Snowbirds: counting your days in the US
Canadian snowbirds watch three counts: the time US border officers allow a visitor — usually 6 months — the IRS substantial presence test, which about 122 days in the US every year meets, and your province’s limit on time away for health coverage.
Substantial presence test calculator
Count every day you were in the US for any part of it, leaving out the days that don’t count (below). Exempt individuals, such as students on an F or J visa, leave out those years’ days.
Staying in the US as a visitor
Canadian visitors can usually stay in the US for 6 months without a visa, and you declare how long you intend to stay when you enter. To stay longer, you apply to USCIS for an extension before your authorized stay ends. If a border officer suspects you spend more time in the US than in Canada, it’s up to you to show you’re a temporary visitor, not a US resident.
The substantial presence test
Days in the US can make you a US resident for tax, even as a visitor. You meet the IRS substantial presence test with at least 31 days this year and 183 weighted days over three years — all of this year’s days, a third of last year’s and a sixth of the year before’s. Any part of a day in the US counts.
For a snowbird, that’s about 122 days a year. Spend 122 days in the US every year and the total is 122 + 40.67 + 20.33 = 183 — the test is met. At 121 days a year it’s 181.5, just under.
Meeting the test while staying under 183 days in the year, you can still be treated as a nonresident through the closer connection exception: a tax home in Canada all year, a closer connection to Canada than to the US, no steps toward a green card — claimed on Form 8840, filed on time.
Your province’s health coverage
Each province limits how long you can be away and keep your health coverage:
| Province | What its government says |
|---|---|
| Ontario (OHIP) | Away more than 7 months in any 12 months? You can keep OHIP for up to 2 years if Ontario is your primary home and you were in Ontario at least 153 days in each of the two 12-month periods before you leave. |
| British Columbia (MSP) | Residents are physically present at least 6 months in a calendar year; for vacation, a total absence of up to 7 months in a calendar year is allowed. |
| Alberta (AHCIP) | Contact AHCIP if you’re away more than 6 months in total in a year. |
For another province, check its health insurance plan’s rules before you go.
How FlySee counts it
FlySee doesn’t have a snowbird tracker yet. Its Log records every day you’re in the US and in Canada — any part of a day is a day, as the substantial presence test counts it — and its export lists your days by country for each year. The calculator above is the IRS formula: it weighs the days you type in.