Working in Canada, living in the US

I've received a job offer for an auto parts manufacturer based in Canada, with a warehouse in the US. I live in Michigan, and the Canada HQ is only about three hours away, so they're gonna offer me a chance to commute--quite a bit at first, then becoming a home-office job later on.

I currently have health insurance thru my wife, so I'll pass if that's even offered.

What other things should I ask about, or expect when working in another country?

Make sure you are being paid in American Dollars.

Make sure you have any work Visas in order.

Get ready to wait in line at the border a lot.

If things keep going the way they are, you may want to be paid in Canadian dollars

Yea, that Work Visa thing.

We were warned about it when we went to Canada for cold weather testing- and that's the only time I've been more than "welcome to Canada" when entering.

But I'm sure you'll have that in order.

Eric

Can I get "hired" by the US warehouse and work occasionally in Canada? Will I need a visa to do this? I am not moving to Canada.

I mean, if this happens (hired by US branch), will it be easier to work in Canada?

I do the opposite. I live in Ontario and work in New York State.

A visa is important any time you are doing work in another country. Depending on the scope of your work while in Canada, this can be pretty easy to get although it involves lawyers and stuff. I'm sure your company is used to this and will get you what you need.

Try to be paid in the currency of your country of residence. Much less aggravation that way. I imagine your company does that anyway.

Get a Nexus card as soon as possible - once you have your visa sorted out. Nothing like jumping the line at the border while all the suckers look on.

Make sure your wife's insurance will cover you in Canada before you jump the gun on turning their insurance down.

If Mi. is anything like N.Y., you'll take a hosing on your state taxes. Federal doesn't work out too well either, but not as bad. Don't forget about the GST and PST in Ontario. I have the opportunity to work in the Canadian Northwest(construction project), but after weighing the pros and cons, it wouldn't be worth it unless I stayed well over a year. No thank you, eh?

Good ideas and suggestions--thanks. Another person at this company lives in Massachusetts, so I may talk to him before accepting.

I will get a Nexus card. Although I'll cross at Blue Water and not Detroit, it should be better, but not necessarily good. I will see aboot the insurance, though--good advice.

utoh.. he said aboot... the canadian's are already getting to him!

If you get paid through the American company, this probably won't be an issue, but don't forget about retirement benefits. Working in the US your company may match your 401K contributions, but if you're getting paid by the Canadian company you'll have to ask about RRSP matching.

Also, talk to someone about taxes. If you're paid in Canada you'll have to pay Canadian taxes, but you'll be able to deduct all (or most) of your Canadian taxes from your US taxes. Like Akamcfly, I lived in Ontario and worked in Michigan. I was able to deduct my US Federal and State taxes, medicare and Social Security contributions from my Canadian taxes. I usually got a rebate in the US and owed nothing in Canada (until Ontario introduced a new health care tax that was based solely on gross income so I couldn't deduct it away). Since you're near Detroit, there are probably plenty of tax guys who specialize in taxes for Americans who work in Canada.

If you're going to be working from home eventually, try to get them to cover your internet.

Bob

In reply to Schmidlap:

In my situation, I work for the Canadian branch, get paid in Canadian doolars (hehehe) and pay Canadian taxes. Other than the location of my desk, it's like any other job.