  I figure it could have some benefits, such as being able to get a Canadian passport and slip one notch down from an American on the target list when traveling.  I currently live and work in the US and don't plan to change that anytime soon.  I also don't expect to need any security clearances where being a dual citizen could present an issue.  Aside from direct costs of getting citizenship documents and a passport, what other costs or benefits are there?  Would there be Canadian taxes (income or other) due if I went down this path?  If at a later date (post retirement would be the most likely scenario if ever) I wanted to reside in Canada would there be back taxes owed or benefits such as access to healthcare?  Enquiring mind & all...

Oh, and what questions haven't I thought about that I should be asking?

I am a dual citizen Canadian and us.  I was born in Canada so slightly different.  No taxes if you are not living there. You can get the health care in retirement if you live there over 6 months of the year.  Was your parent born in Canada?  I was able pass the dual onto my children but they can't to there's.

In reply to cdowd (Forum Supporter) :

Yes, parent born in Canada and became a naturalized US citizen after my birth.  I was born in the US with one US & one Canadian parent at the time.

That definitely qualifies you.  My wife and I were born in Canada.  I am naturalized us citizen my wife is not.  We were able to get Canadian citizenship for both my children.

Taxes will be  a royal PITA  cause you have to do it twice.  Foreign tax credits are for earned income so if you live off investments it gets tricky to not pay capital gains twice. Welcome to the F-Bar club. Uncle sam will ask you to prove you are not laundering $$$ in Canada if you have a bank account here. Theoretically can mess up your estate distribution coming and going  if you follow the rules.  Spend some money with a tax specialist before you do this. 

I would only get Canadian Citizenship as a path to renouncing the US citizenship.  Canada is a nice place to live. 

Another dual here, Canada then naturalized US. 

You don't have to pay Canadian taxes after a certain point. I think it may have been when I sold my house there and I no longer had Canadian income, there was some extra paperwork because of this. It's my understanding that the USA does not have the same attitude. 

I do know that my retirement savings in Canada are basically inaccessible, but that's a problem for if I ever manage to retire. 

In reply to Keith Tanner :

I came up with a question and did the research I found that Keith can vote in a federal election using his last address in Canada, but OP can't vote because he has never lived in Canada.

Right now, I don't plan on moving to Canada. It might be something to consider in 10-15 years once I retire. I also don't have any plans to renounce US citizenship.

All my income & retirement funds are US earned & based. I would only move money into Canada if I moved myself there after retirement.

Voting in Canadian elections would only matter to me if I wound up moving there and it sounds like if I moved there that would then be possible.

My basic thoughts at this time are if I went through the process to get dual citizenship and stayed in the US until retiring, would there be any tax implications or other costs that I would owe in Canada (beyond the costs of documenting citizenship & passport)? Would there be any benefits to having dual citizenship & remaining in the US? I assume the same situation would apply after retirement if me & my $ remained in the US?

If, after retiring, I chose to move to Canada & retain dual citizenship I assume there would be taxes owed in both countries. From what I've seen in the US tax forms, I think I would be credited with the amount of Canadian taxes paid, but I honestly haven't looked into that in the past. It probably depends on where the $ was earned. 

Right now this is just a thought exercise. Trying to see the pros & cons of going through the process of obtaining dual citizenship being as it appears I could.

The Tax treaty is designed so that taxes paid on foreign income reduce the taxes to be paid in  the other jurisdiction. That's it at the simplest otherwise it's like all other tax law it's written for lawyers and accountants.

the big advantage would be the ability to enter Canada as a citizen you can't be refused entry, and with two passports you can use them in a way to conceal some of your travels eg Israel doesn't see the stamps for your Arab travels.

Canadian dual citizen here, if you're not making any money in Canada at all (incuding work, investments, insurance plans with tiny bonus payments, etc) you have nothing to worry about tax-wise, if you are, then there could be problems with that money, not any other money you're making elsewhere. The US is an outlier in that they'll tax money you make elsewhere - so if you did move to Canada and got a job there, you could still owe the US taxes.

Since you're already an American the only practical benefits to getting this would be the passport (may present a few more travel options) and a place to flee to in case the US elects Cthulu at some point. May or may not be worth your time, it's up to you.

GameboyRMH said:

Canadian dual citizen here, if you're not making any money in Canada at all (incuding work, investments, insurance plans with tiny bonus payments, etc) you have nothing to worry about tax-wise, if you are, then there could be problems with that money, not any other money you're making elsewhere. The US is an outlier in that they'll tax money you make elsewhere - so if you did move to Canada and got a job there, you could still owe the US taxes.

Since you're already an American the only practical benefits to getting this would be the passport (may present a few more travel options) and a place to flee to in case the US elects Cthulu at some point. May or may not be worth your time, it's up to you.

There would be no way I'm making money in Canada unless I relocate, which would only happen under circumstances that make living in the US impossible before I retire and probably near that once I retire. I have been thinking about having that option as an escape plan though if things get really crazy here at some point. It's nice to have options and I figure it might be easier to legally export myself under those circumstances if my citizenship was already established...

GameboyRMH said:...a place to flee to in case the US elects Cthulu at some point....

I'm already printing my Nyarlathotep /  Azathoth 2024 bumper stickers!

Do it for the health care.  I'm planning for health care expenses to be 1/3 of my total retirement  expenses per month. 10k to live on(in today's dollars) and 5k for health care.  If I didn't need that health care bit I could retire in my 50's.