Canada US tax accountant for your T1 and your US return
We prepare both returns together and claim the foreign tax credit under the treaty on the right return: Form 1116 on your US return, or line 40500 on your T1.
A Canada US tax accountant who files both returns keeps the income and the credits consistent across both.
You file Form T1135 when you held specified foreign property, such as US shares, costing over $100,000 CAD at any time, except in your first year as a Canadian resident.
The CRA and the IRS set separate due dates for Canada US cross border tax filings:
| Filing | Filed with | Due date |
|---|---|---|
| T1 return | CRA | April 30 |
| T1, self employed | CRA | June 15 (pay by April 30) |
| Form 1040, filer abroad | IRS | June 15 |
| FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) | FinCEN | April 15, or October 15 automatically |
We work to the CRA filing calendar, the IRS two month extension for filers abroad and the FBAR due dates.
You pay IRS interest from April 15 on any balance, even when you file inside the June 15 extension.
- filings prepared
- 500+
- average response time
- < 24h
- office serving remote clients
- Everett, WA
US citizen living in Canada taxes, form by form
As a US citizen or green card holder in BC, you file a US return on your worldwide income when you meet an IRS filing requirement.
FBAR.
You file FinCEN Form 114 when you held accounts outside the US worth more than $10,000 combined at any time in the year.
Form 8938.
You file it when you hold foreign financial assets, such as Canadian bank and investment accounts, above $200,000 at year end or $300,000 at any time. Joint filers use thresholds of $400,000 and $600,000. The IRS does not accept Form 8938 in place of the FBAR, so you can have to file both for the same account.
RRSP and RRIF.
The IRS automatically defers US tax on undistributed growth for eligible filers who meet US filing requirements and report distributions.
Canadian mutual funds and ETFs.
We test each fund against the passive foreign investment company (PFIC) rules in IRC §1297 and file Form 8621 for each fund treated as a PFIC.
TFSA.
The IRS taxes the income each year on your 1040 and gives it none of the deferral an RRSP gets. We check whether you must file Forms 3520 and 3520-A for your TFSA as a foreign trust, and run the PFIC test on any Canadian fund inside it.
We work as the cross border tax accountant Vancouver clients hire to test each account and fund against these rules before we file.
Which US tax return a Vancouver resident files
You file Form 1040 if you are a US citizen or green card holder, and Form 1040-NR if you are a Canadian resident who must report US income.
US tax for Canadians with US property or income
As a Canadian resident, you can owe US tax, and have US forms to file, on US rent, on a US property sale and after long stays in the US.
US rental property. The IRS taxes rent at 30% of the gross amount unless you elect under IRC 871(d) to pay tax on net rent through Form 1040-NR.
Selling US property. Foreign sellers fall under FIRPTA, the US withholding rules. The buyer withholds 15% of the amount realized, 10% on some qualifying homes, or nothing on a qualifying home sold for $300,000 or less.
Amount realized. The IRS counts the cash and other property you receive, plus any debt the buyer takes over.
Before closing. If we file Form 8288-B by your closing date, the buyer holds the withheld amount until 20 days after the IRS mails its decision on lower withholding.
Long winters in the US. You file Form 8840 to stay a US nonresident. You qualify if you spent under 183 days in the US, kept your tax home and closer connection in Canada, and have no green card application. File it late and you can lose the exception.
US estate tax. If you are neither a US citizen nor domiciled in the US, your executor files Form 706-NA when your US assets at death, plus certain taxable gifts, exceed $60,000.
No US taxpayer number. We prepare the ITIN application (Form W-7) alongside the first return you file.
We match the sale and the rent across your T1 and US filings before we file.
Form 8288-B before you sell US property
Send the draft closing statement and your purchase price to the cross border tax accountant Vancouver sellers use for FIRPTA. We tell you whether a withholding certificate is worth filing before closing.
Confidential, and handled by our tax team.
Behind on US tax returns while living in Canada
If you live in Canada and missed US tax on foreign account income by mistake, you can catch up under the IRS Streamlined Foreign Offshore Procedures.
For eligible filers, the IRS charges no failure to file, failure to pay, accuracy, information return or FBAR penalties. You still pay the tax and interest.
You file:
US returns. You file the last three years whose due date has passed, with their information returns.
FBARs. You file the last six years whose FBAR due date has passed.
Form 14653. You certify that your conduct was not willful: you missed the filings through negligence, mistake or a good faith misunderstanding of the law.
The IRS sets a separate residency test for US citizens and green card holders. You meet the test if, in one of those three years, you had no US abode and spent at least 330 full days outside the US.
“Excellent service from Aziz and Sam! I was years behind on my tax returns, they helped me work my way through all the needed documents.”
How we prepare your US and Canadian tax returns
We are a cross border accountant Vancouver clients reach by phone and video, and you send documents by secure upload.
- 1
Tell us what you earn in each country. Wages, rent, investments or a business, plus the date you moved if you moved.
- 2
Get a written quote. We price the returns before any work starts.
- 3
Upload your documents. Your SIN, last year's T1 and Notice of Assessment, your Canadian slips and your US forms.
- 4
Review and sign. We walk you through both returns, then file with the CRA, the IRS and, where an FBAR applies, FinCEN.
You sign after you have seen both returns.
Cross border tax accountant Vancouver fees and cost factors
We quote a fixed fee once we know which returns you need and how many accounts, properties and years you have to report.
- 01
Your returns. A T1, a US return or both, and whether the US return is a 1040 or a 1040-NR.
- 02
Accounts and funds. The accounts on your FBAR and Form 8938, and any Canadian funds that need Form 8621.
- 03
Property. Each rental in either country, and any US sale this year.
- 04
A business or entity. Self employment income, or a US LLC or corporation you own from Canada.
- 05
Missed years. Each prior year of US returns we prepare to bring you current.
- 06
A move. The year you moved into or out of Canada.
You see the full quote before you commit to anything.
“I have never been able to do my taxes myself due to quite a few inherent complexities and the team here has been excellent.”
Related tax services at Maris & Associates CPAs
Streamlined Domestic Offshore Procedures for US residents who missed foreign account filings.
Individual tax preparation for Washington households.
Tax services in Everett, WA for planning, preparation and IRS notices.
Book a consultation on your US and Canadian taxes
You can call before your documents are in order. In the first conversation, we ask about your income in each country and the dates you moved.
Book a cross border consultationA senior member of our tax team takes the call, and we keep what you share confidential.