Tax transcript

Real quick update. Just got our 2012 tax transcript in the mail today. Requested it on the 21st, so a little over one week to receive, which is a little slower than previous times. It is mid-tax season though, so completely understandable.

~Lindsay

Tax update

Well, we had sent our tax return online on February 2nd. TurboTax finally sent it on February 14 (since we had education credits and IRS was only accepting those kind of returns on the 14th). On the 21st, our refund got approved, and my husband got the amount deposited over the weekend!

I ordered 2012 tax transcripts for my ROC package on the 21st, so I'm thinking they'll arrive sometime this week, as it's never taken longer than a week to arrive (for us anyways). I'll leave an update once I do get them.

~Lindsay

P.S. My checking account is looking real nice and my husband still needs one more day to transfer the rest of my portion of the refund :)

Taxes

Well, we finally submitted our taxes about an hour ago online through Turbo Tax. Expected refund: $2860 :) Since I had education credits and the IRS are only processing education credits starting mid-February, it'll still be awhile before we get our refund. Which I'm a little bummed about as I wanted to 1). use the money to pay for ROC, and 2). request a tax transcript to show we filed married filing jointly. So, either I wait until early March (which is when Turbo Tax said we should expect our refund) to file for ROC, or file early, taking money from my savings account (or something) and just simply send our tax return (instead of a tax transcript). Guess I'll just play by ear and see what happens...

~Lindsay

Passport and Transcripts

According to USPS's site, my mail's location, as of today at 8:39am, is "Canada". Very descriptive, lol. So, I know it's made it into the country safely, but I have no idea if I'm going to get any more tracking now that it's in a different country (besides proof of delivery). Guess I'll just have to wait and see!

In other news, I'm going to be eligible to file for ROC next month. I'm weirdly excited to file paperwork again, lol! Once the date gets closer, I'll post what I'm planning on sending in. I don't have all the evidence finalized yet, so until then... :P

But, I did request a tax transcript last Wednesday, the 9th, for tax year 2011 showing that Ben and I did 'Married Filing Jointly'. Just checked the mail a few minutes ago and it already arrived! That's less than 4 business days from requesting it to receiving it. The IRS are on top of things at the moment! (So if YOU need a tax transcript, for whatever reason, order it NOW!)

~Lindsay

Canadian Taxes

Well, good news for me! :D

I called up Revenu Quebec last Friday inquiring if I needed to file a Quebec tax return. After being transferred SIX times, I finally got through to an agent. I explained my situation and, according to him, I do NOT have to file a Quebec tax return! This was due to my situation (no kids, no income earned in 2011 while as a Canadian resident, and ceasing to be a resident in 2011). This made me smile!

I then called up the Canadian Revenue Agency's International Tax Office last night and after three hours of on and off again calling trying to get through, I finally got an agent. I explained my situation (no income earned in 2011 as a Canadian resident, ceasing to be a resident in 2011) and that agent also informed me that I don't have to file a Canadian tax return! This made me smile again!

The CRA agent though did explain that I should send them a letter explaining my situation (me moving to the US), which I had already been planning on doing. I've got one written up for Revenu Quebec and another for the Canadian Revenue Agency. I also have some other situation updates to inform them of (previous common-law relationship ended, new marriage with current spouse). Hopefully they actually update my file with these three things and don't beat around the bush or anything as I've heard horror stories of the CRA/RQ not updating files for years!

So, after I mail these two letters, the only tax returns I have to worry about in the future is for the US with the IRS :)

~Lindsay

Taxes Update

Well, sometime last week, Ben got our tax refund deposited into his bank account. He then sent me $750 (which I'll be using for my eventual plane ticket to Canada).

And I have yet to file my Canadian taxes *bonk on the head*

~Lindsay

Updates

Wow, no new posts since October! Just thought I'd write something short to keep everyone updated!

As of two days ago, I've been working at Target for 7 months now! Second longest job I've ever had XD I believe sometime soon, after annual reviews are done, I'll be receiving a raise, so I'm excited for that of course. Not sure how much extra I'd be getting per hour, but who cares, it's extra money! Also, a few weeks ago, I was finally eligible to start a health plan through work, so I'm working on that and trying to figure out what I need/want. I'll update later on about that once I actually get it.

School's going great as well. After the first semester, CIS (Computer Information Science) students decide which track they want to do in the program. I was originally just going to do Programming, but I found out that the Web Design track would just be an additional 6 classes along with all the programming classes (since the two tracks are so similar), so I decided to go for both! So in May 2013, I'll get two degrees from this school, Programming and Web Design! :)

And, of course, it's tax season. Ben and I filed our US taxes a few weeks ago by snail mail. Tried doing it online, but it kept giving us errors when confirming our identities through either an IRS pin or last year's AGI. So, instead of getting our refund within a few days, it's going to take a few weeks instead. Oh well. But, it'll be worth it as the expected refund is $2925! Most of it coming from my school tuition!

Also, my uncle is FINALLY going to marry his long-time girlfriend (now fiancee) this coming June, so I'm planning a one-week visit to Canada. My first time going back since I moved to the US. I'm pretty excited! I'll be using a portion of the tax refund to pay for my flight :) And I'm thinking of getting some pink highlights put back into my hair while I'm there. I miss colour!

Anyways, I believe that's all the updates I have. Hope everyone is doing well!

~Lindsay

Tax transcript

Wow, third update in one day!

Very quick, Ben's 2010 tax transcript came in today! Only took a week to get to him. He ordered it last Monday and got it today. I'm going to print it out later and can give that at the interview instead of the 1040 and W2s *happy*

~Lindsay

DHL location chosen, interview preparation, and taxes

On Monday I signed up for a DHL branch location so the Consulate knows which branch I want my visa and passport to be mailed to after the interview.

If you want to see screenshots, you can go here. Each picture has a detailed description for each step in signing up, so click on the first picture.

Also on Monday I finished printing out everything I needed for the interview. I only have one or two things left, but I'm waiting till I get closer to the interview date to print them out. Once everything's done, I'll take a picture of my very huge (and heavy) folder.

As well, Ben finally got his tax refund last Friday, and on Monday he requested a 2010 tax transcript from the IRS. Apparently they have a form you can fill out online now instead of calling in (found here). I'm hoping he gets the transcript before the interview, so I can bring that and hand it in instead of the 1040 and W2s. It said it takes 5-10 days (although Ben doesn't know if that was total days or just business days) and there's currently only 12 and a half days left till my interview. I'm sure it will arrive before then!

~Lindsay

Certified copy of passport and apartment

Well, I was supposed to go yesterday to pick up my passport and certified copy, but it ended up snowing a lot, so I postponed it till today. When I got to the Passport Canada office, I ended up getting the exact same number as last week (B555). And then, when I got called up, I had the same lady as well and she remembered me too. Anyways, I received two certified copies of my passport in an envelope and received my passport back. Just have to give one copy over to Ben when he comes to visit this weekend!

In other news, Ben's been looking at a few apartments these past 2 weeks. He went to see one yesterday after work and he loved it. And so, he went back today after lunch to sign the lease! He's probably going to move in the weekend after he gets back from Canada. He gets the whole place for himself for about 2 months until I get there.

Here's a picture of the outside
A picture of the bedroom
A picture of the huge kitchen
And a final picture of the included (!!!) washing machine and dryer

And a video Ben took the second time he went to see the place: https://docs.google.com/leaf?id=0BxJvo2IPcz1qNGFlOTBjNjgtN2QzMy00M2NhLThhNmMtM2YzZTNmZjEyMDc4&hl=en

~Lindsay

Passport and operators

So, I've been calling an operator every day around 5pm. Only takes an average of 5 minutes to get through to an operator. Still no update though on either our I-864 or our DS-260 packages. I just keep getting told "it can take up to 20 business days".

So, filing for taxes this year is going to be fun for Ben. Since he's married now and I don't have an SSN, we need to file for an ITIN for me since he wants to do married filing jointly. Besides filling out the W7 form, they also need proof of my foreign status and identity. The passport can qualify as proof for both. But, it just can't be a photocopy. It has to be a certified copy by the issuing agency. So, I drove out to the nearest Passport Canada agency today and asked to get a certified copy of my passport. The lady took my passport, filled out a paper, I signed it, and I just have to wait till this Monday to go pick it up. And it was free! I was waiting for the lady to ask for money or something, but nope. Yay, score one for the government for not charging a fee.

~Lindsay