18M USA -> Canada

Hey r/IWantOut. I'm an 18 year old American male who will be attending university next year in Canada.

I hope to not only get my degree in Canada, but to live there permanently.

My main concern, which I come to you guys with, is about taxes. I may have misunderstood certain things in my reading, so if I'm wrong please feel free to point out my mistakes. To my understanding, the United States is one of only two countries (the other Eritrea) to actually tax its citizens via worldwide income. I was wondering how this tax works, in terms of people who hold onto their citizenship's and live/work in another country, or renounce them in another country.

If I become a Canadian citizen, will I pay taxes for both nations? If I renounce my United States one, with a Canadian citizenship, does that mean I stop paying all U.S. tax except for the Expatriation tax? Is renouncing my U.S. citizenship more economically pragmatic the thing to do?

If it helps, any action done, such as acquiring or renouncing a citizenship, will be done AFTER my university education (which will be undergraduate for biology then, hopefully, graduate education for a more specific field of biology). I also don't own any property, nor have I worked a formal job during my lifetime. I say this as I know the state looks into property and money earned via labor when tending to immigration.

In advance to all you give feedback to this post, thanks! The advice I get here will mean a lot. If you need any clarifications, I'll happily answer them below.

Posted Feb 21, 2016, 9:30 PM UTC

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