Guides & reports
Cross-Border Investment Handbook
Executive summary for Americans moving to Canada with $1M or more in investable assets: risks, fixes, timeline and checklist.
Resources
Guides, checklists and a glossary, plus our Trusted Professionals referral network.
Trusted Professionals
A vetted referral network in six service areas.
Vetted cross-border specialists in six service areas. Tell us what you need and we route your request to the right person.
Guides & reports
Guides & reports
Pre-Move Sprint: 90-day plan
What to do at 90, 60 and 30 days before Canadian residency to avoid frozen accounts and double taxation.
Guides & reports
Post-Move Action: first 120 days
Stabilize accounts, remove PFICs, build one compliance calendar and settle your currency mix in the first four months.
Guides & reports
Top 10 Cross-Border Wealth Management Tips
A practical guide to moving wealth across the border, with a real example under each tip.
Templates & checklists
Templates & checklists
Pre-move quick checklist
Tax returns, statements, estate and immigration documents, a CAD and USD cash buffer, and beneficiary updates.
Templates & checklists
Cross-border compliance calendar
One calendar covering FBAR, FATCA, Form 3520, PFIC (Form 8621) and T1135, so no filing is missed.
Templates & checklists
PFIC checklist
What counts as a PFIC, how to unwind one, and how to keep your accounts clear of them.
Glossary
- FBAR
- Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts. A U.S. filing required when the combined value of your non-U.S. accounts exceeds US$10,000 at any point in the year.
- PFIC
- Passive Foreign Investment Company. The U.S. classification applied to most Canadian mutual funds and ETFs, with punitive default tax treatment.
- Section 116
- The Canadian rule requiring buyers to withhold part of the purchase price when a non-resident sells Canadian property.
- Deemed disposition
- Canada treating you as having sold property, at fair market value, on a triggering event such as emigration or death.
- Closer connection exception
- A claim on IRS Form 8840 that lets someone who meets the substantial presence test remain a non-resident of the U.S. for tax purposes.
- Situs
- The legal location of an asset, which determines which country may tax it on death and which court handles probate.