Cross-Border Planning
Cross-Border Investment Handbook: executive summary
A quick guide for Americans moving to Canada with roughly $1M or more in investable assets: the key risks, the fixes and a timeline.
Articles
Plain-language articles on moving your money, your retirement accounts and your reporting obligations across the Canada–U.S. border. Every article carries the author’s credentials and a disclosure.
Cross-Border PlanningEditor’s pick
Top 10 cross-border wealth management tips
A practical guide to moving wealth across the border: the ten things that decide whether a move between Canada and the U.S. goes smoothly or costs you thousands.
Cross-Border Planning
Pre-Move Sprint: the 90 days before Canadian residency
How Americans moving to Canada minimize tax, avoid account freezes and prepare documents in the 90 days before residency.
Cross-Border Planning
Post-Move Action: your first 120 days in Canada
The first four months set the tone. Get accounts stable, filings on track and currency under control.
Cross-Border Planning
10 tips before moving to Canada
The earlier you start, the more tax and planning opportunities you keep. Ten things to do before you become a Canadian tax resident.
InvestmentsEditor’s pick
What to do with your 401(k) once you live in Canada
Many people still hold a 401(k) or 403(b) after relocating to Canada and are unsure of their options. There are four, and one of them is clearly better than the rest.
InvestmentsEditor’s pick
IRA to Canada: the four most common options
If you have an IRA and you’re moving to Canada, you may be wondering if and how you can bring it with you, and what tax or penalty would be involved. Here are the four most common routes.
Investments
IRA to Canada: a how-to guide to rollovers (works for 401(k)s too)
Been asked to find a new investment firm for your IRA or 401(k) because you live in Canada? What a rollover is, the 60-day rule, why you were asked to leave, and how it can be done without tax.
Investments
Transferring an IRA or 401(k) to an RRSP: is it a good idea?
It can be done, but it starts with cashing out and paying up to 30% withholding tax. Here is how the transaction works, when a CPA might recommend it, and the far simpler alternative.
Tax & Compliance
Keeping your Roth IRA as a Canadian resident
You can keep a Roth IRA tax free in Canada, but only if you stop contributing and file a one-time election by the deadline.
Tax & ComplianceEditor’s pick
PFIC rules and reporting: what U.S. persons in Canada need to know
Canadian mutual funds, ETFs and money market funds are PFICs in the eyes of the IRS. The problem is expensive to unwind and easy to avoid.
Tax & Compliance
Three things every U.S. citizen should know before living in Canada
Investment reporting, your U.S. retirement accounts and the FBAR: the three issues that cause the most surprises for Americans making the move north.
Investments
Americans living in Canada: U.S. retirement accounts and the “orphaned” client
Most U.S. broker-dealers are not registered to do business in Canada, so Canadian residents with an IRA, Roth or 401(k) are often asked to leave within 30 to 90 days. Here is what that means and the way out.
U.S. / Canada Regulations
Cross-border FAQs: 401(k)s, RRSPs, orphaned accounts and inheritances
The questions Americans in Canada and Canadians in the U.S. ask most often, answered briefly.
Cross-Border Planning
Moving to Canada from the U.S.? How a cross-border financial advisor helps you meet your investment goals
Eddie and Lisa built a life in Canada, then got 30 to 90 days’ notice from their U.S. advisor. Their story shows why most Americans in Canada need a differently licensed advisor.
Cross-Border Planning
Moving to the U.S. from Canada: how to manage your wealth across borders
Brian, a Canadian executive, smooth-sailed to New York, but his wealth didn’t. Two advisors, two firms and a costly currency conversion, until one cross-border plan replaced them.
Cross-Border Planning
Five things to know before moving from Canada to the U.S.
Start early, set up U.S. banking, understand the tax differences, get your investments in the right hands and apply for a Social Security number. The order matters.
Estate Planning
Inheriting an IRA or 401(k) from across the border
Canadian residents can be named beneficiaries of U.S. retirement accounts, and often are. Amanda’s case shows the nuances, and how the tax can be deferred for ten more years.
Industry Insights
What a cross-border advisor can do for you
Who dual-licensed advisors help, how they differ from an ordinary advisor, and the account types they can hold on both sides of the border.