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 7, 2026
Can an American living in Canada contribute to an IRA or Roth IRA? Yes, if there is taxable compensation not excluded by the FEIE. But the Roth election under the treaty is lost by contributions made as a Canadian resident, and the RRSP is usually the better vehicle.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How the IRS and CRA penalize late filing and late payment, and, more importantly for cross-border filers, the penalties on information returns (FBAR, Forms 3520, 5471, 8938, T1135) that apply even when no tax is owed and can exceed the tax by multiples.
Read more →September 7, 2026
By default the US taxes a non-resident's rental income at 30% of gross rent, with no deductions, through withholding. The section 871(d) election replaces that with tax on net income at graduated rates. Here is how the election works, how to make it, what it requires every year after, and how to recover withholding from before you made it.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How a Canadian on a J-1 visa (research scholar, trainee, intern, teacher, camp counsellor, summer work travel) is taxed in the US and Canada: exempt individual status, the 1040-NR, FICA exemption, and why most J-1 Canadians remain Canadian tax residents throughout.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Joint accounts between spouses, or with a parent or child, create reporting obligations on both sides. The US person reports the full balance on the FBAR; Canada attributes income to whoever funded the account; and at death, the US estate rules on joint property can include the full value in the wrong estate.
Read more →September 7, 2026
You can keep your Canadian bank accounts after moving to the US, and usually should. Here is what happens to each account type, what Canadian institutions will and will not do for a US resident, and the reporting you take on.
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
How EI maternity and parental benefits and QPIP are taxed when a parent moves to the US during leave, how US state paid family leave is taxed for a Canadian resident, and the eligibility rules that decide whether the benefits continue at all.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How medical expenses work in Canada (a credit above a 3% threshold) and the US (an itemized deduction above 7.5% of AGI), whether expenses paid in the other country qualify, and how cross-border families with private insurance, US treatment, or Canadian premiums handle both.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Mortgage interest on a principal residence is not deductible in Canada but is deductible in the US up to $750,000 of acquisition debt. Here is what that means for an American in Canada, a Canadian in the US, and the rental property that gets the deduction in both.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A US resident returning to Canada with a Florida home faces a choice with a clock on it: sell as a US resident and use the Section 121 exclusion, or keep it and face US non-resident rental rules, FIRPTA, and a Canadian gain measured from the arrival-date value. Here is the timing math.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Moving expenses are no longer deductible in the US except for the military, and in Canada only for moves within Canada. A cross-border move gets no deduction on either side, and employer reimbursements are taxable in the US but not in Canada. Here is the detail.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Form 14653 (or 14654) is the heart of a streamlined submission. The IRS reads the narrative and rejects certifications that are generic, inconsistent with the returns, or that describe willful conduct. Here is what a certification must contain, the facts that support non-willfulness, the facts that undermine it, and how to structure the narrative.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How non-residents claim treaty benefits on Canadian-source income using NR301 (and NR302 and NR303 for partnerships and hybrids), which income types it covers, how long it is valid, and how to recover over-withheld tax when it was not on file.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Old Age Security is subject to a recovery tax ('clawback') above an income threshold. For non-residents, the CRA collects it through the Old Age Security Return of Income, but the Canada-US treaty makes OAS taxable only in the US, so US residents are exempt. Here is how it works for cross-border retirees.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Canada allows couples to split up to 50% of eligible pension income, but only if both spouses are Canadian residents at year-end. Here is what happens to the election in the departure year, what the US offers instead, and how a couple with one spouse in each country is treated.
Read more →September 7, 2026
What to do in the twelve months before moving between Canada and the US: the accounts to close, the corporation to wind up, the gains to realize, the elections to prepare, and the dates to set, laid out in the order they have to happen, for both directions.
Read more →September 7, 2026
What happens to your provincial health coverage when you leave Canada: when it ends by province, what counts as a permanent departure, the temporary-absence rules for people who have not yet moved, and how to bridge to US coverage without a gap.
Read more →September 7, 2026
An employee living in one country and working remotely for an employer in the other creates tax obligations for both: sourcing of wages to where the work is done, payroll registration for the employer, permanent establishment risk, state tax, and, in the US direction, a work authorization question that tax advice usually skips.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Renouncing Canadian citizenship has no direct Canadian tax consequence, because Canada taxes residence, not citizenship. Here is what actually determines your Canadian tax obligations, the citizenship prong of the treaty tie-breaker where it can matter, and the immigration and benefit consequences to weigh.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Renouncing US citizenship ends the annual US filing obligation, but for a covered expatriate it triggers a deemed sale of worldwide assets, immediate tax on deferred compensation and retirement accounts, and a tax on future gifts to US persons. Here is how the tests work, what is taxed, and how Americans in Canada plan the exit.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A Canadian resident reports US short-term rental income on the Canadian return in Canadian dollars: as rental income on T776, or as business income on T2125 if the activity provides substantial services. Here is which form, which exchange rate, what expenses Canada allows, how the foreign tax credit works, and the T1135.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How educational assistance payments from an RESP are taxed when the beneficiary studies in the US or has become a US resident, why the CESG must be repaid for a non-resident beneficiary, and how a US-person subscriber or beneficiary reports the plan and its distributions.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How royalties and IP income are taxed between Canada and the US: Article XII's exemption for copyright, software, and patent royalties, the 10% rate on the rest, the withholding forms, and the treatment of authors, musicians, software licensors, and companies holding IP on the other side.
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.
