Guides

Straight answers, written by the people who’d file it.

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.

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CROSS-BORDER A Canadian Corporation With a U.S. Shareholder

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1,407 guides

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Form T2091: Designating a Principal Residence

October 1, 2026

Form T2091 explained: how Canadians designate a principal residence when selling a home, the one-plus formula, choosing between a home and a cottage, the required reporting of every sale, the penalty for not designating, and what it means for a U.S. vacation property.

Small Business Tax

Michigan Residency When Moving to Florida

October 1, 2026

Michigan residency when moving to Florida explained: domicile and the 183-day rule, Michigan's city income taxes (Detroit and others), the part-year return, Michigan's principal residence exemption that must be rescinded, and no estate tax.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Selling a Canadian Home as a U.S. Citizen

October 1, 2026

Selling a Canadian home as a U.S. citizen explained: Canada's principal residence exemption doesn't stop U.S. tax, the U.S. exclusion is capped at US$250,000 or US$500,000, the currency effect on the gain, the mortgage currency gain trap, and the foreign tax credit.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Converting a Home to a Rental Across the Border: Canada's Deemed Disposition and Elections, America's Basis Rules, and the Conversions That Follow a Move

September 15, 2026

Turning a home into a rental is a tax event before it's a landlording one: Canada deems a disposition at fair market value with elections that can defer it and extend the principal residence years; the US resets the depreciation basis and starts the non-qualified-use and recapture clocks. Movers convert across two systems at once — and the election deadlines don't wait. Here is the conversion playbook.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Canada's Principal Residence Exemption vs America's Section 121 Exclusion: Two Home-Sale Shelters That Don't Match, and How Movers Coordinate Them

September 15, 2026

Canada exempts the designated principal residence's gain without dollar limit; the US excludes up to $250,000/$500,000 with ownership-and-use tests. For anyone who files in both systems — or moves between them — the mismatches decide real tax: unlimited vs capped, designation vs mechanical tests, and the timing windows that reward planned sales. Here is the side-by-side and the coordination playbook.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Property Flipping Rules in Canada and the US: the 365-Day Deemed Business Income Rule, the Dealer Doctrine, and Where Cross-Border Flippers Get Taxed Twice at Full Rates

September 15, 2026

Canada now deems profit on housing sold within 365 days to be fully-taxed business income — no capital treatment, no principal residence exemption — while the US reaches the same result through its dealer-versus-investor doctrine and holds short gains at ordinary rates anyway. Flip across the border and both systems' full-rate regimes meet the same profit. Here is the map, the exceptions, and the intention evidence that decides the close cases.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Selling Your Canadian Home After Moving to the US: the Principal Residence Exemption, Section 116, and the 25% the Buyer Holds Back

September 14, 2026

Sell before you leave and the principal residence exemption usually makes the gain tax-free with no process. Sell after, and you are a non-resident vendor: the exemption still covers your resident years, but section 116 clearance applies, the buyer withholds 25% until the CRA certificate arrives, and the US may tax its share. Here is the before/after comparison and the clearance process.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Mortgage Interest Across the Border: Not Deductible in Canada, Deductible in the US, and the Rental Exception That Works in Both

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.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Selling Your Home After Crossing the Border: The Principal Residence Exemption, Section 121, and the Gap Between Them

September 7, 2026

How the Canadian principal residence exemption and the US Section 121 exclusion interact when you sell a home after moving across the border. Each has its own test, and a home can qualify under one, both, or neither.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Capital Gains Tax in Canada and the US: Inclusion Rates, Preferential Rates, and What Changes at the Border

September 6, 2026

How capital gains are taxed in Canada versus the United States: inclusion rates, holding periods, the principal residence and section 121 exclusions, treatment at death, and the cross-border complications when you owe tax in both countries.

Cross-Border Tax (U.S.–Canada)

Selling Canadian Property as a Non-Resident: Section 116, the Clearance Certificate, and the 25% Holdback

July 29, 2026

Sell Canadian real estate after moving to the U.S. and the buyer's lawyer will hold back a chunk of your proceeds until the CRA issues a Section 116 clearance certificate. How the certificate process works, the T2062 filing, what happens to your former principal residence, and the U.S. return that reports the same sale.

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