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
Tax equalization keeps a relocated employee's tax burden at what it would have been at home, with the employer absorbing the difference. Here is how equalization and protection policies work between Canada and the US, what the hypothetical tax typically omits, and how to audit the year-end settlement.
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 →September 7, 2026
A tax residency certificate proves to a foreign tax authority that you are a resident of your country for treaty purposes. Americans get Form 6166 by filing Form 8802 with the IRS; Canadians get a certificate of residency from the CRA. Here is when each is needed, how to apply, and what they do and do not prove.
Read more →September 7, 2026
When a Canadian company and its US affiliate buy, sell, lend, license, or provide services to each other, both tax authorities require arm's-length prices. Here is what transfer pricing means for a small cross-border group, the documentation each country requires, the penalties, and the methods that work.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The streamlined procedures are framed around foreign financial assets, and a person whose only omission was a Canadian salary wonders if they belong. In practice, the salary was deposited in a Canadian account whose interest was also unreported, and that account puts the file in the program. Here is the eligibility language, the edge case with truly no foreign assets, and what to file in each.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A test-by-test walk through Article IV(2) of the Canada-US tax treaty: what counts as a permanent home, how the centre of vital interests is weighed, when habitual abode decides, the citizenship step, and competent authority. With the evidence each agency asks for and the fact patterns that go each way.
Read more →September 7, 2026
What a US citizen or resident faces when buying real estate in Canada: the federal foreign-buyer ban and its exemptions, the Ontario and BC non-resident transfer taxes, the Underused Housing Tax, Part XIII withholding on rent, Section 116 on sale, and the US side.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A Canadian who dies owning a Florida rental is subject to US estate tax on it above $60,000 under US law. The treaty prorates the full US exemption by the US share of the worldwide estate, which eliminates the tax for most Canadians, but only on a Form 706-NA filed within nine months. Here is the calculation, the marital credit, the mortgage, and the alternatives.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A Canadian who put a US rental into an LLC and lists it on Airbnb has a US disregarded entity earning rent and a Canadian foreign affiliate earning FAPI. Here is what the LLC does to the Canadian return, the Form 5472 the US now requires, the platform's W-9 and 1099-K, and how to unwind it.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The US tax deadlines that apply to Americans living in Canada: the automatic two-month extension to June 15, the further extension to October 15, the FBAR's own calendar, the information-return due dates, and the estimated payment schedule. With the Canadian deadlines beside them.
Read more →September 7, 2026
When a Canadian corporation earns US-source income (royalties, service fees, dividends, interest), the US payer withholds 30% unless the corporation provides Form W-8BEN-E claiming treaty benefits. Here is how to complete it, which chapter 3 and chapter 4 statuses apply, the limitation-on-benefits certification, and what to do when it was not filed.
Read more →September 7, 2026
How a Canadian employee completes Form W-4 for a US employer: the special non-resident alien rules, the switch to the ordinary form when residency begins, treaty exemptions through Form 8233 rather than W-4, and the state withholding forms.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A streamlined submission produces no acknowledgment. The returns are processed, the statute of limitations starts, and the file is subject to ordinary examination selection like any other. Here is what to expect in the months after, what an examination of a streamlined year looks like, and the compliance that keeps the file quiet.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The complete list of situations that require a Canadian to file a US return: becoming a US resident under the substantial presence test or green card, US employment or business income, US real estate sales, and information returns; plus the optional filings that produce refunds.
Read more →September 7, 2026
The IRS does not 'accept' a streamlined submission; it processes it, and it rejects the penalty relief when the submission is incomplete, the certification is inadequate, the residency test is not met, or the facts show willfulness. Here are the seven ways submissions fail, in order of frequency, and the fix for each.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A year-end checklist for people who file in both countries: the December 31 items that cannot be done in January (residency days, RRIF conversion, TFSA and RESP moves, loss harvesting, foreign tax credit sequencing, NR6 for next year), the ones that can, and the ones that differ by direction of the move.
Read more →September 6, 2026
US alimony under post-2018 agreements is neither deductible nor taxable. Canada still lets the payer deduct and taxes the recipient. When support crosses the border, the treaty decides which rule wins, and the answer depends on which way the money flows.
Read more →September 6, 2026
Both countries have an alternative minimum tax. Canada rebuilt its version for 2024. Here is how each works, when cross-border filers get caught, and how the foreign tax credit interacts with each.
Read more →September 6, 2026
When you amend a cross-border return, the change on one side usually changes the other. A higher foreign tax credit on the US return means a lower claim on the Canadian one, and the IRS requires you to report foreign tax changes. Here is how the two amendment systems work together.
Read more →September 6, 2026
A US citizen living in Canada files US tax returns, FBARs, and Form 8938 every year. The foreign tax credit usually prevents double tax, but the compliance stack is real and the account traps are specific. Here is the full picture.
Read more →September 6, 2026
How the bona fide residence test works for the foreign earned income exclusion, what the IRS looks for, how it differs from the physical presence test, and why Americans in Canada usually skip the FEIE for the foreign tax credit anyway.
Read more →September 6, 2026
Taking the commuted value of a Canadian employer pension when leaving for the US creates tax in both countries if it is done wrong. The LIRA lock-in, the maximum transfer value, the treaty rate, and the RRSP election all interact.
Read more →September 6, 2026
When a Canadian sells US real estate, the buyer withholds 15% under FIRPTA, the IRS taxes the gain, and Canada taxes it too with a foreign tax credit. The gain is different in each country because of the exchange rate. Here is the full sequence.
Read more →September 6, 2026
Entity choice, state registration, the EIN, US tax filing, Canadian reporting, and the treaty and visa intersections for a Canadian launching or buying a US business. Start with the entity, because the wrong one costs double tax.
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