1,407 plain-English guides on cross-border moves, US and Canadian returns, and small-business money. Each one ends in what to do next, and says when a written Position Check is the smarter first step.
October 1, 2026
The dual-status return explained: how the year someone becomes or stops being a U.S. resident is split into resident and nonresident periods, the residency starting and ending dates, the limits (no standard deduction, no joint return), and the elections that replace it with a full-year return.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The U.S. expatriation tax explained: who is a covered expatriate (the net worth, tax liability, and certification tests), the mark-to-market exit tax on worldwide assets, the exclusion amount, deferred compensation and retirement accounts, Form 8854, and the special rules for dual citizens from birth.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The foreign earned income exclusion explained: how U.S. citizens in Canada exclude wages and self-employment income up to the annual limit, the bona fide residence and physical presence tests, the housing exclusion, and why the foreign tax credit is usually better in Canada.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Form 1116 explained: how individuals credit Canadian income tax against U.S. tax on the same income, the general and passive categories, the limitation formula, the carryback and carryforward, the re-sourcing rule under the treaty, and when the simplified election avoids the form.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Form 3520 explained: who files it, the three things it reports — transactions with foreign trusts, ownership of foreign trusts, and large gifts or bequests from foreign persons — the thresholds, the due date, and the penalties that make it one of the IRS's most enforced information returns.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Form 8833 explained: when a taxpayer must disclose a position that a tax treaty overrides U.S. law, the common Canada–U.S. positions (the residency tie-breaker, business profits without a permanent establishment, the basis election), the exceptions, and the US$1,000 and US$10,000 penalties.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Form 8938 explained: the FATCA statement of specified foreign financial assets, the higher thresholds for people living abroad, how it differs from the FBAR, what counts (accounts, foreign stocks, interests in foreign entities), and the US$10,000 penalty.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Green card holder tax obligations explained: a lawful permanent resident is a U.S. tax resident on worldwide income from the first day of residency until the status formally ends — even while living in Canada — plus FBAR and Form 8938, and the risk of using the treaty tie-breaker.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The IRS streamlined filing compliance procedures explained: who qualifies (non-willful conduct), the foreign offshore version for people living abroad with no penalty, the domestic version with a 5 percent penalty, what you file, and why it's the standard catch-up for U.S. citizens in Canada.
Read more →October 1, 2026
A passive foreign investment company explained: the income and asset tests, why Canadian mutual funds and ETFs are usually PFICs for Americans, the excess distribution regime, the QEF and mark-to-market elections, and Form 8621.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The FBAR explained: who files FinCEN Form 114, the US$10,000 aggregate threshold, which Canadian accounts count (RRSPs, TFSAs, joint and signature-authority accounts), the April 15 deadline with the automatic extension, and the penalties.
Read more →September 18, 2026
The foreign earned income exclusion has two doors, and the physical presence test is the mechanical one: 330 full days in a foreign country during any 12 consecutive months. The arithmetic is unforgiving — a day that touches the United States doesn't count, the 12-month window is yours to choose, and a move year usually qualifies only for a prorated exclusion. Here is how the days are counted, how the window is chosen, and when the test is the wrong door anyway.
Read more →September 17, 2026
Every streamlined submission rests on a signed certification that the failures were non-willful — negligence, inadvertence, mistake, or a good-faith misunderstanding of the law. The IRS asks for specific facts, not adjectives, and a narrative that argues rather than explains is the fastest way to lose the program's protection. Here is what the certification asks, how a credible one is built, and what to leave out.
Read more →September 17, 2026
The domestic streamlined track's 5% is not 5% of your tax, your income, or everything you own abroad. It is 5% of the highest aggregate year-end value, across the covered years, of the foreign financial assets that were not properly reported. Which assets enter the base, which years count, and how currency and closed accounts are handled decide the number. Here is the computation.
Read more →September 13, 2026
Which FBAR penalty applies depends on three questions: was the income reported, was the conduct willful, and has the IRS made contact. Here is the decision tree from those questions to the procedure (delinquent FBAR, streamlined, VDP, or examination) and to the penalty amount (none, per-report non-willful, or willful at 50%).
Read more →September 13, 2026
The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures are the same for an American in London, Dubai, Sydney, or Lisbon as for one in Toronto. What differs is the local account types that need US analysis (a UK ISA, Australian superannuation, a Portuguese NHR regime), whether the foreign tax credit or the FEIE wins, the totalization agreement (or its absence), and the treaty (or its absence). Here is the procedure applied beyond Canada.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The Delinquent International Information Return Submission Procedures are for taxpayers who reported all their income but missed a Form 5471, 3520, 8938, 8621, or similar. Here is what the procedure requires since the IRS's 2020 change, what it does and does not promise, and how it fits with the delinquent FBAR and streamlined routes.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How unused foreign tax credits carry forward ten years and back one year on Form 1116, why the basket rule strands credits, and how Americans in Canada accumulate credits they can use when they move to a low-tax state or country.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Late FBARs have their own procedure with no penalty, but only if all the income from the accounts was reported on the returns. If any income was missed, the FBARs go into a streamlined submission. Here is the line between the two, the Delinquent FBAR Submission Procedures, and what to do when the answer is 'mostly reported.'
Read more →September 7, 2026
The streamlined procedures have two tracks. The foreign track (SFOP) is for taxpayers living abroad and has no penalty. The domestic track (SDOP) is for taxpayers in the US, requires that returns were filed for the three years, and carries a 5% penalty. Here is how the IRS decides which one you are in, and the cases that fall between them.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures let a non-willful US taxpayer living abroad catch up on unfiled returns and FBARs with no penalties. Qualification turns on three things: non-residency under the IRS's own test, non-willfulness, and no current IRS examination. Here is each test and where Canadians fail them.
Read more →September 7, 2026
"'Tax home' is an IRS concept distinct from residence and domicile: the general area of your main place of business or employment. It determines eligibility for the foreign earned income exclusion, the deductibility of travel expenses, and the closer connection exception. Here is what it means for cross-border workers."
Read more →The content on this page is for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional tax, accounting, or legal advice. See our full legal disclaimer.
