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.
September 13, 2026
Joint tenancy avoids probate, which is why families use it — and why it quietly creates gift tax, estate tax inclusion, deemed dispositions, and ownership disputes when the owners span the border. Here is what JTWROS actually does in each tax system, the contribution rule that surprises everyone, and when joint title costs more than the probate it saves.
Read more →September 13, 2026
A US-citizen child's investment income above a small threshold is taxed at the parent's US rate — even if the child lives in Canada and Canada attributes the same income to a parent. Here is how Form 8615 works when the family is cross-border, what happens when the parent is not a US person, and how the kiddie tax interacts with TOSI and attribution.
Read more →September 13, 2026
Life insurance is tax-favored in both countries — but each country only respects its own definition. A US person paying premiums to a Canadian insurer owes a 1% federal excise tax on each premium, and a Canadian policy that fails the section 7702 tests loses its US income tax shelter on the inside buildup. Here is the map for policies that cross the border in either direction.
Read more →September 13, 2026
The unlimited marital deduction — the rule that lets everything pass to a spouse estate-tax-free — is denied when the surviving spouse is not a US citizen, unless the property passes to a qualified domestic trust. Here is what a QDOT requires, the tax it defers rather than forgives, the hardship exception, and why Canadian couples often use the treaty's marital credit instead.
Read more →September 13, 2026
When an RRSP or RRIF annuitant dies, Canada wants tax on the full value — on the final return, or from the beneficiary. If the beneficiary is a US person, add withholding on cross-border payments, US income tax on the distribution, and treaty mechanics to stop the same dollars being taxed twice. Here is the sequence for spouses and for children on both sides of the border.
Read more →September 13, 2026
A spousal trust lets a Canadian estate defer the deemed disposition until the surviving spouse dies — control for the family, rollover for the CRA. When one spouse is a US person, the same trust is a foreign trust on the American side, with Forms 3520 and 3520-A, throwback risk, and a marital-deduction question. Here is how to design one that works in both systems.
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 13, 2026
A snowbird who met the substantial presence test in past years and never filed anything is a US resident for those years, but qualifies for neither streamlined track: not abroad enough for SFOP, no filed returns for SDOP. The route is usually a treaty tie-breaker position on late 1040-NRs with Form 8833, plus delinquent FBARs. Here is how it works and when it does not.
Read more →September 13, 2026
A married streamlined submission has rules for both spouses: both must meet the track's residency test, both sign the certification, and the returns are joint or separate depending on whether the other spouse is a US person. Here is how couples file, what changes when one spouse is Canadian only, and the FBAR rules for joint accounts.
Read more →September 13, 2026
The cost of a streamlined submission is driven by the number of returns and the forms each year requires, not by the tax. Three returns with a TFSA, a corporation, and Canadian mutual funds cost several times three plain returns. Here is what drives the fee, what the tax and interest look like, and how the 5% domestic penalty compares. Fairlight's pricing is published; this explains the ranges.
Read more →September 13, 2026
A retired US person in Canada catching up through streamlined reports four kinds of Canadian retirement income differently: CPP and OAS (taxable only in Canada under the treaty), an employer pension (taxable in both with a credit), RRIF withdrawals (pension income with basis recovery), and any TFSA the retiree opened. Here is each, with the treaty positions and the forms.
Read more →September 13, 2026
A self-employed US person in Canada catching up through streamlined reports the business on Schedule C with the foreign tax credit and claims the totalization exemption from self-employment tax. A US person who runs the business through a Canadian corporation has a CFC: Form 5471 with schedules for each covered year, Subpart F and GILTI analysis, and often a section 962 election. Here is both cases.
Read more →September 13, 2026
Since 2016, most testamentary trusts pay Canada's top rate from dollar one — the graduated-rate era survives only in the 36-month graduated rate estate and the qualified disability trust. Here is how the GRE window works, what a QDT requires, and how a will-created trust reads on the US side when a beneficiary or the deceased was a US person.
Read more →September 13, 2026
Naming the responsible sibling in Seattle as trustee of the family trust feels natural and can be a structural mistake: Canada locates a trust where its central management and control happens, and the US applies its own court and control tests. One US trustee can trigger a Canadian departure tax for the trust, US filings, or both. Here is how the two residence tests work and how to appoint safely.
Read more →September 7, 2026
If you rent your Florida condo for fewer than 15 days a year, the US excludes the rent from income entirely. Canada does not have the rule, so the same rent is taxable on your Canadian return. Here is how the exclusion works, what it does to Airbnb withholding, and what happens at day 15.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Short-term rental platforms withhold 30% of payouts to non-US hosts without the right form on file. Here is what triggers it, why W-8BEN does not stop it for rental income, how W-8ECI does, the Form 1042-S you receive, and how to recover withholding from prior years.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The four ways a Canadian can hold Florida property, scored on income tax, estate tax, probate, liability, personal use, and compliance cost. Personal ownership in a revocable trust wins for most; the LLC loses for a Canadian resident; the Canadian company and the irrevocable trust are for specific estate tax problems.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Filing from this year forward without addressing the past is a 'quiet disclosure.' It leaves every unfiled year open, forfeits the streamlined program's penalty protection, and gives the IRS a current-year return to compare against the years that are missing. Here is why the IRS discourages it, when it is nonetheless the right answer, and what the alternatives cost.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The holding structure for a Canadian's US vacation rental decides the income tax, the estate tax, the probate, and the cost of getting out. Here are the four options compared on each dimension, and why personal ownership (or a revocable trust) wins for most Canadians and an LLC almost never does.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A short-term rental differs from a long-term one in the personal-use rules, the character of the income, Florida's transient taxes and licensing, the platform's withholding mechanics, and the 14-day exclusion. Here is what changes and what stays the same for a Canadian host.
Read more →September 7, 2026
US depreciation on a rental reduces basis and is taxed on sale as unrecaptured section 1250 gain at up to 25%, whether or not you claimed it. Here is how recapture works, the allowed-or-allowable rule that catches owners who skipped depreciation, how FIRPTA interacts, and what Canada does with its own CCA.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A snowbird who rents the Florida condo out when not using it has a US rental (or the 14-day exclusion), a personal-use allocation, platform withholding, Florida transient taxes, a Canadian rental return, and a day count that may already be a residency problem. Here is the whole picture in one place.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A child born in Canada to a US citizen parent who meets the physical presence requirements is a US citizen at birth, whether or not the birth is registered. Here is how citizenship is acquired, what it means for the child's tax obligations, the accounts to avoid, and the choices the family has.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Business travelers crossing the Canada-US border for meetings, projects, or short assignments trigger tax obligations based on the treaty's $10,000 and 183-day thresholds, employer withholding rules, and the permanent establishment question. Here is where the lines are.
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.
