Cross-Border
Guides
Cross-Border Financial Guides for Canada and the United States
Managing money across the Canada-US border means living under two tax systems at once, where an account that is efficient in one country can quietly be expensive in the other. These guides explain how that actually works: what happens to your RRSP, TFSA, 401(k) and IRA when you move, how the Canada-US tax treaty applies to your income and your retirement accounts, what a PFIC is and why it matters if you are a US person in Canada, and how estates and trusts are treated differently on each side of the border.
Everything here is written for people who live, work, or invest in both countries, and it is kept current rather than tied to a publication date. Start with the topic that matches your situation, or use the search below if you already know what you are looking for. When a question comes down to your own accounts, residency and timing, Sartorial Wealth is a dual-registered cross-border wealth management firm, and you are welcome to start a conversation.
Browse by Topic
Find the guide that matches your situation.
- Registered AccountsRRSPs, TFSAs, FHSAs, 401(k)s, IRAs and Roth accounts, and what changes when you cross the border.
- Tax and TreatyThe Canada-US tax treaty, PFIC rules, US tax residency, and cross-border filing and reporting.
- Relocation and ResidencyMoving in either direction, tax residency, and what happens to your accounts when you land.
- Estate and InheritanceCross-border estates, trusts, gifting, and inheritance that crosses the border.
- Fraud and SecurityProtecting your identity, your accounts and your family from fraud across two countries.
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Featured Guides
RESPs and 529 Plans: Education Savings When You Cross the Border
You spent eighteen years funding an education account. Then the family moved, and nobody mentioned that the account does not travel the way the family does. Both plans are excellent in their home country. Neither is recognised by the other. And because education...
The Account Canada Calls Tax-Free and the IRS Calls Income: A TFSA Guide for Anyone Moving South
The account that feels like the easy one For most Canadians, the Tax-Free Savings Account is the simplest account in the plan. The annual limit is $7,000 for 2026, growth is not taxed, and withdrawals are not taxed. Someone who has been eligible since the account was...
$14,250 on a $1 Million Estate: What Alter Ego and Joint Partner Trusts Do About Probate
The fee most families treat as unavoidable Probate is the court process that confirms a will and gives an executor authority to deal with an estate. In Ontario, it comes with a tax. The Estate Administration Tax charges nothing on the first $50,000 of an estate and...
One Family, Two Countries, Two Powers of Attorney: A Snowbird’s Incapacity Checklist
The document that assumes you'll never leave the province A power of attorney is built to solve one problem: someone else needs the legal authority to act for you if you cannot act for yourself. Every jurisdiction that recognizes the concept solves it the same basic...
The Fund That Looks Ordinary in Canada and Radioactive in the US
A responsible investor's account, told badly A joint non-registered account, funded with an ordinary Canadian balanced mutual fund, held for a decade and never touched except for the occasional top-up. Nothing about that sentence sounds like a tax problem. For a US...
Canadians Owning U.S. Property: How U.S. Estate Tax Applies to Your Winter Home
The condo in Florida was supposed to be the simple part. For Canadians owning U.S. property, estate tax is the part nobody mentions at closing. The realtor talks about the view, the lender talks about the rate, and the question of what happens to the property when you...
Snowbirds and the Substantial Presence Test: How Many Days You Can Spend in the U.S.
Ask a Canadian snowbird how long they can stay in the United States and the answer comes back fast and confident. Six months. A hundred and eighty two days. Half the year minus a day. That answer is about immigration. The tax question is a different test entirely, it...
When One Will Is Not Enough and Two Wills Are Not the Answer: Probate Planning With a US Beneficiary
The advice every business owner eventually getsHow the structure works, and whyThe law behind it is settled, but it had a scareWhere the border breaks itThe number that actually decides the planThe executor question nobody asks eitherWhat to do insteadFrequently Asked...
Unlimited in Canada, Capped at $250,000 in the US: The Home Sale Exemption That Does Not Cross the Border
A deal is being floated, and it has a price tagTwo countries, two different bargainsThe cap that has not moved since 1997Where this lands for a US person living in CanadaThe currency problem, which runs in both directionsThe designation year that non-residents...
Technical Details Explained Clearly
Reference Guides
RRSP Accounts
How they work, what they’re worth, and what changes when you cross the border.
401(k) Rollover Options
Your options when leaving an employer, and how a cross-border move changes the math.
PFIC Information
What a Passive Foreign Investment Company is, why it matters for U.S. taxpayers in Canada, and what the reporting looks like.
U.S.-Canada Income Tax Treaty
The agreement that sits behind almost every cross-border financial decision, and why understanding it matters.
Cross-Border Trusts
How trusts are treated differently under Canadian and U.S. law, and what that means for your planning.
Canadian Retirement Account Info (RRSP vs TFSA)
RRSP vs. TFSA, including how each is viewed by the IRS and when one creates problems the other doesn’t.
U.S.-Canada Income Tax Treaty
When a Roth conversion makes sense across borders, and the coordination required to do it without triggering double taxation.