Calgary to Atlanta: Energy to Corporate HQ, and Georgia's Falling Flat Tax

Atlanta is a headquarters city: Delta, Home Depot, Coca-Cola, UPS, and a fintech cluster that processes most of the country's card transactions. Calgary's energy sector produces the finance, engineering, and project management talent those companies hire. The tax picture is a clean cut: Alberta's combined top rate of about 48% becomes about 42% in Georgia, with no city income tax anywhere in the state.

Key takeaways

• Alberta's roughly 48% top rate sets the departure tax. On a $300,000 unrealized gain, about $72,000.
• Georgia's flat income tax is 4.99% for 2026, down from 5.19% in 2025. No city income tax.
• Georgia starts from federal AGI, so the treaty's RRSP deferral flows through.
• Alberta's 5% GST becomes 8.9% sales tax in the City of Atlanta.
• No Georgia estate tax. AHCIP ends on permanent departure.

The Alberta departure

Departure tax applies to non-registered investments, private company shares, crypto, and foreign property at fair market value on the departure date. Alberta real estate, RRSPs, TFSAs, and pensions are excluded. Report on Form T1243, list holdings on Form T1161 if the total exceeds $25,000, and post security under Form T1244 for illiquid assets. A Calgary professional or holding corporation is deemed sold, loses CCPC status, and becomes a US controlled foreign corporation with Form 5471 filings; wind it up before you go.

Atlanta's side

• State income tax. Flat rate, stepping down each year under Georgia's rate-reduction schedule. Capital gains taxed at the flat rate.
• City income tax. None anywhere in Georgia.
• Sales tax. 4% state plus local; 8.9% inside the City of Atlanta, 7% to 7.75% in most suburbs.
• Property tax. Effective rates near 1% in Fulton and Cobb Counties; homestead exemptions vary by county and some carry assessment freezes.
• Estate tax. None.

The RRSP in Georgia

Federally deferred under Article XVIII of the treaty and deferred for Georgia because the state starts from federal AGI. Withdrawals face 25% Canadian withholding on lump sums, 15% on periodic RRIF payments within the treaty limit, a US foreign tax credit federally, and Georgia's flat rate. Georgia also exempts a portion of retirement income for taxpayers 62 and older, which can cover RRIF income.

Who makes this move

Calgary finance and treasury professionals to Atlanta's Fortune 500 headquarters, energy-sector engineers to the region's logistics and infrastructure firms, Alberta fintech staff to Atlanta's payments cluster, and a growing stream to the film production industry at Trilith and the surrounding studios.

Worked example

A Calgary finance manager moves to Atlanta on June 30 with $200,000 of unrealized gain in a non-registered account, $450,000 in an RRSP, and a Calgary home sold in the departure year.

• Departure tax. $200,000 gain, $100,000 taxable, at about 48%: roughly $48,000.
• Home. Sold as a resident under the principal residence exemption.
• RRSP. No tax on departure; federal and Georgia deferral.
• Atlanta. Combined top rate about 42%. GST 5% becomes sales tax 8.9% in the city, 7.75% in Cobb County.

Official sources

"When you leave Canada, you are considered to have sold certain types of property (even if you have not sold them) at their fair market value (FMV) and to have immediately reacquired them for the same amount. This is called a deemed disposition and you may have to report a capital gain (also known as departure tax)." — Canada Revenue Agency, Leaving Canada (emigrants), https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/leaving-canada-emigrants.html

The Georgia income tax rate has been reduced to a flat rate of 4.99%. — Georgia Department of Revenue, Important Tax Updates, https://dor.georgia.gov/taxes/important-tax-updates

Alberta's top personal income tax bracket: "15%" on "$362,961.01 and up" (2025). — Government of Alberta, Personal income tax, https://www.alberta.ca/personal-income-tax

Practitioner note

Georgia's flat rate changes every January under its reduction schedule, and the relocation packages we see are often built on last year's number. We confirm the current rate before modelling the move.

See also: Weighing Florida instead? See the Canada-to-Florida guide, or the same city's Calgary to Miami guide.

Next step

Fairlight prepares the Alberta departure return, the corporate wind-up, and the first-year federal and Georgia returns. See cross-border pricing or book a call.