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 6, 2026
New Zealand taxes residents on worldwide income, has no general capital gains tax, exempts new migrants from tax on most foreign income for four years, and applies its own deemed-return regime to residents' foreign investments — including their U.S. funds. With a treaty but no Social Security agreement, how an American in New Zealand files.
Read more →October 5, 2026
Singapore's low personal tax, no capital gains tax, and startup scene draw Americans as employees and founders — and leave them with U.S. tax to pay because there's little to credit. No treaty, the exclusion on Singapore salary, founder shares and Form 5471, the Central Provident Fund, and local funds as PFICs.
Read more →October 4, 2026
Canadian family trusts explained: discretionary inter vivos trusts, estate freezes and multiplying the capital gains exemption, attribution and the tax on split income, the 21-year deemed disposition, T3 and beneficial ownership reporting, and U.S. beneficiaries or trustees.
Read more →October 4, 2026
Tax treatment of intellectual property: development costs and the research deduction, self-created versus purchased patents and copyrights, 15-year amortization of acquired intangibles, royalties as ordinary or business income, the capital gain rule for patent sales, licensing versus sale, Section 1253 for trademarks, and self-employment tax on royalties.
Read more →October 4, 2026
Partner buyouts: Section 736(a) and 736(b) payments, capital gain versus ordinary income, unrealized receivables and inventory under Section 751, the goodwill clause in the partnership agreement, a sale to remaining partners under Section 741, the Section 754 step-up, and installment payouts.
Read more →October 4, 2026
Tax rules for real estate developers and land subdividers: lots and homes held for sale as inventory producing ordinary income, capitalization of land, entitlement, infrastructure, interest, and property taxes during development under Section 263A, allocating common improvement costs across lots, the alternative cost method, dealer status and the loss of capital gain, installment sale, and 1031 treatment, the Section 1237 exception for investors, impact fees and permits, completed contract accounting for home construction, and Florida documentary stamp taxes.
Read more →October 4, 2026
The Section 83(b) election: restricted stock and vesting, tax at grant versus tax at vesting, the 30-day filing deadline, capital gain and holding period benefits, the QSBS clock, the risk of forfeiture, profits interests in an LLC, and Form 15620.
Read more →October 4, 2026
Tax-loss harvesting and the wash sale rule: offsetting capital gains, the $3,000 ordinary income limit, the 61-day window, substantially identical securities, IRA and spouse accounts, basis adjustment, and losses on business assets.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Canada's alternative minimum tax explained: the parallel calculation that limits tax benefits from capital gains, stock options, and certain deductions and credits, the changes effective in 2024 (higher rate and exemption, broader base), who it hits, and the seven-year carryforward.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Canada's capital gains inclusion rate explained: only a portion of a capital gain is taxed — currently one-half — how the proposed increase to two-thirds was announced in 2024 and cancelled in 2025, how the rate affects cross-border sales, and the comparison with U.S. capital gains rates.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Canada's lifetime capital gains exemption explained: the C$1,275,000 (2026) exemption on qualified small business corporation shares and farm or fishing property, the 24-month and 90 percent asset tests, the cumulative net investment loss trap, the AMT interaction, and why it matters before a move to the U.S.
Read more →October 1, 2026
Qualified dividends from Canadian corporations explained: why dividends from Canadian companies can be taxed at U.S. capital gains rates (the treaty-country rule), the holding period, when they don't qualify (PFICs), and how the 15 percent Canadian withholding is credited.
Read more →September 25, 2026
A consulting firm's value sits mostly in its people and relationships, and the tax code has a name for the part that belongs to the founder rather than the firm: personal goodwill. Structured well, a sale allocates that goodwill to the owner as a capital gain; structured badly in a C corporation, it is taxed twice. Partner buyouts, retirement payments to departing partners, and the transition of client relationships each have their own rules. Here is the exit map for a consultancy — internal succession, sale to a buyer, and the tax structure of each.
Read more →September 18, 2026
The rate comparison everyone wants is harder than a table of brackets: Canada stacks federal and provincial rates on the same base; the US stacks federal and state rates with different deductions, filing statuses, and payroll taxes; and the two countries treat capital gains, dividends, and healthcare completely differently. Here is the comparison done properly — combined marginal and effective rates at real incomes, by province and state, with the payroll and healthcare layers that change the answer.
Read more →September 18, 2026
A business owner moving to the US with a sale in view faces a timing decision worth six or seven figures: sell as a Canadian resident and use the lifetime capital gains exemption, or sell after the move and face departure tax on the shares, US tax on the gain, and a year or more inside the CFC regime. The clean answer is usually 'before' — unless the buyer, the deal structure, or the exemption's qualification tests say otherwise. Here is the analysis.
Read more →September 18, 2026
A cross-border short-term rental exits through more regimes than it entered: depreciation recapture in the country that allowed it, capital gains in both, FIRPTA or section 116 withholding for the non-resident seller, a possible GST/HST hit on a heavily rented Canadian property, and the lodging-tax and platform accounts that have to be closed properly. The order matters — several steps must precede the listing. Here is the exit checklist, both directions.
Read more →September 15, 2026
Real estate exposure through REITs swaps property-level tax problems for securities-level ones: US REIT distributions carry their own withholding quirks (return of capital, capital gain distributions, and rates that differ from ordinary dividends), Canadian REITs are presumptively PFICs for US persons, and the RRSP/TFSA/taxable location decision moves after-tax yield by whole percentage points. Here is the map.
Read more →September 14, 2026
Move to the US owning a Canadian company and the company changes twice without a single document: it stops being a Canadian-controlled private corporation (goodbye small business deduction and capital gains exemption) and becomes a controlled foreign corporation to the IRS (hello Form 5471 and GILTI). Here is what happens, what it costs, and the pre-departure moves that matter.
Read more →September 14, 2026
Capital gains on US stocks and ETFs sold by a Canadian resident are taxed by Canada alone: the US does not tax a nonresident's portfolio gains, no withholding applies to sale proceeds, and no US filing results from ordinary trading. The exceptions — real-estate-heavy companies and the 183-day trap — are narrow. Here is the clean rule and its edges.
Read more →September 14, 2026
US acquirers change the deal's tax texture: they push for assets or step-up structures while your lifetime capital gains exemption wants a share sale; earnouts, escrows, and rollover equity each carry two-country treatment; and the closing mechanics add withholding questions. Here is the seller-side map for the exit that crosses the border.
Read more →September 14, 2026
When a Canadian sells US real estate, the buyer must withhold 15% of the gross price under FIRPTA — a prepayment, not the tax. A withholding certificate can shrink it to the real liability, the 1040-NR settles the actual gain at capital gains rates, and Canada taxes the same sale with a credit. Here is the closing-table mechanics and the refund math.
Read more →September 13, 2026
When a Canadian trust distributes to a US-person beneficiary, the US wants a Form 3520 — and if the trust accumulated income in earlier years, the distribution can carry the throwback tax: prior years' rates, an interest charge compounding from those years, and no capital gains treatment. Here is how UNI builds, how the default and actual methods differ, and how trustees keep distributions clean.
Read more →September 7, 2026
Which exchange rate to use, when to use it, and where the CRA and IRS disagree. Transaction-date versus annual average rates, the currency layer on capital gains, and the foreign-currency gains on cash and debt that both countries tax.
Read more →September 7, 2026
A practical guide to converting T4, T4A, T3, T5, T5008, T4A(P), T4A(OAS), T4RSP, and NR4 slips into 1040 line items: where each type goes, which exchange rate to use, how Canadian dividends and capital gains are characterized, and the common mistakes.
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.
