Friday - 8 Jan/16

Guess we were tired - we slept in until 9 a.m. It wasn't too hard with the light rain serenading the RV roof. We just rolled over and dozed back off to sleep.

Charlotte made Banana Pancakes for breakfast....mmm good!

An e-mail from daughter Liz pointed out that something I was aware of for a few years; however now might be enforced. Although staying in the USA for 182 days is possible and not a problem with crossing the border, per se, the problem lies with the IRS (Internal Revenue Service) not Immigration.

A new information-sharing agreement between Canada and the United States, the "Entry Exit Initiative" (effective Jan/2015), allows officials to track how many days Canadians have spent in the U.S. Prior to the agreement, the both countries could only track entry dates, not exit dates.

A common misconception is that Canadians regularly travelling to the U.S. for long stays can spend up to 182 days, or six months, in the U.S without being considered a resident for tax purposes.

For people travelling to the U.S. for long stays year after year, it's actually 120 days, or four months, averaged using a special formula over a period of three years. The Formula: total number of days spent in the current travel year is added to 1/3 the total number of days spent in the previous year, and 1/6 the number of days spent in the year prior to that.

To avoid being considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes by filling out a Closer Connection Exception Statement form annually.

Note: The above exemption is null and void if you stay more than 183 days although other exemptions can be made.

Canadians who overstay their welcome in the U.S. are at risk of:

• Being considered a U.S. resident for tax purposes and having to pay taxes on worldwide income.
• Losing their Canadian residency for tax purposes and their health care.
• Being deemed illegally resident in the U.S. and being banned from the country for three to 10 years.

Keep accurate records of where and when you visit the USA. Day trips are counted! (Generally, there are exemptions to this too.)

This law has been on the books for years and was designed to tax U.S. nationals living in other countries who were trying to avoiding paying taxes. It has always been available for enforcement.

The rules of length of stay haven't changed, only the information that can be shared between borders, making it now easy to enforce. 

Will They? That's a "Crapshoot". 

(Craps is a game in which players make wagers on the outcomes of rolls of dice. Because dice tumble randomly and the outcome is not predictable, craps is a game of chance. From this we can infer the meaning of the metaphorical term crapshoot—that is, a situation whose outcome is not predictable.)

All I can say is that if the IRS did start enforcing this law to the letter the economies of the southern USA would take a serious hit in the winter months. Any RV park we have stayed in over the years has had at least 20% Canadian RVers in the prime months (J/F/M).

Be safe and file the form - better safe than sorry!

While I ranted on (above) Charlotte completed an example of a Travel Jewellery Bag she will share with the craft group at a later date. The ribbon pulls to close the bag.

The bag opens to reveal several compartments in which to hold items. She did a great job! (as usual) Really cute and handy, too.

Sun start to peek through around noon (only for a short time). Temps climbed to mid-70's. We decided to go on a road trip: Destination - Flea World in Sanford, FL. While searching the web to see if it was open on Friday I noticed an article that said it was closing soon (actually in August 2015). I was confused - it still had a website. Who operates a website for a closed business? I phoned the number listed and received an answer. It was closed - the site is still up to sell equipment and land. It sure would be helpful if they indicated that on the website so it doesn't confuse non-locals like me.

Change of plans. We decided to go shopping locally instead. Charlotte needed a pot to re-pot a plant. I checked out the hardware I am thinking of using for the upcoming pantry project.

Next, it was across the road to the Publix. This store is twice the size of the one we usually go to near OMS. By the time we came out it was dark. I loaded the groceries into the trunk while Charlotte stood in line for Powerball tickets. Not even 1 number right on our last ticket. Hope we are luckier this time - we sure could use the Billion (Yes, with a B) Dollar prize. This will be the largest lottery prize ever - anywhere!

Made it back in time for Jeopardy. It didn't really matter. For some reason the reception was very poor or non-existent for this channel. We turned to other channels and checked back occasionally. That channel only returned for the revelation of the answer for Final Jeopardy.

Channel surfed and watched a variety of programs until bedtime.