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Guides
Plain-English explanations behind each calculator: how the rules actually work, with a worked example and the common mistakes people make. General information only, not tax, legal, or immigration advice.
Still in Canada, planning a move to the US
Get ahead of the bill and the paperwork before you go.
Canada's Departure Tax, Explained
What the CRA's deemed disposition actually taxes, what it exempts, and how to defer the bill.
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Comparing a CAD Offer to a USD Offer, Properly
Why a raw salary comparison misleads you, and how payroll tax, income tax, FX, and cost of living actually move the real number.
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The Canada-US Tax Treaty Tie-Breaker Rules, Explained
What decides which country taxes you as a resident when you're factually a tax resident of both at once, and why the order of the tests matters.
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Already living in the US
Reporting, drawdown order, and what your Canadian accounts look like from the IRS's side.
RRSP Withholding Tax for US Residents, Explained
Why Canada withholds 25% on a lump-sum RRSP collapse but only 15% on RRIF payments, and how to legally get the lower rate.
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CPP, OAS, and Social Security: When to Claim as a Cross-Border Retiree
How the Totalization Agreement works, and why the "claim early vs. late" math changes when you've split a career across two countries.
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RRSP vs. TFSA vs. 401(k)/IRA: Retirement Drawdown Order
Why the order you draw down accounts in retirement can be worth tens of thousands of dollars in lifetime tax.
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PFICs and Canadian ETFs, Explained
Why Canadian mutual funds and ETFs become a costly problem the moment you're a US person, and the three ways the IRS taxes them.
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FBAR and FATCA for Canadians in the US, Explained
Two separate filings, two separate thresholds, two separate agencies: what counts as a foreign account and what happens if you don't file.
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TFSA and US Taxes, Explained
Why a TFSA's core promise, tax-free growth, simply doesn't exist once you're a US person.
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RESP and US Taxes, Explained
Why an RESP is treated as a foreign trust by default, what Rev. Proc. 2020-17 does and doesn't fix, and the PFIC question it leaves untouched.
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US Estate Tax for Canadians, Explained
Owning US stocks or a Florida condo can expose you to US estate tax on death, even with no US citizenship or residency.
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Thinking about moving back to Canada
What happens to each account, and what leaving the US can cost.
Moving Back to Canada from the US: What Happens to Your Accounts
Residency rules, the US exit tax for long-term Green Card holders, and what happens to your 401(k), Roth, and TFSA on the way home.
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The US Exit Tax (IRC §877A), Explained
The three covered-expatriate tests, how the mark-to-market exit tax is calculated, and how it differs from Canada's departure tax.
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Sticky States, Explained
Why California, New York, Virginia, New Mexico, and South Carolina can keep taxing you as a resident years after you've left, and what actually cuts the tie.
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Just exploring
Foundational concepts and general-purpose tools, wherever you are in the process.
CoastFIRE for Cross-Border Canadians
What CoastFIRE means when your accounts sit in two currencies and two tax systems at once.
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Norbert's Gambit, Explained
How to convert CAD to USD near the mid-market rate using a TSX-listed ETF, and where the technique actually saves you money.
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How Parallel49 Compares
An honest look at where this beats a generic calculator, where it saves you billable accountant time, and where it isn't the right tool at all.
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Reference
Not tied to any one stage: the sourcing behind the numbers, and the site itself.