Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Wealth Management Resource Hub

New Ebook - Residents of Canada: What are the Canadian and U.S. Tax Ramifications when being forced to liquidate a U.S. brokerage account New enforcement of existing U.S. nonresident client regulations regarding U.S. taxable brokerage accounts means that many of these accounts are being forced to close, loosely based on the location of the primary [...]

Those who have worked in both Canada and the U.S. may be eligible for Social Security (SS), Canada Pension Plan (CPP) and Canadian Old Age Security (OAS), but it can be complicated. While SS depends on years worked, OAS is based on years of Canadian residency, and CPP is based on contributions. You may be able to take early reduced benefits or delay them to receive increased payouts. There may be clawbacks based on income levels…

A very common question at Cardinal Point for Americans moving to Canada is how to navigate around the CRA’s Five-year Deemed Disposition Rule. Canada applies an exit tax on unrealized capital gains for Americans returning to the U.S. after minimum five years of tax residency in Canada. Given the increased information sharing between CRA and IRS, failure to file the appropriate forms will result in penalties.

Few financial advisors are licensed or equipped to provide investment advice for American and Canadian cross-border clients, and there is a lot of bad counsel circulating at present. The best advice usually leads to a choice from three main options, but which one? Cardinal Point is an advisor firm that specializes in this area as it meets the highest industry standards and is licensed to manage investments in both countries.

In most cases, a non-U.S. citizen or non-U.S. resident spouse cannot receive U.S. Social Security spousal benefits if they live outside the U.S. for six consecutive months. However, the question 'Can a foreign spouse receive social security benefits?' has a nuanced answer. A foreign spouse who is a citizen or resident of Canada, among certain [...]

If you have moved from Canada to the U.S., the normal intricacies of tax issues become particularly complicated in certain circumstances.

In this video, Terry Ritchie speaks with InvestmentExecutive.com’s Rudy Mezzetta about what U.S. citizens living abroad need to know when considering renouncing their U.S. citizenship. Though the numbers of expatriations are reaching historical highs, the process is not an easy one. After filing with the Department of Homeland Security, an individual wishing to renounce citizenship […]

Cardinal Point’s Terry Ritchie discusses the impact of U.S. PFIC (Passive Foreign Investment Company) tax rules on U.S. citizens living in Canada who hold Canadian mutual funds or ETFs. The challenge is that under U.S. tax law, the earnings and dividends from these PFICs are not taxed the same way in the U.S. as they […]

For both Canadian and U.S. residents, a 529 plan can be a very effective tool to help save for a child’s higher education. Plus, recently passed U.S. legislation under the SECURE Act 2.0 offers a unique way to more efficiently manage 529 contributions. Starting in 2024, it will be possible to transfer into a Roth IRA any extra funds that remain in the 529 after all educational expenses have been paid – as long as certain eligibility requirements are met. As this blog explains, that can enable you to avoid steep 529 withdrawal taxes and penalties, while continuing to accumulate wealth in a tax-free Roth IRA.

A Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) is a powerful asset when saving to pay for post-secondary education. College tuition had already become almost prohibitively expensive, years before recent historic inflationary pressures made the cost of higher education rise even more dramatically. That’s a constant challenge for parents who want to help fund their children’s post-secondary education. Navigating those challenges becomes more complicated when the RESP subscriber or the beneficiary reside in different countries. This article gives you an informative overview of some of the most common challenges, and insight into the most effective ways to proactively manage an RESP as part of your cross-border tax and financial planning.

For Canadians owning property in the US but with no residency or tax ties there, the question of how to pass such property on to their heirs is much more complex than they may think. A seemingly generous but in reality ill-advised decision can have massive negative financial implications. Relevant Canadian and US tax regulations, forms, and exemptions frequently change. Cross-border financial and tax expertise is needed to navigate here, and at Cardinal Point, we specialize in precisely these areas.

When our clients move from Canada to the U.S. or vice versa, they often leave real estate behind. While some choose to sell their former residence, others want to convert it into a rental property. Whichever action they take, tax considerations must be made. Learn more about the Canadian ‘change of use’ rules that should influence these decisions in this article.

The answer is a resounding yes. If you’re 72 years of age or older and need to meet the minimum distribution requirements for your qualified retirement plans each year, several factors need to be considered when determining the best time to do so. Learn more about them in this blog post.

Everyone should save for retirement and rainy days. However, once you’ve established an emergency fund in a basic savings account, the decisions you’ll need to make about how to invest your money become more complex. This is doubly so if you’re moving from the U.S. to Canada or living cross-border. In this article, we’ll take a look at why health savings accounts (HSAs), which are tax friendly in the U.S., may not be as tax friendly in Canada.