1,423 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
Selling your former home after moving to Florida explained: the federal home sale exclusion still applies if you meet the two-of-five-year test, but your former state taxes the gain as nonresident source income and many collect estimated tax at closing — New York's IT-2663, New Jersey's GIT/REP, California's withholding.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Spousal RRSPs after a move to the U.S. explained: the three-year attribution rule, the exception when either spouse is a non-resident, how withdrawals are taxed in Canada (Part XIII) and the U.S., and using a spousal RRSP to equalize income in the years after the move.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Social Security number versus ITIN explained for Canadians moving to the U.S.: who can get an SSN (work-authorized visa holders and green card holders), who needs an ITIN instead (non-working spouses and dependants), when each is needed, and switching from an ITIN to an SSN.
Read more →October 1, 2026
State tax on pensions after moving to Florida explained: the federal law (4 U.S.C. 114) that bars your former state from taxing a nonresident's retirement income — qualified plans, IRAs, government pensions, and certain deferred compensation paid over ten years — and what it doesn't protect.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Stock options, RSUs, and deferred compensation after moving to Florida explained: how states allocate equity compensation by workdays between grant and vesting, why your former state taxes part of options exercised after the move, the deferred compensation rules, and the records to keep.
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
Subpart F income explained: the passive and related-party income a controlled foreign corporation's U.S. shareholders must include currently, foreign personal holding company income, the high-tax exception, and why the investment portfolio inside a Canadian corporation is the usual source.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The substantial presence test explained: the 31-day and 183-day weighted formula, the days that don't count, worked examples for Canadian snowbirds, the closer connection exception, and the treaty tie-breaker that applies when the exception can't.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The TFSA for non-residents explained: you can keep it and Canada won't tax its income, but no new room accrues, contributions while non-resident cost 1 percent a month, and the United States doesn't recognize it — so most people moving to the U.S. close it before they go.
Read more →October 1, 2026
TN status taxes explained for Canadians: TN workers usually become U.S. tax residents under the substantial presence test, taxed on worldwide income from their residency start date — plus the dual-status first year, the Canadian departure, FBAR on Canadian accounts, and state tax where you work.
Read more →October 1, 2026
The Canada–U.S. Totalization Agreement explained: which country's social security covers a worker who works in both, the five-year detached worker rule, the certificate of coverage, self-employed people, and how credits from both countries combine for benefits.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Trusts and state income tax after moving to Florida explained: how states tax trusts based on the grantor's residence when the trust was created, the trustee's location, or the beneficiaries' residence — New York's exempt resident trust, California's fiduciary and beneficiary rules — and how to move a trust's tax home.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Canada's underused housing tax explained: the 1 percent tax on vacant or underused residential property owned by non-resident, non-Canadian owners, its elimination for 2025 and later years (Bill C-15, Royal Assent March 26, 2026), and the 2022–2024 returns, exemptions, and penalties that still apply.
Read more →October 1, 2026
What a U.S. citizen living in Canada files every year: the U.S. return on worldwide income, the foreign tax credit, the FBAR and Form 8938, the forms triggered by Canadian accounts and companies (8621, 5471, 3520), the June 15 automatic extension, and the Canadian return alongside.
Read more →October 1, 2026
A U.S. business selling to Canadian customers meets Canada's consumption tax before its income tax: GST/HST registration (including the simplified regime for digital sales to consumers), Regulation 105 withholding when its people perform services in Canada, and — only if it has a Canadian permanent establishment — Canadian income tax on the profits. Here is each, the Canadian treaty-based return, and the provincial sales taxes that sit alongside.
Read more →October 1, 2026
U.S. estate tax for Canadians explained: which U.S. property is taxed at death (real estate, U.S. stocks), the US$60,000 filing threshold, the treaty's prorated unified credit and marital credit, Form 706-NA, and the Canadian deemed disposition alongside.
Read more →October 1, 2026
U.S. Social Security paid to Canadian residents explained: the treaty makes it taxable only in Canada, with 15 percent of it exempt; no U.S. withholding with the right form; the special rule for long-time recipients; and how U.S. citizens in Canada report it on both returns.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Virginia residency when moving to Florida explained: domicile and the 183-day actual resident rule, the part-year return, Virginia-source income after the move, and why Virginia has no estate tax.
Read more →October 1, 2026
A controlled foreign corporation explained: the more-than-50-percent test, who counts as a U.S. shareholder, the attribution rules that pull family members in, what CFC status triggers (Form 5471, subpart F, GILTI), and how Canadian corporations owned by Americans become CFCs.
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 →October 1, 2026
What taxes Florida residents pay explained: no personal income, estate, or inheritance tax — but a 6 percent sales tax plus county surtax, property taxes (with the homestead exemption for residents), documentary stamps on real estate and loans, and corporate income tax on C corporations.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Why Canadians moving to the U.S. choose Florida, explained through state tax: no personal income tax, no estate or inheritance tax, and how that compares with New York, California, and other popular states — plus the costs that offset it (property tax, insurance) and how the Canadian departure works regardless.
Read more →September 30, 2026
Canadians buy Florida businesses — a franchise, a service company, a motel, a restaurant — often as part of an E-2 treaty investor visa plan. The purchase has to work for the visa, the entity has to work for both countries' tax systems (the LLC that suits an American buyer usually doesn't suit a Canadian), and the profits have to reach the Canadian owner without being taxed twice. Here is the purchase structure, the entity choice, the U.S. and Florida taxes on the business, and the Canadian side for an owner who keeps Canadian residency or gives it up.
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.
