Canadian Snowbirds and the 182-Day Rule: US Stays, Form 8840 and Provincial Health Limits

A winter in the US runs three separate counts: how long border officers let you stay, the IRS Substantial Presence Test, and your province's health-coverage absence limit. Here are the numbers for each, and the calendar traps between them.

Last verified: September 2026

In short: Canadian visitors are usually admitted to the US for up to 6 months, at the border officer's discretion. For US tax, 121 days or fewer every year keeps you under the Substantial Presence Test. Above that you probably meet it, and you stay a nonresident only by filing Form 8840, usually by 15 June of the next year, which is possible only if you spent fewer than 183 days in the US that year. Your province sets its own limit, from 153 days in Ontario in any 12 months to fewer than 183 days away per calendar year in Québec.

US visitor stay: Usually up to 6 months per admission, decided by the officer at entry
US tax test: At least 31 days this year and 183 weighted days: this year, plus one third of last year and one sixth of the year before
Form 8840: Claims the closer connection exception; only open with fewer than 183 US days in the year
US registration: Stays of 30 days or longer without an I-94 must register, with Form G-325R since 11 April 2025
Provincial health: Set by each province, on a rolling 12-month or calendar-year window (see below)
Legal basis: Internal Revenue Code section 7701(b); Treasury Regulation 301.7701(b)-2; Immigration and Nationality Act section 262; provincial health insurance rules

Three counts, three different windows

The numbers snowbirds trade (six months, 182 days, 183 days) belong to different rules run by different governments, and each one measures time its own way:

US immigration looks at each admission and at your overall pattern of visits.
US tax counts days per calendar year and weights the two years before.
Provincial health coverage uses a rolling 12 months in Ontario and Alberta and the calendar year in British Columbia and Québec.

A single winter straddles two calendar years. A stay from 1 November 2025 to 30 April 2026 is 181 days, but the IRS sees 61 of them in 2025 and 120 in 2026. A rolling-window province sees all 181 together.

How long Canadians can stay in the US

Canadian citizens generally do not need a visa to visit the US. The Government of Canada's travel advice says Canadian visitors can usually stay for 6 months, that you must declare how long you intend to stay when you enter, and that staying longer than 6 months requires an extension from US Citizenship and Immigration Services, applied for before your authorized stay ends.

There is no set waiting period before you can re-enter after a stay. But if a border officer suspects you spend more time in the US than in Canada, it is up to you to show that you are a temporary visitor and not a US resident.

The "182-day rule" snowbirds quote is not a number the Canadian government gives for US visitor stays; it describes the stay as 6 months. The 182 mostly comes from the tax side: the closer connection exception below closes at 183 US days in a year, so 182 is the most you can spend and still use it.

The IRS Substantial Presence Test

You are a US resident for tax purposes in a year if you were physically present in the US on at least 31 days that year and on at least 183 days over three years, counted as all of this year's days, one third of last year's and one sixth of the year before. Any part of a day in the US counts as a day. Full detail is in the Substantial Presence Test guide.

150 days every winter. You spend 150 days in the US in each of 2024, 2025 and 2026. For 2026 the count is 150 + 50 (one third of 150) + 25 (one sixth of 150) = 225 days, above 183. You meet the test for 2026. Because 150 is fewer than 183, you can still claim the closer connection exception with Form 8840.

The steady-state line. At the same number of days every year, the weighted total is 1.5 times the annual figure. 121 days a year gives 121 + 40.33 + 20.17 = 181.5, under the test. 122 days a year gives exactly 183, which meets it.

If you qualify and file Form 8840 in time, you are treated as a nonresident even though you met the test. Missing the filing is what turns a routine winter into a residency question.

Form 8840: the closer connection exception

Form 8840 tells the IRS that, although you met the Substantial Presence Test, you had a closer connection to Canada than to the US. You can claim it for a year only if all of these apply:

you were in the US on fewer than 183 days in that calendar year;
your tax home was in Canada for the whole year, and you had a closer connection to Canada than to the US;
you are not a green card holder, and you have not applied for or taken other steps toward a green card.

File one Form 8840 per person. Spouses each file their own.
If you file a US return (Form 1040-NR), attach Form 8840 to it.
If you do not have to file a US return, mail Form 8840 to the Department of the Treasury, Internal Revenue Service Center, Austin, TX 73301-0215.
Send it by the Form 1040-NR due date. For someone with no US wages that is 15 June of the following year, so the 2026 form is due by 15 June 2027.

If you do not file on time, you cannot claim the exception and may be treated as a US resident, unless you can show by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable steps to learn about and comply with the filing requirement.

183 days or more: the treaty tie-breaker

At 183 US days in a single year, Form 8840 is no longer available. A person who is resident under the tax laws of both countries can still claim residence in Canada under the tie-breaker rule in the Canada–US tax treaty, by filing Form 1040-NR with Form 8833 attached. You are then treated as a nonresident for figuring your US income tax, but as a US resident for other purposes. It is a position taken on a filed US return, not a standalone statement like Form 8840.

US registration for stays of 30 days or more

Foreign nationals aged 14 or older who stay in the US for 30 days or longer must be registered with the US government, and must apply before those 30 days run out. The duty is long-standing, but since 11 April 2025 DHS has provided a general registration form, Form G-325R, for people who were never registered. An I-94 arrival record, paper or electronic, already counts as registration. USCIS names Canadian visitors who entered at a land border and were not issued an I-94 as people who are not registered.

If you drove across without an I-94, register online with Form G-325R through a USCIS account. USCIS says Canadian visitors do not need to attend a biometrics appointment.
If you flew in, check the CBP I-94 website for your record.
Registrants aged 18 or older must carry their proof of registration.

Failing to register can lead to fines and misdemeanor prosecution. DHS made the rule final on 29 June 2026, and as of September 2026 the requirement is in force.

Provincial health coverage limits

To keep public health coverage, you have to keep living in your province, and each province measures that with its own day count. These are the rules for the four largest provinces, as of September 2026:

Ontario (OHIP)

Rule: Be physically in Ontario at least 153 days, which leaves up to 212 days away. Away longer than 7 months: coverage can continue for up to 2 years if you spent at least 153 days in Ontario in each of the two 12-month periods before leaving and arrange it with ServiceOntario first.
Window: Any 12-month period
Official source: Ontario: OHIP eligibility

British Columbia (MSP)

Rule: Be physically present in B.C. at least 6 months. If you are away for vacation only, the total absence can be up to 7 months. Contact Health Insurance BC before an absence of 6 months or more.
Window: Calendar year
Official source: Health Insurance BC: MSP eligibility

Alberta (AHCIP)

Rule: Recurring vacation absences of up to 212 days may keep coverage; contact AHCIP before you leave and when you return. A stay outside Canada of less than 6 consecutive months keeps coverage.
Window: 12-month period
Official source: Alberta: absence from Alberta

Québec (RAMQ)

Rule: Be absent fewer than 183 days. Departure and return dates, and absences of 21 consecutive days or less, are not counted. Once every 7 years a longer absence is allowed if you inform RAMQ.
Window: Calendar year (1 January–31 December)
Official source: Québec: stays outside Québec

A winter plus a summer trip, in Ontario. You are away from 1 November to 30 April, 181 days. The 12 months from 1 November to 31 October then hold 184 days in Ontario, comfortably above 153. Add a six-week summer trip to Europe inside the same 12 months and that falls to about 142 days, below the minimum. A three-week trip leaves about 163. The margins are wide enough that how the travel days themselves are counted does not change either answer.

Calendar-year provinces split the same winter in two: a Québec snowbird's November and December count toward one year's 183-day limit, and January to April toward the next. Out of country, provincial plans pay only a fraction of US hospital costs (Ontario pays at most $400 a day for the highest levels of emergency inpatient care, B.C. $75 a day for emergency inpatient care), which is why travel medical insurance is a separate purchase.

Canadian tax residency usually continues

Wintering in the US does not by itself end Canadian tax residency. The Canada Revenue Agency treats you as a factual resident if you keep significant residential ties in Canada while travelling, and it names spending part of the year in the US on vacation as an example. See Canada's 183-day rule and residential ties for how that test works.

Beyond the day count

These counts decide status, not everything that follows from it. US states run their own residency rules, some with day tests of their own (see Arizona). For the visitor rules that apply to other nationalities, see the B-1/B-2 visitor guide.

AtlasDays counts your US days and your days away from Canada

Log each winter once. The US Substantial Presence Test preset weighs this year's US days with a third of last year's and a sixth of the year before, and a Custom Residence Permit Tracker counts your days away from Canada over a rolling 12 months or a calendar year to match your province's limit. Everything stays private on your iPhone. More than one tracker is part of AtlasDays Pro.

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FAQ

How long can a Canadian stay in the US?

Canadian visitors are usually admitted for up to 6 months, at the discretion of the US border officer. Staying longer needs an extension from USCIS before the authorized stay ends, and a pattern of spending more time in the US than in Canada can lead an officer to question whether you are still a visitor.

Do I need to file Form 8840 every year?

You need it for each year in which you meet the Substantial Presence Test and want to be treated as a nonresident. It is due with your Form 1040-NR, or by mail to the IRS in Austin by the 1040-NR due date, usually 15 June of the following year. It is only available if you were in the US on fewer than 183 days that year.

How many days can a snowbird spend in the US without meeting the Substantial Presence Test?

At the same number of days every year, 121 days keeps the weighted total at 181.5, under 183. At 122 days a year the total reaches exactly 183 and you meet the test, so you would need Form 8840 to stay a nonresident.

Do Canadian snowbirds have to register with US immigration?

Yes, if you are 14 or older, stay 30 days or longer and were not issued an I-94. Many Canadians who drive across at a land border fall into that group and register online with Form G-325R. An I-94, paper or electronic, already counts as registration.

Official sources

US visitor stays for Canadians are described in the Government of Canada's travel advice for the United States. The closer connection exception is set out on the IRS About Form 8840 page and in the Form 8840 instructions; the Substantial Presence Test, the 1040-NR due date and treaty tie-breakers are in IRS Publication 519. The registration duty is explained on the USCIS Alien Registration Requirement page. Provincial rules come from Ontario's OHIP eligibility and coverage outside Canada pages, British Columbia's MSP eligibility and leaving B.C. temporarily pages, Alberta's AHCIP absence page, Québec's stays outside Québec page and the Québec Ombudsman's guide for snowbirds. Canadian factual residence is described by the Canada Revenue Agency's factual residents temporarily outside Canada page.

About this article: AtlasDays provides general information, not legal, tax, or immigration advice. Rules change and outcomes depend on your circumstances, so never rely on it alone: check the linked official source or ask a qualified professional.