Has anyone used a Certified Acceptance Agent (CAA) for their ITIN application? After my first rejection, I went to a local CAA and they handled everything. Worth the fee since they verified my documents on the spot and I didn't have to mail my original passport. Might be worth looking into if you're reapplying.

I went through this exact same situation last year! The key thing to understand is that when they say "we'll process your return without an ITIN," they mean they'll accept it as filed and it counts toward your filing deadline, but they won't issue any refund until you have a valid ITIN. For your next steps: carefully review your CP567 notice to see if it gives any hints about what was missing. Common issues include documents not being properly certified, missing signatures, or incomplete Form W-7. When you reapply, make sure to include a complete copy of your original tax return - this helps them match everything up in their system. One tip that saved me time: if your rejection notice is vague about what's missing, try calling the ITIN hotline at 1-800-908-9982. The wait times are brutal, but if you can get through, they can sometimes tell you exactly what documentation issue caused the rejection. Good luck with your reapplication!

Been waiting on cycle 05 for weeks too! From what I've learned lurking here, Thursday nights around midnight EST seem to be the magic time. But honestly, after reading everyone's experiences with taxr.ai, I might just bite the bullet and pay the $5 to get some peace of mind instead of obsessively refreshing every few minutes like I have been 😅

I'm in the exact same situation! Cycle 05 here and I've been refreshing my transcript like it's my job 😤 Based on what everyone's saying, sounds like Thursday nights around midnight EST is when we should see movement. I might have to try that taxr.ai thing too - spending $5 seems way better than losing my mind checking every hour. Has anyone else noticed if there's a pattern to which Thursday nights actually get updates vs maintenance delays?

Just adding in case this helps - for scholarship or fellowship grants to non-resident aliens, the portion for tuition and books isn't taxable, but the portion for living expenses is considered FDAP subject to 30% withholding unless a tax treaty applies. I learned this after receiving a small research stipend as a visiting scholar at a US university. The university withheld 30% automatically from the living allowance portion.

Great question about FDAP income reporting! You're absolutely correct - as a non-resident alien, you generally only need to report FDAP income that's from US sources. Your Canadian accountant's confusion is understandable since this is a specialized area. For your specific situation with dividends from US stocks, these would definitely be US-source FDAP income subject to reporting. The good news is that under the US-Canada tax treaty, dividend withholding is typically reduced from 30% to 15% if you properly complete Form W-8BEN with your broker. One thing to watch out for - make sure your brokerage is applying the correct treaty rate. I've seen cases where non-resident aliens had too much tax withheld because they didn't properly claim treaty benefits, then had to file Form 1040-NR to get a refund. Your Japanese and European dividends, as others have mentioned, aren't reportable to the US - those would be handled under Canadian tax rules as a Canadian resident.

Sorry if this is a dumb question, but how much do you have to make before you need to report self-employment income? I made like $350 doing some graphic design work last year. Do I even need to file?

This is exactly the situation I found myself in last year! The $275 self-employment tax is likely correct - it caught me completely off guard too since I was used to W-2 jobs where all that stuff is handled automatically. One thing that really helped me was using Schedule C-EZ (if your business expenses are $5,000 or less) instead of the full Schedule C. It's much simpler and still lets you deduct legitimate business expenses to reduce that net self-employment income. Even small things like software you bought for the freelance work, a portion of your internet bill, or supplies can add up and lower that SE tax. Also keep in mind that you can deduct half of the self-employment tax you pay (so about $137 in your case) as an adjustment to income on your next year's return. It doesn't help this year, but it's something to remember going forward. The whole self-employment tax thing is definitely a learning curve when you're coming from W-2 work!

One thing I haven't seen mentioned is how the tax treaties between the US and Canada might impact your situation. As a Canadian citizen who's a US tax resident, you might be eligible for certain protections under the US-Canada tax treaty. However, tax treaties generally don't help much with offshore structures in places like the Cayman Islands. In fact, these structures often trigger anti-avoidance provisions in tax laws. My biggest concern would be that this arrangement could potentially be viewed as a tax avoidance scheme by the IRS, especially given the lack of substantial business operations in the offshore jurisdiction. The IRS has become extremely aggressive in pursuing offshore accounts in recent years.

I want to emphasize something that hasn't been fully addressed - the potential criminal penalties for willful failure to report foreign accounts. As someone who went through an offshore voluntary disclosure program, I can tell you the stakes are much higher than just paying additional taxes. The willful failure to file FBAR can result in penalties of up to 50% of the account balance PER YEAR, and in extreme cases, criminal prosecution. Given that you're talking about potentially substantial trading profits, these penalties could be devastating. Also, consider that the IRS has extensive data sharing agreements with financial institutions worldwide. Interactive Brokers, for example, reports account information to the IRS under FATCA requirements, regardless of where your account is domiciled. The idea that offshore accounts provide privacy from the US tax authorities is largely a myth in 2025. My strong recommendation would be to consult with both a US tax attorney specializing in international taxation AND a Canadian tax professional familiar with US treaty provisions before moving forward. The cost of proper planning upfront is minimal compared to the potential penalties and legal fees if this goes wrong.