Cross-Border and Non-Resident Tax — Your Canadian Obligations, Handled Correctly
Foreign income, foreign property, moving to or leaving Canada, or earning Canadian income as a non-resident — Trim Tax prepares your Canadian filings, applies the Canada–US Tax Treaty and Canada's other tax treaties correctly, and makes sure nothing is double-taxed or missed.
When your tax life crosses a border
Canada taxes its residents on worldwide income and taxes non-residents only on certain Canadian-source income. That single rule creates most cross-border complexity: a Canadian resident must report a foreign rental, a foreign pension and a foreign brokerage account; a newcomer must report world income only from the date of arrival; an emigrant faces a deemed sale of most assets on departure; and a non-resident landlord must deal with 25% withholding on Canadian rent.
Each situation has its own forms, elections and deadlines, and the penalties for missing a reporting form can exceed the tax involved.
Trim Tax focuses on the Canadian side of every cross-border situation. We determine your residency, report foreign income and assets, claim foreign tax credits, handle emigration and immigration, and manage non-resident withholding and returns.
Where you also have a filing obligation in another country — a US return, for example — we work alongside your foreign tax preparer, sharing figures and timing so credits and elections line up on both returns. We do not prepare US or other foreign returns ourselves, and we tell you so at the start.
Residency is the first question — and the most expensive to get wrong
Whether you are a factual resident, a deemed resident, a deemed non-resident under a treaty tie-breaker rule, or a non-resident earning Canadian income determines which returns you file, which elections apply and how much tax you pay.
The CRA looks at significant residential ties (a home in Canada, a spouse or common-law partner, dependants), secondary ties (vehicles, bank accounts, provincial health coverage, memberships) and days of presence, including the 183-day sojourning rule for people who spend long periods in Canada. Before preparing anything, we document your ties, days and treaty position in writing, so the rest of the plan rests on solid ground and your file can be defended if the CRA asks.
Cross-border and non-resident services
- Residency determination and treaty tie-breaker analysis under the Canada–US Tax Treaty and Canada's other tax treaties, with a written position for your file
- Canadian returns for residents with foreign employment, business, rental, pension or investment income, including federal and provincial foreign tax credits and treaty-exempt amounts
- Canadian returns for US citizens and other foreign nationals living in Canada, prepared so figures can be shared with your US or foreign preparer
- Foreign reporting: T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement, T1134 foreign affiliate reporting, and T1141/T1142 transfers to and distributions from non-resident trusts
- Foreign rental property reported on the T776, with foreign tax credit and currency conversion handled correctly
- Emigration: departure tax on deemed dispositions, forms T1161 and T1243, the T1244 election to defer payment with security, the final part-year return and advice on severing residential ties
- Immigration: part-year first return, fair market value step-up of assets on arrival, treatment of foreign pensions and retirement accounts, and benefit applications (RC66 and RC151)
- Returning Canadians: re-establishing residency and deemed acquisition values on return
- Non-resident rental income: NR4 slips, NR6 undertakings and Section 216 returns
- Non-resident sale of Canadian property: Section 116 clearance certificates (T2062) and management of the purchaser's withholding
- Non-resident employment and business income in Canada: Section 217 elections, Regulation 102 and 105 waivers, and treaty-based exemptions
- Part XIII non-resident withholding on dividends, interest, pensions and estate distributions paid to non-residents
- Canadian corporations with foreign subsidiaries, branches, customers or non-resident shareholders: T1134, T106, thin-capitalisation and Part XIII compliance
- Canadian residents holding interests in US LLCs or other foreign entities: Canadian tax treatment, foreign accrual property income and reporting
- Underused Housing Tax (UHT) returns for affected owners
Who we help
Canadian residents with foreign employment, investment, pension or rental income
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US citizens, green-card holders and other foreign nationals living in Canada (Canadian filings)
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Newcomers to Canada filing their first return
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Canadians leaving Canada, and Canadians returning after time abroad
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Non-residents earning Canadian rental, employment, pension or business income
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Non-residents selling Canadian real estate
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Snowbirds and frequent travellers who need their Canadian residency position documented
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Canadian businesses with foreign subsidiaries, customers or shareholders
Book a consultationWhy choose Trim Tax for cross-border and non-resident tax
- Canadian cross-border specialists: residency, treaty relief, foreign reporting and non-resident rules are routine work for us, not exceptions.
- Clear scope: we prepare your Canadian filings and coordinate with your foreign preparer so both returns agree — mismatched numbers are the most common cause of double taxation.
- Written residency and treaty positions kept on your file, ready if the CRA asks.
- Emigration and immigration handled in the right order: departure and arrival values, elections and benefit applications filed together.
- Non-resident real estate expertise: NR6 undertakings, Section 216 returns, Section 116 certificates and UHT filings are handled routinely.
- Flat fees quoted after a free consultation, with no hourly billing.
Frequently asked questions
Get your Canadian cross-border filings right.
Book a free consultation with a Trim Tax CPA — call 647 243-5076 or email info@trimtax.ca.
