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Avoiding Cross-Border Financial Planning Pitfalls

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What’s the quickest way to turn traditional financial planning upside-down? Place a border in the middle of your tax and financial life. Financial, tax and estate planning can be a difficult undertaking for most individuals and couples.  Imagine the added complexities of planning between two countries; it requires proper advice to know where the minefields are.

iStock_000031180472SmallEvery day, we see the unique tax and wealth management challenges of those whose lives, assets and relationships straddle both sides of the U.S./Canadian border.  For some, assets remain in Canada while work and life are grounded in the U.S.  Other clients are U.S. citizens who live and work in Canada.  Some even own assets in one country even though they spend no time there.  Fortunately for our firm, my colleagues and I can closely identify because we live these types of lives.  We’ve spent years helping clients gain from the good and avoid the bad (or even ugly) outcomes of cross-border financial planning.

With recent gold medal victories for Canadian Olympic hockey teams (men and women), some might suggest Canadians shouldn’t fear the Americans anymore.  But with the passage of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Act’s looming implementation later this year, there are plenty of Americans in Canada who live in fear of their own country.

U.S. citizens are considered to be residents of the U.S. for income, gift and estate tax purposes—regardless of where they live, die, generate income or hold assets.  Therefore, these individuals have an obligation to file U.S. income tax returns annually on worldwide income. Further, they must provide specific information on a variety of additional IRS compliance forms related to their ownership or interest in certain kinds of assets.  They also need to ensure that their estate planning is properly attended to given their U.S. citizenship or marriage to a U.S. citizen.

We often find that most domestic U.S. or Canadian-based financial advisors are not aware of the specific cross-border planning requirements these individuals or couples face.  It’s important to highlight a few common mistakes that are made in cross-border financial planning:

  • The Residency Factor: With the recent signing of FATCA, Americans who live and work abroad can no longer afford to keep their heads in the sand.  If you were born in the U.S., you are a U.S. resident for income, gift and estate tax purposes. If you were born in Canada to two U.S. citizen parents, you are a U.S. citizen.  If you were born in Canada to one U.S. citizen parent, you may be a U.S. citizen depending on certain conditions.  These so called “Accidental Americans” have their own set of planning requirements.
  • Parting with Your U.S. Citizenship: Given the greater planning complexities of U.S. citizens who live or work abroad, it’s not uncommon to hear the suggestion that they just give up their U.S. citizenship or return their Green Card.  These days, plenty of folks are doing just that.  In fact, the U.S. Treasury Department recently published the names of individuals in the Federal Registerwho renounced their U.S. citizenship or gave up their long-term residency by turning in their Green Cards.  This happened a record-breaking 2,999 times in 2013, a 221% increase over the prior year’s total.  Keep in mind, giving up one’s citizenship or Green Card is not an easy undertaking.  There can be some rather tedious and daunting income tax implications, and one’s ability to return to the U.S. down the road for lifestyle reasons could be compromised. 
  • Think Twice About U.S. and Canadian Tax Planning: Some traditional tax savings opportunities that might be utilized in Canada or the U.S. (or the specific state you reside in) may not work in cross-border situations and could even cause you greater problems.  For example, putting money in a Canadian retirement account, such as a Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP), might reduce your Canadian tax, but it doesn’t do a thing to reduce your U.S. tax.  In fact, it might even cause you to pay additional U.S. tax as the level of net tax paid in Canada might be lower and not sufficient to reduce your overall U.S. tax.

Life across borders can catch you off guard and come at a hefty price if you aren’t prepared. In future columns, we’ll expand on the topics above and share other cross-border planning mistakes we often see in our practice.

Terry Ritchie is the Director of Cross-Border Wealth Services at the Cardinal Point, a cross-border wealth management organization with offices in the United States and Canada.  Terry has been providing Canada-U.S. cross-border financial, investment, tax, transition, and estate planning services to affluent families for over 25 years.  He is active as an author, speaker and educator on international tax and financial planning matters. www.cardinalpointwealth.com

The First Canadian in the White House?

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Our very own, Terry Ritchie, recently wrote an article for the website, Advisor.CA. He touches on the latest news surrounding Ted Cruz. Cruz, a U.S. senator, has decided to renounce his dual Canadian citizenship to prevent confusion regarding his political loyalties, experts suspect, because the Republican Party has shortlisted him as a candidate for the presidential election in 2016. Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, may be attempting to avoid the same election complications that plagued President Barack Obama when his citizenship came under fire prior to becoming the 44th U.S. president due to living abroad during his childhood and having a father from Africa. Cruz was born in Calgary and his American mother and naturalized American father relocated to the U.S. when he was four years old.

Technically Cruz is both a Canadian and American citizen, and according to the U.S. Constitution is eligible to run for president, but when a candidate’s birth origin is ambiguous, a phenomenon called “birtherism” sometimes develops that involves political opponents publicly disparaging and questioning a politician’s patriotism.

The tax and financial implications are minimal but could have been serious had Cruz lived in and reported income taxes to Canada as a dual U.S. citizen. The U.S. Internal Revenue Service requires all American citizens, regardless of residence to report income taxes as U.S. income. Conversely, Canada collects income taxes from only those Canadians living within the country’s border. The American law has become more enforced since the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act was implemented in 2010, compelling many ex-patriot Americans to renounce U.S. citizenship to avoid paying higher taxes.

In a single fiscal quarter, according to the U.S. Treasury Department, 1,130 Americans renounced American citizenship, whose names are recorded in the Federal Register. The public record can be viewed by anyone, and accounting professionals can search for their clientele.

In a statement by Cruz, he claimed to have no awareness of his dual citizenship and said, “I have never taken affirmative steps to claim Canadian citizenship, I assumed that was the end of the matter… Nothing against Canada, but I’m an American by birth and as a US senator, I believe I should be only an American,” Cruz said.

There has been no confirmation that Cruz will indeed run for presidential election, but as a Hispanic former presidential legal adviser and Tea Party backed policy maker, some experts consider him a strong contender and his inner circle of advisors have indicated a bid.

Tax Implications for Americans Living in Canada

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In this video clip, Terry Ritchie updates Rob Carrick on the IRS crackdown on Americans who live and work in Canada but haven’t been filing their annual tax returns. There is serious documentation required by U.S. tax authorities regarding financial holdings. Last September, a new program was introduced for Americans living and working abroad: the Offshore Volunteer Disclosure program. Of the 5 to 7 million Americans who live/work abroad, only 740,000 actually filed a Financial Bank Account Report (FBAR) in 2011.

While only 18 parties have been criminally prosecuted for hiding assets, clearly there is a large percentage that doesn’t know what to do or where to go for advice. Every situation is different, but it’s important to talk to a specialist who understands these issues. Next year, when the IRS imposes the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), traditional banks in Canada must comply and provide information. Following this, it will be harder to fight reasonable cause. For most Americans working in Canada, there is a Foreigner Income Exclusion imposed on employment income. This, plus the use of foreign tax credits, generally means there are no taxes owed, but the proper documentation must be filed with the IRS to be in compliance.

Why Is It Important For Canadian Expats To Disclose Foreign Based Accounts to the IRS?

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John McCord’s article focuses on the IRS (US Internal Revenue Service) policy that taxes the worldwide income of US residents. Many US residents are unaware of this policy and the law that requires the disclosure of the majority of foreign accounts, as they are subject to US taxation. Disclosure rules also apply to Registered Retirement Savings Plans, pensions and bank accounts. In order to enforce these policies the IRS is aggressively pursuing civil and criminal penalties for noncompliance and maintains close communication with the CRA (Canadian Revenue Agency), references the FBAR (Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts) and, beginning in 2013, will enforce the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) in order to do so. FATCA will focus on the compliance of foreign-based accounts and increase communication with foreign financial institutions in order to identify US residents who do not report their foreign-based accounts. For both Canadian Expats and US residents with foreign accounts, McCord stresses it is critical to consult with a cross-border financial advisor in order to ensure compliance and identify the right solution that may include tax, legal and investment professionals depending on your personal situation.