I am a non-resident alien living in Alberta. I work for a US based company on a TN Visa. I am married to a Canadian who works in Alberta and have three children who all stay in Alberta as well.

I don't have a clue how to do the US taxes - should I:

1) State and Federal taxes just for myself as a 'single'
2) State and Federal taxes as married?
3) do I "just" file the 1040NR form?
4) are there deductions I can claim or do I not get any deductions as I am a non-resident?

If anyone knows the dual Cdn./ US taxes... is there a benefit for me getting any deductions on the US side, as I'll surely just have to pay more on the Cdn. Side when I file my Canadian taxes.

Are there any books / resources on how to best lower your "total" (US+Cdn) tax liability for both sides? I know Cdn. Taxes OK, but haven't a clue re: the US side.

Thanks!

If you are a non-resident alien living in Alberta, Canada, you owe ZERO taxes to the U.S. even if the company is a U.S.-based company. You do not even have to file a U.S. tax return.

The only taxes you owe will be Canadian and Alberta taxes.

I am in a similar situation (non-resident alien living in Canada working for U.S. company) as an employee on W-2 basis.
We've opted for TN1 since I will be visiting and performing work every few weeks. (SSN already received due to prior work in the U.S.)

My US employer and I are stuck on tax withholding.
I haven't been able to find any documentation or forms that would allow me to be exempt from withholding from IRS.
The main question is do we deal with form W-4 in this situation?

I understand how to file for tax exemption based on a treaty at tax return filling time but am curious to know if it is possible to be exempt of US withholding so that my tax installments to CRA (Canada revenue agency) don't come straight out of my pocket during the year.

Some quirks are, last year I was a resident alien of the U.S. and paid taxes to IRS. Near the end of 2009 I returned to Canada. My question is about the possibility of exemption of withholding for the upcoming year -> 2010 taxes.

Any help would be very appreciated.

Based on your post, it appears that SOME of your income is earned while being present in the United States.

If so, then THAT income is subject to U.S. and state income taxes.

What is your work timeline, i.e. how many days in Canada and how many in the U.S. in 2009?

2-3 days every 4-6 weeks. That could change later in the year but at the moment I am taking courses while working remotely and can not travel more much more than 2-3 days a month.

I imagine this is going to come down to 1 of 2 options:
1 - Don't do any thing that can be considered work during visits to potentially avoid withholding by IRS.
2 - Pay US withholding during the year and at filing time request that IRS return the amount of tax withheld proportional to Canadian work days/hours. Which is most likely going to be most of the withheld taxes. Problem with this is I will potentially have to pay tax installments to Canada out of my pocket during the year.

We are still waiting to hear from the IRS on this issue but the question seems to be a difficult one as I haven't found very much information on this online.
I was hoping that someone had experienced a similar situation but it seems that most folks work 100% of the time in Canada and don't bother with the TN or have a corporation in there name in Canada.

Thanks for your comments AtlantaTaxExpert !

Since money is being withheld from your salary, you WILL have to file a U.S. tax return to get most of the money back, as you inferred above.

However, what about the FICA (Social Security and Medicare) tax withholding?