Source: http://www.palmspringstaxandtrustlawyers.com//page/4
Timestamp: 2016-12-09 21:10:58
Document Index: 212929840

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 2', '§17016', '§17014', 'art 2', 'art 2', 'art 1', 'art 3', 'art 2']

Palm Springs Tax and Trust Lawyers — Page 4 of 10 — Published by Palm Springs, California — Tax Trusts Probate Lawyers — Sanger & Manes, LLP
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: Estate Tax	Published on: September 17, 2012	Updated:
So we’re on to Part 2 on this topic. Here, we’re talking about a US citizen who owns a California home (maybe in Palm Springs), but lives in Illinois. Presumptions Generally Let’s review the FTB’s presumptions on time spent in California. If you spend more than 9 months (in a calendar year) in California- you are presumed to be a California resident that year (but you can rebut it by going to the checklist). You can find this presumption in Cal Rev. & Tax Code §17016. There is also a lesser presumption (found in regulations as opposed to the Cal Rev and Tax Code) which provides if you are present in California less than 6 months a year, you are presumed to not be a California resident. This “lesser” presumption is found at 18 Cal. Code of Regs. §17014(b). I consdier it a lesser presumption since it comes from the Cal tax regs and not the Code (unlike the 9 month presumption). There is no presumption if you are present in California between 6 months and 9 months. But in all events, you still must go back and review the checklist.
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: California State Tax Issues	Published on: September 6, 2012	Updated:
Canadians Visiting La Quinta California, You Too Need to Make Sure You’re Not Deemed a Resident of California, Part 2
So we’re on to Part 2 on this topic. Here, we’re talking about a Canadian citizen who owns a California home (let’s say in La Quinta for example), and the likelihood that person is deemed in a California resident for tax purposes. Again, in fairness, it’s going to be highly unlikely the FTB (the California Franchise Tax Board…basically the IRS for the State of California) deems a Canadian citizen a California resident in a given year, because most Canadians are here on a B-2 Visa (they may not even be aware of this fact), where they simply show the US officials at the border their passport and they’re permitted entry in the US. Under the standard B-2 tourist Visa, the Canadian citizen is only legally permitted to stay in the US up to 6 months in a calendar year. Unless the Canadian citizen is violating the terms of the B-2 Visa (not a good idea, it could be hard to get into the US the next time), or is in the US on a visa other than a B-2 where the Canadian is permitted to stay in the US more than 6 months (like a work related visa), or the Canadian is a dual Canadian-US citizen or has a US green card (permitting the Canadian citizen to stay the entire year in the US if he or she likes), it’s difficult for the Canadian (in California less than 6 months) to be deemed a California resident. But not impossible. We must re-review the checklist of items the FTB looks at from Part 1 of this topic (e.g., location of your spouse/RDP and children; location of your principal residence; where your vehicles are registered; where you maintain your professional licenses, etc.). The FTB may still deem the Canadian a California resident if they have enough checks in the wrong category, even though the Canadian does not spend more than 6 months a year in California.
Presumption Generally Let’s review the FTB’s presumption on time spent in California. If you spend more than 9 months (in a calendar year) in California- you are presumed to be a California resident that year (but you can rebut it by going to the checklist).
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: Canadian Snowbird Issues	Published on: August 28, 2012	Updated:
Canadians Visiting California, You Too Need to Make Sure You’re Not Deemed a Resident of California
It’s going to be harder for most Canadian snowbirds visiting California to be deemed California residents than it is Americans from other states to be deemed California residents, but it’s not impossible. The biggest reason for this is most Canadian snowbirds are in California (and the US) on a B-2 tourist visa, which means the Canadian snowbird (unlike other Americans) cannot be in California longer than 6 months in a calendar year (without violating their visa). Also, as the Canadian snowbird reviews the checklist below, it appears less likely (although not impossible) somebody who lives permanently in Canada could have too many negative checks on the checklist. On the other hand, the test for California residency is in some ways more dangerous to the Canadian snowbird than the test for US residency. Why? Because if the Canadian snowbird fails the test for US residency in a given year (we’ve discussed the test in prior blog entries), they could still fall back on the US-Canada Tax Treaty, which contains tie-breaker provisions between the two countries- which would probably lead to the determination that the Canadian who failed the US residency test (i.e., was in the US too much in a given year) was still a resident of Canada (and not the US) in a given year. California has no treaty with Canada (no US state does). So there isn’t any treaty to save the day for the Canadian who is deemed by the State of California to be a California resident in a given year. The rest of the analysis for the Canadian snowbird is the same as it is for Americans from other states visiting California…
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: Canadian Snowbird Issues	Published on: August 23, 2012	Updated:
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: California State Tax Issues	Published on: August 20, 2012	Updated:
As a California property owner, you have the right to appeal the amount of your property taxes. You can use an attorney to represent you in your appeal, or you can do it yourself. Property taxes are assessed (and appealed) on a county-wide basis in California, so for those of us in Riverside, Banning/Beaumont and the Coachella Valley (Palm Springs, Rancho Mirage, Palm Desert, Indian Wells, etc.), our appeals are handled in Riverside County. Am I really Challenging The Amount of My Taxes?
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: California State Tax Issues	Published on: August 14, 2012	Updated:
August 14, 2012 3:49 pm
I’m the Executor of the Estate of a Canadian Citizen who Died Owning a Palm Desert California House (or a House Owned Anywhere in the US), And I Need to File A US Estate Tax Return (and Claim the Protection of the US-Canada Tax Treaty). What do I do?
We’ve written before about Canadians being subject to the US estate tax. We know that a Canadian (or any non-US domiciled (also not a US citizen) individual) can be subject to the US estate tax on the value of some of their US property when they die. What property are we talking about? Mainly the value of their US house(s)/ real estate, and furnishings in the house(s), and (and this is important)- the value of their US securities (stock of US companies). US securities count no matter where the Canadian holds the stocks, but there is an exception for the US securities held by a Canadian mutual fund (but note, there is no exception for securities held by the RRSP of a Canadian…the value of US securities held in those count).
How Much May a Canadian Exempt From the US Estate Tax?
Recall that this year US citizens/or residents can exempt $5M from their US estate tax computation (that’s a good deal for Americans, but on other hand they are subject to the US estate tax on the value of their assets held anywhere in the world, not just their US assets). But next year, as presently scheduled, US citizens may only exempt the first $1M from the estate tax (yikes).
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: Canadian Snowbird Issues	Published on: August 13, 2012	Updated:
I’m a Canadian Who Plans to Purchase California Real Estate Which I Can Rent Out, But I’m Worried About Possible Lawsuits. What is the Best Form of Home Ownership For This Purpose (Part 3)?
This is the third (and last) part in this series. We see a lot of Canadians here in the Palm Springs/ Palm Desert area/ Coachella Valley area who are interested in not just vacationing here, but in purchasing property which they will then rent out. This series has been about the best way to own California property which will be rented out, with the goal of minimizing any damage from a tenant who likes to sue landlords. While this series has been directed towards Canadians purchasing local property, everything we’ve written in this series (with the exception of the discussion about LLCs and why they don’t currently work for Canadians) applies to people from any country, and for that matter much of it applies to Americans wanting to purchase and rent out California property as well. We’ve concluded that the limited partnership is likely the best structure (for now) for the Canadian looking to purchase and then rent out Palm Springs/ Palm Desert area/ Coachella Valley property. Let’s look at a few more questions and answers on this topic.
Why Don’t I Just Use a Corporation to Buy the Property, But Instead of My Corporation Selling the Property with the High Tax Rate, I’ll Sell My Corporation’ Stock (with the Property in it) at the Low Tax Rate?
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: Canadian Snowbird Issues	Published on: August 6, 2012	Updated:
I’m a Canadian Who Plans to Purchase California Real Estate Which I Can Rent Out, But I’m Worried About Possible Lawsuits. What is the Best Form of Home Ownership For This Purpose (Part 2)?
In my last post, I summarized that for Canadians looking to purchase California real estate which they could then rent out, but who were worried about potential lawsuits from their tenants (as they should be), utilizing the limited partnership form was probably the best method of ownership currently available. Let’s take a closer look at to why… Why Can’t I Just Purchase My New California Rental Property as an Individual, as Joint Tenants or Tenants in Common? Because owning property in an individual capacity provides you no liability protection. If your tenant gets hurt on your property, he or she can sue you personally for all you have in a California court. And keep in mind, it is quite possible that a Canadian court would enforce the judgment of a California court.
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: Canadian Snowbird Issues	Published on: July 29, 2012	Updated:
July 29, 2012 11:34 am
Dual US (and Foreign Country) Citizens Who Don’t Owe Tax in The US, It’s Easy to Get Compliant with IRS Now. For the Other US Citizens With Foreign Accounts and Who do Owe US Tax, You Need to Consider the 2012 FBAR Amnesty Program
IR-2012-65 allows Dual Citizens who Don’t Owe Tax in the US a Pain-Free Way to Become Compliant
First of all, which dual citizens don’t owe tax in the US? As a general matter, a dual citizen who have been living in a foreign country and been paying that country’s tax (as appropriate) probably does not owe much tax in the US (if any). The US taxes its citizen’s income no matter where they earn it anywhere in the world. But the US also works in cooperation with almost every country in the world (except for countries such as Cuba, Iran and Yemen…i.e., countries we have no relations with). If you are an American citizen living in France (you might also be a French citizen), and you have been paying your appropriate French tax for the money you earn in France, odds are you will not owe tax in the US. Why is this so? Most foreign countries have higher tax rates than the US. So as long as the income is of a type which we recognize (such as wages for services, or gains for stock sales, or rental income, or dividends, etc), the US will credit income earned in France by the dual French/US citizen. Thus, after the credit, the US citizen probably owes $0 US tax or very little US tax, on the amounts he earns in France. And the same goes for that US citizens with most every other country. Now let’s not confuse the issue of whether the dual citizen owes any US tax with the obligation of the dual citizen to: (a) file US tax returns; and (b) file FBARs annually if they have bank accounts outside the US with over $10,000 at any point in the calendar year. Those obligations generally exist whether the person owes US tax or not. But for those people the new guidance is terrific. Those individuals must complet their past-due tax returns (at least 3 years) and delinquent FBARs (at least 6 years), and they’ll probably have no penalty to get compliant provided you don’t owe significant US Tax. A great deal.
By Sanger & Manes, LLP	Posted in: General Tax	Published on: July 23, 2012	Updated:
July 23, 2012 5:09 pm
1801 E Tahquitz Canyon Way #201