Income Tax Planning

Of all the areas to consider in your move, taxes are by far the most complex yet potentially beneficial area.  This is particularly true if the planning is done BEFORE making the transition to the US .  The typical situation we see is someone moves to the US and gets their Canadian tax return done by their Canadian CA, the US return done by a US CPA and then takes comfort in the fact that they have made it through another tax season.  Unfortunately, it's a false sense of security because the truth of the matter is very few people know how to properly prepare these returns and more importantly, coordinate the two returns, properly apply the Canada/US Tax Treaty and ensure the necessary compliance issues are fulfilled to your benefit.  It is only a matter of time before one of the taxing authorities catches a compliance issue and the "hate mail" starts and begins filling your mailbox.  More importantly, the potential underpayment or overpayment of taxes paid to both the Revenue Agency and the IRS can be significant.  A recent example we saw was someone exited Canada , prepared their own Canadian tax return and had a US accountant prepare the US taxes.  They ended up overpaying CRA C$17,000 and were out of compliance with the IRS and their state. 

With proper tax planning and then competent tax preparation to implement the planning, there are some tremendous opportunities to take advantage of BEFORE exiting Canada .  Following are some of the key things you need to know in the area of taxes when making the transition from Canada to the US.



Interesting Links

Canada

Canada Revenue Agency - Forms and information on Canadian federal taxes.

Provincial Tax Links - Links to all the Provincial Revenue websites

US
Internal Revenue Service - For all the forms and information on US federal taxes

State Tax Links - Links to all the State Revenue websites

State Sales Taxes -the local sales tax of each State

For expert Canada/US tax help in your local area, consider the following:

Transition Financial Advisors - Brian Wruk & Terry Ritchie in Arizona & Alberta

Brunton - McCarthy Tax Accountants - Dick Brunton in Florida

Blatt Kleinbaum Summerfield & Kelner - Arnie Blatt in Minnesota

Meyers North Penny

SF Group - Kevyn Nightingale in Ontario

Vacovec, Mayotte & Singer - Paula Singer in Massachusetts