Social blurb: In our continuing series on Canadians and California community-property laws, we explain how the laws apply when one spouse is domiciled in California and the other in Canada.
California Tax Filing with a Canadian Spouse Our previous article discussed the concept of California domicile and the application of California community-property rules to Canadians domiciled in the state. This article is the second installment in our series explaining how California community property laws can impact Canadians. At Cardinal Point, we regularly deal with cross-border couples who maintain cross-border lifestyles due to career commitments or other obligations. It’s important to understand how California’s community property laws apply when one spouse is domiciled in California and the other in Canada. Imagine a married couple in which the wife lives in Toronto (and is domiciled in Ontario) and the husband lives in Los Angeles (and is domiciled in California). Both spouses are dual American and Canadian citizens and they file a joint U.S. Form 1040 tax return. The husband, Drew, is a professional hockey player who plays for a California-based NHL team. Drew’s...