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You have income, or a move, on both sides of the border, and two revenue agencies that do not define your income the same way. We prepare the Canadian return and the US return in one file, so the credit each country gives for the other is right the first time.
Both returns prepared in one place, in the same year, by one team
Move years covered: residency dates, departure tax, split year reporting
Registered accounts, foreign property and account disclosure filed on the correct side
Canada treats the day you stop being a resident as a sale of certain types of property, whether or not you sold anything.
A US citizen or green card holder keeps filing US returns after a move abroad while that US tax status continues.
Disclosure can be the expensive part of a cross border year: the IRS and the CRA penalize a missing form even in a year with no tax to pay.
Canada US cross border tax planning and filing means preparing and reconciling two returns for one person in the same year: a Canadian T1 with the Canada Revenue Agency and a US return with the IRS. Canada taxes on residency. The US taxes its citizens and green card holders wherever they live.
That difference is why a Canada US tax accountant needs both sides of the file. A preparer who sees only the Canadian return cannot tell you whether the IRS will allow the credit you claimed. A preparer who sees only the US return will not know that leaving Canada created a capital gain on shares you still hold. We hold both files, and Canadian tax staff on our own team prepare the Canadian return.
This is tax preparation, planning and reporting. We do not give legal or immigration advice, and the tax authorities decide residency for tax purposes separately from immigration status.
Canadian tax staff in house prepare the T1
CPAs and Enrolled Agents on every return
IRS Certifying Acceptance Agents for ITIN applications
A fixed quote agreed before any work starts
Which returns you owe in US Canada cross border tax work depends on your facts.
tech and finance staff on TN, H-1B or L-1, with Canadian shares, an RRSP and a departure year to close out.
US citizens and green card holders who keep filing with the IRS after the move, plus anyone bringing a 401(k), IRA or Roth IRA, or a US LLC or S corporation, with them.
contractors, consultants and remote workers serving US clients, and athletes, speakers and performers paid for work done on US soil.
long term residents who file a T1 in Canada and a 1040 in the US each year and need the credits on both returns to match.
rental income in the other country, a US property sold by a non-resident, and non-registered portfolios with a cost above the CAD 100,000 T1135 threshold.
CPP, OAS or US Social Security received while resident in the other country, and RRIF, 401(k) or IRA withdrawals.
Where the move involves a US LLC or an S corporation, a senior reviews the entity before any quote, because Canada and the US do not always classify the same company the same way.
Your tax residency dates can differ from the day you move, and the Canadian date and the US date can differ from each other.
On the Canadian side you usually become a non-resident on the latest of three dates:
The CRA sets that out on its emigrants page, and you enter the date on page 1 of the departure year return.
On the US side, tax residency can start under the green card test or under the substantial presence test: at least 31 days in the US this year and 183 weighted days across this year, one third of last year and one sixth of the year before. Someone who visited heavily in the two prior years can pass the test in a year with far fewer than 183 days in the US.
Get either residency date wrong and the returns can be wrong in opposite directions. It is cheap to fix before filing and expensive to fix afterwards.
Residency dates can differ
Canada and the US use different residency rules. Your Canadian residency can end on one date and your US tax residency begin on another.
Disclosure forms are a cost separate from the two returns.
None of the four depends on how much tax you owe; three apply in years with no tax to pay.
Send the move date, a list of what you held on that date, and last year's returns from both countries. We tell you which of the four filings apply to you before we prepare anything.
We fix the scope and the price in the first two of the six steps.
Move dates, visa type, income sources in each country, and what stayed behind. We confirm from these which returns you owe.
Agreed in writing before work starts, based on the returns and forms that apply to your facts.
Prior year returns and notices of assessment from both countries, slips, and for a departure year the cost base and fair market value of what you held on the move date.
Prepared first where a departure year is involved, because we carry the deemed disposition figures into the US return.
Prepared using the Canadian figures, so the foreign tax credit matches the Canadian tax paid.
FBAR, Form 8938 and Form T1135 filed on their own deadlines, which do not all match the return deadline.
Where you are moving from Canada, we cannot start the departure calculation without the stock detail in step three: name, share count, cost base and fair market value on the day of the move.
Priced on the returns and forms your facts produce, not on time spent. What we quote against:
These are the factors, not a quote.
Anytime you have a major change in your situation, whether it's your family situation, whether it's your work, whether it's income or source of income, you want to speak with the tax adviser and make sure that everything that you're doing now continues to make sense in the future.
Would highly recommend. Been a client for many years and always quick and efficient service. They also have specialists on Canadian tax code for those with tax obligations in both countries.
Our team includes CPAs and Enrolled Agents who work on individual returns, business taxes and tax planning. Tell us what you need help with when you get in touch.
Tell us the move dates, where the income comes from, and what you hold. We will tell you which returns you owe and quote before any work starts.
General information, and not advice for your circumstances. Cross border outcomes depend on dates and facts specific to you, so speak to a CPA before acting on it.
