Live in WA but work in Vancouver, BC? (Seattle, Bellingham: how much, school district)

[jennywren123]

My husband is taking a job in Vancouver, BC. We are both American. We'd like to live in Washington and have him commute. Does anyone have experience with doing this, using a Nexus pass? I'm wondering how much time customs will add to his commute. Also, what are the income tax ramifications of doing this - we don't want to get hit twice! Thanks!

[allforcats]

I don't do this commute, but I know that some folks do and you might find some useful info at Quick Coach, an interesting site of a 40-year company which operates a fabulous shuttle service between Van and Seattle. They have info about Nexus, commuting time, Immigration and Customs at both borders, etc.
Vancouver, Seattle Bus Transportation

As far as personal income tax is concerned, income earned in Canada is subject to federal Canadian income tax laws; income earned in British Columbia is subject to British Columia laws. Income earned by bona-fide residents of Washington state is not subject to WA state income tax, but is subject to federal U.S. income tax.

In order to comply with the tax laws of the four entities (actually three, since WA has no personal income tax), and in order to avoice paying unnecessary taxes, you would be best served by hiring a U.S. CPA, not a Canadian one since your residency will be within the U.S. Your CPA should be experienced in such cross-border matters. Most CPAs in northern WA will be experienced in these. A perfect example would be H&R Block. They have a few offices in Bellingham, for example.

Have fun researching!

[runningbachk]

Live in the Seattle area? That would be quite the commute, even with a nexus pass, you're looking at maybe 2-2.5 hours without bad traffic.

Bellingham would be alot easier, maybe an 1-1.5 hours tops with a nexus. The closer to the border the better of course

[Ira500]

Lynden and Ferndale are not occupied by summer visitors at all. Bellingham is a lovely place. It's a real city with stuff to do, but it's safe for the most part, lots of trees and water, nice restaurants, good school district...

[jennywren123]

Thanks everybody!

[White Chocolate]

Remember, though, that once you hit Richmond traffic gets pretty bad, especially at rush hour. The primary culprit in this is the lack of expressways into the city. If your husband works downtown, he will spend a lot of his waking hours in traffic. I am not exaggerating; I've just moved back to Montreal, which has terrible traffic and worse drivers. While Vancouver's rush hour is comparatively short in many areas of the city, that north-south corridor remains busy for a long time.

[klandksmum]

Check out the Birch Bay area and Blaine Washington! Closest to the Peace Arch Border crossing, but you can also use the Truck crossing when things get backed up! Just a thought.