That's a really good point I hadn't considered. My first payment is supposed to be due on May 15th according to what I set up in TurboTax. Should I just go ahead and make that payment to the IRS directly if I still don't have confirmation by then?

Yes, absolutely make that May 15th payment even without official confirmation. You can pay directly through the IRS Direct Pay system on their website - just make sure to select the correct tax year and payment type (installment agreement). This way you're covered no matter what. If your payment plan is already in their system, the payment will be correctly applied to it. If there was some glitch and the plan wasn't properly set up, you've still made a payment toward your tax debt before any serious penalties kick in.

It happened to me once! Turned out TurboTax had a transmission error with that part of my return. I had to call the IRS and set up the payment plan directly with them. They were actually pretty understanding about it and didn't charge me any late fees since I could prove I tried to set it up on time.

Thank you for bringing up these important points! I have about $35K combined in my Canadian accounts, so I'll definitely need to file the FBAR. You're right about the TFSA - that's exactly why I'm planning to close it before October. Regarding RRSPs, I do have about $80K in an RRSP. I wasn't aware of Form 8891 - does that need to be filed annually or just once?

The good news is that Form 8891 was actually eliminated in 2014! The IRS now automatically recognizes the tax deferral for RRSPs under the US-Canada tax treaty without requiring a specific form. You'll still need to report the existence of the RRSP on your FBAR and potentially on Form 8938 (Statement of Foreign Financial Assets) if you meet the filing threshold, but the income can continue to grow tax-deferred. One other consideration for your plan: make sure you've researched any state-specific requirements. California, for example, doesn't always follow federal treatment of foreign income and may have different rules regarding your Canadian accounts and investments compared to federal regulations.

This is incorrect information. Canada doesn't have an "exit tax" in the same way as the US. What Canada has is a deemed disposition rule where certain properties are treated as if they were sold at fair market value when you cease Canadian residency. However, this typically doesn't apply to cash, personal-use property, most registered plans like RRSPs, and certain real property located in Canada.

Thanks for bringing this up. I've been concerned about this potential issue. My total assets are around CAD $1.3 million, so I should be under that threshold. Most of my assets are either in my RRSP, cash, or the condo which I'm planning to sell before becoming a non-resident. Would there be any other assets I should be concerned about for the deemed disposition rules?

8 Wait really? So even if they get married on December 31, they're considered married for the WHOLE tax year? That seems weird... does that mean you could strategic time your wedding for tax purposes?

15 Yes, that's exactly right. The IRS only cares about your marital status on the last day of the year. If you're married on December 31st, you're considered married for the entire tax year. And yes, some people do strategically time their weddings for tax purposes, though I wouldn't recommend making such an important life decision solely based on taxes! But it's something to be aware of as you plan. In some cases, delaying a December wedding to January could be beneficial, while in other situations (like the original poster's with disparate incomes), getting married before year-end might save money.

2 I disagree - their withholding seems reasonable. The effective tax rate for someone earning around $570k would be close to 20% after deductions, and they're at 18.5% with a quarter of the year left. They're probably on track.

Not OP but I had a similar situation with equipment I sold. The service contract portion gets allocated separately as ordinary income, not as part of the capital transaction. At least that's how my accountant handled it.

Yeah actually I did have a service contract that transferred to the new owner with about 8 months left on it. I hadn't even thought about that part. I paid $3200 for a 3-year service plan originally.

Location, location, location. I put it in what I thought was a great spot near a lake where people go fishing and boating, but it turns out most people just bring their own ice in coolers. The property lease was expensive, electricity costs were higher than projected, and I had several expensive repairs in the first year. Competition from nearby gas stations with cheaper ice didn't help either. The ROI calculations from the manufacturer were... let's just say optimistic.

That's a fantastic idea! I hadn't thought about checking public records. Would the Secretary of State site definitely have the EIN though? I was under the impression that EINs aren't always public information.

The Secretary of State site won't always have the EIN directly listed, you're right about that. But it will have the company's official registered name, address, and usually the name of the registered agent or owner. Having the full legal entity name is often helpful when reporting on your taxes. With that information, you can also try searching the EDGAR database on the SEC website if it's a larger company, or sometimes even a Google search for "[Company Name] EIN" works because companies often put their EIN on various public documents. Local business licenses sometimes include this info too.

This is terrible advice. If your estimate is significantly lower than what the company reports, you'll get a CP2000 notice and potentially owe penalties and interest. Better to overestimate slightly than underreport.