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CSA TRAVEL INFORMATION GUIDE
8840 – Closer Connection Exemption Statement for Aliens
If you spend four months or more in the United States each year, you will meet or exceed the “sub-
stantial presence test” and therefore become subject to U.S. taxation unless you file an exemption
form with the IRS each year. That exemption form is the IRS form 8840 Closer Connection Exemption
Statement for Aliens.
Form 8840 acknowledges that you met or exceeded the “substantial presence test” BUT are not
going to be filing a U.S. income tax return due to the fact that you maintain “a closer connection” to a
foreign country, such as Canada, where you will be paying annual income tax.
A copy of the 8840 form for the current tax year is mailed to all CSA annual and lifetime members in
good standing with the first mailing of the annual membership renewal campaign. The form is also
available as a downloadable pdf form from the IRS website by logging onto your computer and visit-
ing the CSA website
www.snowbirds.org
. Click on the blue link button for “lifestyle links,”which
will take you directly to the IRS web page regarding international taxpayers.
Canadians should be proactive and file a new form 8840 each year with the IRS. This is a positive
acknowledgment that you are entering the United States each year as a “temporary visitor for
pleasure” and are complying with U.S. tax laws. A photocopy of each year’s completed form should
also be carried, when crossing the border into the U.S. the following year, to indicate that you are
entering the U.S. as a temporary visitor from Canada.
You will be considered to have a “closer connection”with a country other than the U.S. based on the
location of:
•
•
Your family.
•
•
Your permanent home.
•
•
Your personal belongings, such as cars, furniture, clothing, and jewellery.
•
•
Your current social, political, cultural, or religious affiliations.
•
•
Your business activities (other than those that constitute your tax home).
•
•
The jurisdiction in which you hold a driver’s licence.
•
•
The jurisdiction in which you vote.
It does not matter whether your permanent home is a house, an apartment, or a furnished room. It
also does not matter whether you rent or own it. It is important, however, that your home is available
at all times, continuously, and not solely for short stays.
The “substantial presence test” includes a mathematical calculation based on your travel to the U.S. in
the previous three years. For example, for the 2011 tax year, the calculation is based on:
•
•
Total number of days spent in the U.S. in 2010
•
•
1/3 of the total number of days spent in the U.S. in 2009
•
•
1/6 of the total number of days spent in the U.S. in 2008
If the total of these three numbers
IS LESS THAN 183
,
then completing and submitting the form to
the IRS is optional. If the total of these three numbers
IS EQUAL TO OR GREATER THAN 183
,
then
the form (separate form for each spouse) must be submitted to the IRS.