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Canada Non-Resident Planning: A Guide to Retirement Account Unlocking

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Amendments were made to the Newfoundland Pension Benefits Act on December 14, 2020 allowing requests for increased access to locked-in retirement savings.  The adjustment was significant for individuals experiencing financial hardship (defined by specific criteria) but also contained provisions for non-residents of Canada.   

Pension funds are locked-in to ensure they will be available to provide a source of income for the retiree and their spouse.  Unlocking provisions exist in most provinces based on specific circumstances and generally cover financial hardship, small balances, shortened life expectancy, and permanent departure from Canada. 

In this post, we’ll focus specifically on the various provincial rules for unlocking when the owner has departed Canada.  Consult the various provincial pension regulations and/or your pension plan administrator for additional information or details regarding unlocking under other circumstances. 

In all jurisdictions, written evidence that the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has determined the owner to be a non-resident for tax purposes for greater than two years is required.  To obtain a letter of determination from the CRA,  the owner should complete CRA Form NR73 (Determination of Residency Status (leaving Canada)) outlining their residential ties to Canada and abroad. Additional provincial requirements to submit to your plan custodian are outlined in the table below.

Before unlocking your retirement funds, you should consider the following:

  • Unless eligible for rollover to a RRSP or RRIF account, the amount withdrawn is considered income, subject to income tax, and may affect your eligibility for government benefits or assistance programs.
  • Funds withdrawn from a locked-in account will no longer be considered protected from creditors.
  • Your tax professional and your financial planner should be consulted for how this provision may align within your overall financial plan.
  • If you are a non-resident of Canada and exploring whether to unlock your Canadian retirement account, we always recommend you speak to a qualified cross-border financial planner before acting.  A cross-border financial advisor will look at your overall financial framework, goals, and objectives before determining the recommended course of action for your locked-in plan. 
Province Additional Requirement Eligible for Rollover to RRSP/RRIF
British
Columbia		 Signed statement from the owner indicating the owner has been absent from Canada for two or more years
If applicable, signed Spousal Waiver of entitlements (Form 1)		 Yes
Alberta If applicable, signed Spousal Waiver (Form 6 (pensions) or Form 13
(Locked-In Account))		 Yes
Saskatchewan Certificate of Non-Residency (Form 4)
If applicable, signed Spousal Waiver (Form 5)		 Yes
Manitoba If applicable, signed Spousal Waiver (Form 3) Yes
Ontario1 Complete and sign Form 5
For pensions, if applicable, signed Spousal Waiver (Form 4.2)		 No
New
Brunswick		 If owner or spouse are Canadian citizens, non-resident unlocking is not available
If applicable, signed Spousal Waiver (Form 3.5)		 Yes
Nova
Scotia		 Complete and sign Form
11 and submit to plan custodian within 60 days
Prince Edward Island No provision No
Newfoundland
and Labrador		 Allowable as of March 1, 2021

Spousal Waiver required

Forms still in production

 No
Quebec Custodian may require a letter of direction and/or spousal consent Yes
Federal1,2 Custodian may require letter of direction
and/or spousal consent		 Yes

1Pension Plans: Non-Resident Former Members A pension plan is not required to provide this option to its former members. Unlocking is only an option for non-resident former members.Active plan members or retired members are not eligible solely on the basis of non-resident status.
2The Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions (OSFI) is also the regulator for pension plans established in respect of employment in the Yukon, Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

Hedging Currency in your Portfolio

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Portfolio management requires many decisions. One decision that many investors don’t give much thought to is how much of their financial net worth should be in their “home” currency. For example, if you’re living a cross border lifestyle, or have assets in two or more countries, how should you manage the different currencies you have in your portfolio? At Cardinal Point, we think about this a lot. The portfolios we manage are internationally diversified, and many of our clients invest in, and spend money in, more than one country.

Summary and Takeaways

One component of portfolio management worthy of exploration is how much foreign currency exposure is helpful. That is also a key question to ask if you live a cross-border lifestyle where you often rely on access to more than one currency. Nevertheless, the goal of currency hedging is the same – to try to achieve financial stability and avoid volatility.

Key Takeaways

  • For Canadian investors, holding U.S. stock positions that are not hedged can benefit from a strong U.S. dollar.
  • But when the Canadian dollar is strong, a hedged position can be advantageous.
  • Timing the movement of any currency ahead of time is difficult, so a good strategy may be to partially hedge stocks, based on the objectives of the portfolio.
  • Keep in mind that compared to equity investments, a bond portfolio invested for fixed income will have significantly lower volatility.
  • In that case, additional exposure to underlying currency through hedging may actually increase unwanted volatility.
  • When thinking about currency exposure, consider your future needs for a particular currency – and the implications of doing a currency exchange in order to access the preferred currency.

When buying foreign stocks and bonds, you are really making two investment decisions. First, you are deciding to make the investment. Second, you are deciding to buy the currency. Or you can make the investment but “hedge” the currency. If you like the company but not the currency, then a professional manager would buy the company but hedge the currency risk. Hedging can be done in several ways though the concept is always the same. The end goal is to immunize the currency movement so that you are only exposed to the movement of the investment and not that of the currency as well.

All investment managers investing outside their “home” country are faced with currency hedging decisions. Cardinal Point is unique because we invest from two different countries and have clients that live and work in both. Not only do we have to make the currency hedging decision as it relates to the foreign content in portfolios, but we also have to consider how our client’s capital will be able to maximize returns and minimize risk when they may need retirement income in the other currency.

In order to explain how Cardinal Point approaches currency hedging from our unique vantage of serving investors in the U.S. and Canada, we will start with the basics that all portfolio managers should consider when investing in foreign stocks and bonds.

A Short History of Currency Hedging in Portfolios
When international investing first started, only very sophisticated investors like huge pension funds could hedge currency. The costs of hedging were too high and the types of products that allowed for it were underdeveloped. Currency hedging became more prevalent in the 1970s with the development of publicly available options and futures. In the early 1990s, some believed that you shouldn’t hedge your stocks because not doing so resulted in greater diversification.

One of the classic studies that was done in this area was Froot 19931. Kenneth Froot did research on portfolios and found that hedging the currency of a foreign stock portfolio did not decrease the variability as was previously believed. In fact, a stock portfolio that left the currency “un-hedged” had lower volatility.

This led to the concept that currency volatility actually reduces the volatility in foreign stocks. The concept goes something like this.

  • The return path of the currency moves independently from the return path of the stock.
  • So, if you pair the time series of the return of the stock with the time series of the return on the currency, you will get a time series with lower volatility than the return of the stock by itself.

This is similar to the concept that investing in two stocks will be less volatile than one because there are some days when the stocks will move in opposite directions. For stocks, the currency exposure can act as a further diversifier. The volatility of a portfolio of two or more foreign stocks can actually be reduced if the currency is left “un-hedged” in the portfolio.

This relationship can vary over time and can also change depending on which currency is the “home” currency. For Canadian investors, holding un-hedged U.S. stock positions can benefit from the USD strength that often accompanies broad market sell offs. But in times of CAD strength, the currency hedge can boost returns. It is tough to know in advance if the hedge will help or hurt, so we look to minimize the uncertainty by partially hedging stocks depending on the goals for the portfolio.

For bonds, the standard theory is different. The volatility in fixed income is much lower than equities. In fixed income, the addition of currency exposure may add greater volatility. The actual direction or return of the currency in any given year may far exceed the return of the underlying fixed income asset (bond or bond fund). Therefore, it is generally recommended that you hedge out your currency exposure of your fixed income. It has been the case over long periods of time that currency volatility can both help and hinder your portfolio returns. The rationale for currency hedging fixed income is because the currency volatility can swamp the income returns. Fixed income is supposed to reduce portfolio volatility, so we should not have currency exposure in bonds.

Cardinal Point’s Philosophy on Currency Hedging in Portfolios
Because we have investors in both Canada and the U.S., we had to rethink the conventional wisdom about hedging to your “home” currency. Many of our clients have spending needs in both countries. We believe it is important to think about the future portfolio cash outflows when developing a hedging strategy.

Literature on currency management is surprisingly thin on whether to hedge or not based on future cash outflows from portfolios. The idea of tying investment decisions to future cash outflows is known as an Asset Liability Management (ALM). There is a whole body of literature about managing with an ALM framework for pension plans. But very little of that relates to hedging currency with the specific intent that the income you earn matches the currency of future cash outflows. All literature on hedging or not hedging looks at risk vs. return of the decision and does not relate to the currency of future cash outflows.

We talk to clients about currency needs as part of their investment policy statement and portfolio construction process. Where appropriate, we encourage clients to keep their portfolio denominated in a manner that balances their future income needs. If currency exchange is needed, we have resources to help them convert their currency at more competitive exchange rates. We do not receive any financial compensation from recommending currency exchange providers, and we have negotiated competitive currency exchange rates with custodians on behalf of clients.

We deploy some currency hedging in most portfolios. Most of the bond exposure is hedged back to the currency of the portfolio, and some of the stock exposure is typically hedged. Currency management is one of the many ways we provide additional value to our clients. By taking a systematic approach to currency management, we believe our clients are more likely to have successful investment outcomes.

1 Froot, Kenneth A., 1993, Currency hedging over long horizons, NBER Working Paper No. 4355.

Estate Planning when moving from the U.S. to Quebec

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In a province ripe with culture, many Québecers living abroad consider a future in returning home. Whether it’s the French language, European architecture, half million lakes, maple syrup, poutine, or to be close to family, many Québécois possess the desire to relocate to their roots. The assets they’ve accumulated in their absence dictates careful financial planning, especially when relocating from the U.S. This blog focuses on some of the estate planning needs one must address in such a move.

Cross Border Planning for Quebec

Summary and Takeaways

Québec governs the ways in which estates are legally dealt with in its own unique way, following what is called a Civil Law system. That particular system has rules that are different from the rest of Canada. That’s important to know if you are returning to Québec from the U.S. because such a move may necessitate revisiting your estate planning to update it based on the Québec system. In fact, as soon as you re-establish legal residency in Québec, its estate laws legally take precedence over laws elsewhere in the world.

Key Takeaways

  • Québec law defines easily transferred property – like bank accounts, computers, and vehicles – as “moveable,” whereas immovable assets like houses and land are deemed “immovable.”
  • The laws where one resides govern transfer of movable property assets, whereas immoveable property is governed by the laws where those immoveable assets are located.
  • Beneficiaries are referred to as legatees, and for them spousal tax-free rollover rules apply to retirement accounts, so taxes can be deferred in those until the death of the surviving spouse.
  • A mandate document, synonymous with a power of attorney document, can be drafted by a lawyer in Québec. The same goes for Advanced Medical Directives regarding end-of-life care.

Embedded in the fabric of Québec’s estate organization is the Civil Law system. This is unique to Québec as all other provinces and territories within Canada operate under Common Law. The judicial system under Common Law is an evolution of laws based upon precedents established in verdicts based on previous case decisions; precedent develops the interpretation and application of law over time. Civil Law focuses on a comprehensive codification of rules. As such, the courts first refer to the Civil Code of rules before weighing against precedent from previous decisions. Whether an individual or couple is moving from another province or from the U.S., it stands to reason that the foundational principles of Québec’s Civil Law tradition necessitate a reconstruction of one’s estate plan.

Take, for example, a Canadian couple living in the U.S. with a young child who is a dual citizen. The family contemplates returning home (to Québec) to raise their child close to relatives. The parents took prudent steps to assemble a U.S.-based estate plan inclusive of a trust, wills, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives. Furthermore, they executed their estate plan by retitling/settling applicable assets into their trust and added beneficiary designations to relevant assets and accounts to mitigate issues with probate. The moment this couple re-establishes Québec residency, the law of the province (Civil Law) supersedes the laws of the former state in which the couple had lived.

“Movable vs Immovable Property”
Per Québec’s Civil Laws there is a big difference between the rules that govern the transfer of “movable” vs. “immovable” property at death. As its name suggests, “movable” refers to tangible property that can easily be transferred (ex. vehicles, computers, investments, and bank accounts, etc.). On the other hand, “immovable” property is not easy to transport and can lose its original design and shape (ex. homes, land, trees, etc.). The law of the owner’s place of domicile and death dictates the transfer of “movable” property whereas the laws of the locality in which “immovable” property is located will govern the succession of that asset.

In the aforementioned example of a couple moving from the U.S. to Québec, their asset base consisted of an IRA, Roth, 401k, RRSP, LIRA, taxable investment, and bank accounts as well as a home in Florida. In this case, all assets are considered “movable” other than the home. This is an important distinction given what follows.

Account Titling and Beneficiary Designations
The province of Québec does not recognize joint account titling, nor do they honor beneficiary designations, unless the asset is an insurance product or an RRSP/RRIF/TFSA/RDSP issued by an insurance or trust company. Along those lines, if these tax deferred account vehicles are structured as a fixed-term annuity, they can pass by beneficiary designation. In Québec, a beneficiary is called a “legatee.” Note that where an individual is resident in Québec, it is not possible to name a legatee of a registered plan who is living outside Quebec. The “movable” assets previously discussed, and their associated titling and beneficiary designations, would be rendered invalid according to Québec estate laws. This could create considerable tax and estate inefficiencies for loved ones left behind unless an official Québec estate plan was constructed. The “immovable” assets in the previous example (Florida home) would be governed by that state’s law, and as such could retain its trust titling. That said, there can be significant issues with retaining a U.S. revocable living trust as a Québec resident. For more information on Canadian resident tax implications of a U.S. trust see — What do I do with my U.S. Revocable Trust if Moving to Canada?.

Québec Estate Planning – Notarial Will
Let’s return to the family moving from the U.S. to Québec. Certain “movable” property would need to remain in the tax jurisdiction that governs the account (ex. IRA, Roth, 401k). It can be challenging to maintain assets in the U.S. as a non-resident. See “Residents of Canada: Tax Ramifications of Being Forced to Liquidate a U.S. Retirement Account“. From an estate standpoint, if the Québec will is drafted properly, the issue of non-recognition of a beneficiary on these cross-border retirement accounts can be rectified. If the proper form of a will (Notarial) is executed, then “probate” can also be circumvented. In an ideal world, the Québec will mirrors the beneficiary designations at the U.S. and Canadian financial custodians so there are no inconsistencies from the laws in which the owner and asset reside. If a spouse were named legatee on the retirement account, the Canadian spousal tax-free rollover rules would apply and tax would be deferred until the death of the surviving spouse. The Notarial Will does not have to be verified following the death of the testator. In addition, there are no probate fees in Québec, and probate is not required if the will has been prepared by a Notary.

Québec Estate Planning – Mandates
A mandate is a specific type of contract whose general rules are set out in the Civil Code of Québec. A mandate can also be referred to as a power of attorney. The person who is granting the mandate is the mandator and the person representing the mandator is the mandatary. This mandate can be drafted by a lawyer in Québec and is similar to a non-continuing power of attorney for property.

Québec Estate Planning – Protection Mandate
This mandate is given to a person in anticipation of the mandator’s incapacity. These powers are not granted until the court or a notary approves the occurrence of the incapacity. Aside from the naming of the mandatary and their substitute, the protection mandate can include instructions concerning:

  • Scope of the mandataries’ powers;
  • Family protection (ex. appointment of a tutor if the client is the parent of a minor child, authorize the mandatary to use the mandator’s assets for the benefit of the spouse and children);
  • Access to medical records;
  • Consent to organ donation;
  • End-of-life care;
  • Accommodation (ex. whether the person wants to stay home or be placed in a nursing home);
  • Management of the business if any;
  • Maintenance and management of property;
  • Procedures for reporting on the administration of the property to prevent abuses (rendering of accounts).

Québec’s Estate Planning – Advanced Medical Directives
In addition to the protection mandate, Québec residents can also write Advanced Medical Directives allowing the mandator to express their consent to care deriving from the Act Respecting End-of-Life Care. Health professionals that have access to them are obliged to comply. The terms of the directives can be modified at any point, provided that the mandator has capacity.

In Conclusion – While the concepts are similar, there are significant discrepancies when comparing Québec estate planning to that within the U.S. and the remaining Canadian provinces and territories. Even the terminology is different: executor vs. liquidator, beneficiary vs. legatee, power of attorney vs. mandate.

Moving from the U.S. to Canada is a complex endeavor and one that penetrates all layers of cross border planning inclusive of the estate components. Moving from the U.S. to Québec has additional layers of challenges. Wisdom requires a prudent approach in seeking guidance from cross border experts. For more information contact Cardinal Point.

Gifting Strategy for U.S. Citizens with a Non-U.S. Citizen Spouse Planning a Relocation to Canada

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There are notable instances where having a non-U.S. citizen spouse results in complications when it comes to tax and estate planning.  For example, there is no estate tax marital deduction when the donee spouse is not a U.S. citizen unless a QDOT, a form of qualified domestic trust, is used.  This QDOT structure is not an ideal planning structure in many situations.

However, there are certain situations where having a non-citizen allows for tax planning opportunities that are not available to couples where both individuals are U.S. citizens.  In this article, we will discuss one such scenario.  This scenario and the case facts have been simplified to focus on potential benefits of using this gifting strategy.  If this were an actual client situation, there would be additional facts to consider, and each case should be evaluated on its own facts and circumstances.

Summary and Takeaways

Estate and tax planning is always complicated, but can become more complex in situations involving U.S. citizens moving to Canada with spouses who are not U.S. citizens. On the other hand, there are certain kinds of asset-gifting strategies that may offer unique benefits to lower tax exposure. As is the case with all complicated tax matters, it is recommended that you consult a qualified and experienced cross-border tax and financial professional to help you decide what steps to take.

Key Takeaways

  • You will want to avoid having to pay taxes on unrealized gains in both countries.
  • Splitting income between spouses may be beneficial in that regard when it comes to Canadian taxation.
  • Gifting of assets to your spouse may offer the potential to reduce their net worth to avoid expatriation taxes.
  • If splitting income is the goal of the gift, give that gift before establishing Canadian residency.
  • If your spouse is a green card holder, that can require different strategies and solutions that are best formulated with the guidance of a cross-border tax planning expert.
  • Start consulting them as soon as you begin preparing for relocation to Canada, because effective planning may take time to design and execute.

The case facts are as follows, using the fictitious names of “Janet” and “John” for the two spouses.

  • Janet and John are a married couple from Texas who are moving to Alberta, Canada on July 1, 2021. They expect to remain there for the foreseeable future, and feel it is likely that they will retire in Canada.
  • Janet is a U.S. citizen and John is a Canadian citizen who has been living in the U.S. for the last 10 years. He has held a Permanent Resident Card (“Green Card”) for the last five years.
  • Janet has a large brokerage account that contains numerous positions with significant unrealized capital gains. The value of this account is USD$3,000,000, and total unrealized gains are USD$1,000,000.
  • While John has some retirement assets, he does not own a brokerage account.
  • Janet’s net worth is below the current estate and gift tax exemption.
  • John is expected to earn significantly less taxable income on an annual basis compared to Janet in the future.

Before we dive into the gifting strategy, it is necessary to have a brief refresher on certain points related to the Canadian taxation of brokerage accounts.

Canadian Taxation of Brokerage Accounts Upon Becoming a Canadian Tax Resident
In a previous article of ours https://cardinalpointwealth.com/2018/10/08/residents-of-canada-what-are-the-canadian-and-u-s-tax-ramifications-when-being-forced-to-liquidate-a-u-s-brokerage-account/ we outline some of the Canadian income tax implications of becoming a Canadian resident.  Here is a summary of certain facts that are most important for this discussion:

  • There is a deemed disposition of assets immediately prior to becoming a Canadian resident.
  • There is a deemed reacquisition of those same assets at the time you become a Canadian resident. The cost basis of these assets for Canadian tax purposes would equal their fair market value on that date.
  • Each spouse is required to file their own individual tax return in Canada.

For the purposes of our discussion, it is also important to note that Canada has income attribution rules that are applicable in various scenarios, one of which relates to gifts between spouses.  A detailed explanation of these rules is beyond the scope of this article, but here is summary of certain relevant points:

  • If a Canadian resident were to gift assets from their brokerage account to their Canadian resident spouse, future capital gain, interest, and dividend income would attribute back to them.
  • This is designed to curtail shifting income to a lower income spouse.

Taxation of Janet’s Brokerage Account Without Additional Planning

  • As mentioned above, for Canadian tax purposes, Janet will be deemed to sell the assets within her brokerage account immediately prior to becoming a Canadian resident. She is then deemed to reacquire them.  As such, for Canadian tax purposes, she will then have a brokerage account with a value and cost basis of USD$3,000,000.  She has managed to avoid Canadian taxation on the unrealized gains.
  • However, she maintains the USD$2,000,000 cost basis for U.S. tax purposes, and she would still report USD$1,000,000 of capital gains on her U.S. tax return if she were to sell the assets. She has not avoided future U.S. taxation on the unrealized gains.
  • Her net worth for U.S. estate and gift tax purposes remains the same.

Goals of the Gifting Strategy
There are three potential goals related to this strategy.  The first goal is the main driver of the strategy for most individuals, while the two other goals may be applicable in certain situations.  They are as follows:

  • Avoid taxation of unrealized gains in both countries.
  • Do the above in a manner that avoids Canadian income tax attribution and allows for income splitting. This goal is more important for scenarios where the U.S. citizen is expected to be in a much higher Canadian tax bracket compared to the non-citizen spouse.
  • Reduce the net worth of the U.S. citizen spouse. For example, if the U.S. citizen was considering renouncing U.S. citizenship in the future, gifting assets could potentially be a means of reducing their net worth to avoid punitive expatriation tax rules. A full discussion of renouncing U.S. citizenship is outside the scope of this article.

Summary of the Gifting Strategy

  • Prior to July 1, 2021, Janet gifts John the assets contained in her brokerage account. Since she is below the U.S. estate and gift tax exemption amount, although she will be required to file a gift tax return, she will pay not pay gift tax.
  • Janet and John will relocate to Canada on July 1, 2021 and will become Canadian tax residents.
  • John will renounce his Green Card status and as such will expatriate shortly after moving to Canada by one of a couple methods. He will become a non-resident for U.S. tax purposes.
  • John will own his own brokerage account that will contain the assets that were gifted to him. This account will have a fair market value and cost basis of USD$3,000,000 for Canadian tax purposes.
    • Future capital gains realized within this account will not be subject to U.S. income tax, since John will no longer be considered a tax resident of the U.S.
  • The value of Janet’s estate has been reduced by USD$3,000,000.
  • The unrealized gains of USD$1,000,000 will avoid taxation in both countries.
  • Income splitting will be achieved.
    • Since Janet was not a Canadian resident at the time of the gift, the gift will not be subject to the Canadian attribution rules.
    • Income realized within the account in the future will be taxable to John at his lower marginal tax rates.

Additional Comments on the Gifting Strategy

  • If income splitting is an objective, the gift should take place prior to Canadian residency. In Janet and John’s situation, it was beneficial to shift income to John and as such it was important for the gift to take place prior to the move.  For two high income earning spouses, income splitting will be less of a concern.
  • A detailed analysis of the expatriation rules for Green Card holders is beyond the scope of this analysis, but here are a few clarifying details. For more information on the expatriate process please contact Cardinal Point or another qualified service provider.
    • John was able to avoid covered expatriate tax status because he was not considered a long-term resident. He owned his Green Card for less than 8 of the last 15 years.
    • If John had owned his Green Card for at least 8 of the last 15 years, further analysis would be required to determine the appropriateness of this strategy.
    • John could expatriate by filling out the required paperwork and handing in/mailing his Green Card to the proper authorities, or by filing a U.S. non-resident tax return with the proper treaty disclosure.
  • This strategy would be equally effective if the non-citizen spouse had a visa instead of a Green Card.

What if both Spouses hold Green Cards?

  • This strategy would have a different focus if both spouses held Green Cards.
    • The gifting would not be required to avoid taxation of unrealized capital gains if both spouses are able to avoid covered expatriate status when they become non-residents of the U.S.
      • However, it still may be worth gifting assets for income splitting purposes.
    • If one spouse can avoid covered expatriate status, then it might be worth gifting assets to that spouse in order taxation of unrealized gains.
    • It is very possible that neither individual is considered a U.S. resident for estate and gift purposed. A detailed analysis would be required to make this determination.  However, if this was the case, then gift tax considerations could be ignored.  This would allow more flexibility in gifting for very high net worth individuals.

The Cardinal Point Advantage
This article highlights the complexity and intricacy of planning for mixed citizenship marriages, and the importance of tax planning prior to relocating to another country.  When a U.S. citizen and their non-U.S. citizen spouse relocate to Canada, this gifting strategy potentially allows for significant tax savings on unrealized gains, for income splitting, and for an estate planning opportunity.  As mentioned earlier, the example used in in this article was simplified to focus on the strategy and its intended results.  The appropriateness of this strategy depends upon the case facts of each individual situation.  We highly recommend that you consult experts such as those employed by Cardinal Point prior to your relocation to Canada, and when considering whether this strategy is appropriate for you.

Cardinal Point has a unique team of cross-border tax, estate, financial planning, and investment management experts. Not only can we assist with planning for your move, we also have the registrations and ability to manage investment portfolios that include accounts in Canada and the United States.  We have the expertise to ensure that our clients can maintain retirement assets in their country of origin, and to transition other assets from one country to another in a tax-efficient manner. Our clients receive tax planning as a part of their overall financial plan.

Terry Ritchie in Podcast: Tax Implications for Americans Living in Canada

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Minimizing liability when paying income taxes can be complicated for the nearly 1 million American citizens living in Canada. Terry Ritchie, Cardinal Point Wealth Management Vice President, recently shared his expertise on this topic with Financial Planning for Canadian Business Owners podcast host Jason Pereira.

From the tax definition of U.S. resident and income tax filing requirements to tips for setting up businesses and incorporating in Canada, Terry and Jason cover numerous topics of interest to Canadian entrepreneurs who are also residents of the United States.

In the nearly one-hour episode, you’ll also learn:

  • The potential penalties for not filing income taxes
  • Tax changes that occurred when Trump became president
  • Canada and U.S. homeowner tax differences
  • The importance of tax compliance
  • The effects of tax debt on U.S. passports
  • Much more

Check out the podcast and complete transcript of Terry and Jason’s conversation here.

Terry Ritchie
Terry Ritchie