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At Tax Filings Canada, we handle every part of your cross-border retirement planning, from the filing itself to the planning around it. Our accountants work with businesses and individuals every week, so the filing is right whether you file personally or through a corporation.
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Cross-Border Retirement Planning from Tax Filings Canada gives Canadians with US ties and non-residents earning Canadian income treaty positions, foreign tax credits, T1135 disclosure and non-resident withholding at a low-cost fixed fee agreed before work begins — no hourly billing, no surprise invoices.
Send us your slips, statements, and supporting records in whatever format suits you.
We prepare the cross-border retirement planning work and flag anything that deserves a closer look.
You review the draft with us and ask questions before anything is finalized.
Once you approve, we file on your behalf and confirm it has gone through.
| Factor | Tax Filings Canada | Typical Firm |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Fixed, flat fee | Hourly / unpredictable |
| Payment | Pay after service | Upfront retainer |
| Price match | Yes, on written quotes | Rarely |
| CRA audit support | Included | Billed extra |
| Typical turnaround | 3-5 business days | 2-4 weeks |
Section 216 and 217 elections can substantially reduce non-resident withholding on Canadian rents and pensions when filed on time. We quote cross-border retirement planning as one low-cost fixed price — the budget-friendly alternative to hourly billing.
No two cross-border retirement planning files are identical, but the rules that govern them are stable. A tax preparation specialist who works with Cross-Border Retirement Planning weekly keeps returning to the same anchors, and they are set out below.
Ask any tax preparation specialist where cross-border retirement planning files go sideways, and the answer usually traces back to this: Non-residents earning Canadian rental income face 25% withholding on gross rent unless a section 216 election is filed. The election taxes the net instead.
The detail that surprises most owners comes next. A US LLC is a flow-through for US purposes but a corporation for Canadian purposes. That mismatch routinely produces double taxation unless the structure is corrected. The last of the major rules is about when, not what. The T1135 foreign income verification statement is required once specified foreign property exceeds $100,000 in cost. Late-filing penalties start at $25 a day to a maximum of $2,500 per year, before gross-negligence penalties.
Think of these rules as the fixed terrain; your circumstances decide the route through it. Mapping that route is the work a tax preparation specialist takes off your plate for cross-border retirement planning. Nothing slows a file like missing records, so for cross-border retirement planning begin with.
Our terms are the same for every engagement: a fixed fee agreed before work begins, a full review with you before filing, and payment only after the service is complete.
Providing transparent fixed pricing and high-quality compliance work for your cross-border retirement planning requirements.
Coverage: Standard bookkeeping and cross-border retirement planning preparation.
Ideal for early-stage startups and sole proprietors.
Book NowCoverage: Full-service bookkeeping, filings, and CRA compliance support.
Perfect for established small businesses.
Book NowCoverage: Strategic advisory and fractional CFO integration.
Ideal for companies seeking high-growth financial structuring.
Book NowWhy you should partner with Tax Filings Canada Experts for all your cross-border retirement planning needs?
Providing tailored cross-border retirement planning services to ensure compliance and maximize deductions.
Our tax accountants keep your business compliant with federal and provincial tax rules.
A dedicated team that handles your financials quickly, accurately, and without upfront fees.
Dedicated preparation processes customized for Canadian businesses.
Advanced accounting software integrations with QuickBooks, Xero, and wave accounting.
Customized packages designed to grow as your business operations expand.
Our clear four-step workflow ensuring absolute tax optimization and complete CRA compliance.
Start with a free, no-obligation consultation to review your business’s financial, tax filing and compliance needs and outline our affordable solutions.
Receive a comprehensive checklist and securely provide the required financial records and documents.
Our tax accountant and accounting experts carefully prepare your filings, identify all applicable deductions and credits, and conduct thorough reviews.
We file your documents electronically with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) on time and provide post-filing support.
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See how our expert Cross-Border Retirement Planning tax and accounting services have helped Canadian businesses save money and stay compliant.
An incentive review at a dual citizen with a US retirement account in Mississauga, Ontario recovered $25,500 across 7 open years. It found invoices paid to a non-resident consultant working on site in Canada with no Regulation 105 withholding taken.
An incentive review at a dual citizen with a US retirement account in Mississauga, Ontario started from a simple question: what has never been claimed? The answer ran to 7 years. It was driven by invoices paid to a non-resident consultant working on site in Canada with no Regulation 105 withholding taken. We restructured the US holding so the Canadian and US characterisations aligned, ending the double taxation going forward. We documented eligibility to the standard a reviewer would apply rather than the standard a claim form requires. The credits produced $25,500 across the open years. The tracking now in place means the following year's claim is documented as the work happens rather than reconstructed afterwards.
A $93,000 reassessment landed at a snowbird spending winters in Arizona in Windsor, Ontario. It rested on invoices paid to a non-resident consultant working on site in Canada with no Regulation 105 withholding taken. The objection was allowed in full.
A snowbird spending winters in Arizona in Windsor, Ontario had been reassessed for $93,000. 7 days were left on the objection deadline. The reassessment rested on invoices paid to a non-resident consultant working on site in Canada with no Regulation 105 withholding taken. We filed the objection inside the deadline with a complete submission rather than a placeholder. Alongside it, we aligned the Canadian and US reporting of the same income so the foreign tax credit claim carried support on both returns. The appeals officer allowed the objection in full. $93,000 was reversed and the account returned to a nil balance.
A US citizen living in Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia had outgrown its structure. The visible cost was 25% withholding on gross Canadian rent where a section 216 election would have taxed only the net. The reorganisation completed tax-deferred and saves $24,000 a year.
A US citizen living in Canada in Halifax, Nova Scotia had outgrown the structure it started with. 25% withholding on gross Canadian rent where a section 216 election would have taxed only the net was the immediate problem. The longer-term one was that the structure blocked the next step. We mapped the current structure and modelled the target. Then we applied the treaty rate to the dividend withholding, filed the NR4 return, and remitted the shortfall before the CRA assessed the payer for it. The tax-deferred elections were filed on time and the supporting valuations documented. The reorganisation completed without triggering tax, and the new structure saves approximately $24,000 a year while removing the exposure the old one carried.
Remittances at a Canadian resident receiving US pension income in Toronto, Ontario were chronically late. It came down to dividends paid to a non-resident shareholder with nothing withheld, leaving the payer holding the liability. Fixing the schedule refunded $73,000.
Remittances at a Canadian resident receiving US pension income in Toronto, Ontario were consistently late by a few days. That was enough to trigger penalties every quarter. Behind it sat dividends paid to a non-resident shareholder with nothing withheld, leaving the payer holding the liability. We reported the deemed disposition properly on the departure return and claimed the foreign tax credits that had been left unused. Then we moved the remittance dates into a scheduled process rather than a monthly decision. Penalties stopped from the following remittance onwards, and $73,000 of overpaid instalments was refunded.
The ledger at a contractor working on both sides of the border in Kitchener, Ontario could not support its own filings. The reason was a departure year filed as a normal resident return with no deemed disposition reported. Rebuilding it surfaced $19,500 in unclaimed input tax.
A contractor working on both sides of the border in Kitchener, Ontario could not answer basic questions about its own numbers. A departure year filed as a normal resident return with no deemed disposition reported sat between the bank statements and the ledger. We filed the section 216 election with the supporting rental statements and recovered the excess withholding as a refund. We then documented the process so the work does not depend on any one person remembering how it was done. Records rebuilt and reconciled, $19,500 recovered in input tax credits that the old file could not support, and a documented monthly process now in place.
A shareholder of a US LLC in Winnipeg, Manitoba faced a $134,000 proposed reassessment. It came after winters spent in the United States with the day count kept casually and no residency position documented anywhere. We rebuilt the documentation and the adjustment was withdrawn in full.
A shareholder of a US LLC in Winnipeg, Manitoba received a proposal letter opening a review of cross-border retirement planning. The CRA had identified winters spent in the United States with the day count kept casually and no residency position documented anywhere. It proposed an adjustment of $134,000, with 30 days to respond. We treated the response as an evidence exercise rather than an argument. We filed the outstanding T1135 disclosures through the Voluntary Disclosures Program, which eliminated the penalty exposure entirely. We then indexed every supporting document against the specific line the auditor had questioned. The proposed adjustment was withdrawn in full — all $134,000 of it. The file closed in 5 weeks with no change to the assessed amounts and no penalty.
Meet the specialists behind your Cross-Border Retirement Planning filings. Our Partners Are Alumni of the World's Top Accounting and Tax Institutions
CA (ICAI), CA (MIA), CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program)
Canada Tax, International Tax, Cross Border Tax, Transfer Pricing
International Tax, Transfer Pricing Specialist
CA (ICAI), Canada Tax Expert
CA. Fractional CFO and Senior Advisory Specialist
Same fixed fees in every province. Find your city or your sector.
Direct answers to what Canadian business owners actually ask before hiring an accountant.
Cross-Border Retirement Planning starts at a fixed fee quoted before any work begins. The quote is locked at the outset and does not change mid-engagement, and you pay only after you have reviewed and approved the deliverable. Compare every plan on our transparent pricing page.
At minimum: prior-year returns and notices of assessment, your bank and credit-card statements for the fiscal period, payroll records if you have employees, and GST/HST filings. We send a checklist tailored to your situation after the free 15-minute call.
Most engagements are completed within 3 to 5 business days once your documents are complete. Catch-up work covering multiple years takes longer, and we tell you the realistic timeline before you commit rather than after.
We respond on your behalf at no extra charge for any return we prepared. Every figure we file is supported by documentation retained in your file, which is what turns a CRA review from a crisis into correspondence. See how our CRA audit representation works.
Yes. Late filing penalties compound at 5% of the balance owing plus 1% per month, so the cost of waiting is real. We prioritise catch-up work and, where eligible, file under the CRA's Voluntary Disclosures Program to reduce penalties.
Yes. We serve clients in every province and territory at the same fixed fees, so your location does not change the price or the service. Browse our coverage across Canada to find your city.
We work across construction, healthcare, e-commerce, professional services, restaurants, real estate, transportation, technology and non-profits, each with its own deduction profile and CRA scrutiny patterns. See all industries we serve.
Software applies the rules you already know about. An experienced tax accountant finds the ones you do not: capital cost allowance timing, the small business deduction threshold, shareholder loan repayment rules, and TOSI exposure on family dividends. The fee is usually smaller than the deductions it surfaces.
Our cross-border retirement planning services include complete filing, compliance management, and strategic advice customized to Canadian tax laws.
You can start by booking a free 15-minute call. We will review your files, provide a fixed quote, and start working immediately.
You are asking the right question, and it has a real answer. The rate charged follows the customer's province, not the seller's: 13% into Ontario, 15% into New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and PEI, 14% into Nova Scotia (since 1 April 2025), 5% plus provincial tax elsewhere. A seller charging its own province's rate nationally is under-collecting on some sales and over-collecting on others, and owes the difference on the under-collected ones. What we add on top of that is the paperwork discipline that makes the answer stand up if anyone ever asks you to prove it.
Our answer starts where the legislation starts. Part XIII withholding of 25 percent applies to dividends, rents, royalties and certain interest paid to non-residents. It is reduced only by the rate the applicable treaty allows. The Canadian payer is liable for tax it failed to withhold, and the amounts are reported on an NR4 information return. From there it is a matter of applying it to your year — and that application, not the rule itself, is where a tax practitioner earns the fee.
The questions Canadians actually search on this topic, answered plainly. Browse every question in the Canadian tax answers directory.
HST combines the 5% federal GST with a provincial component in five participating provinces. For 2026 the combined rates are 13% in Ontario, 15% in New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Prince Edward Island, and 14% in Nova Scotia since 1 April 2025. Elsewhere you charge the 5% GST alone, or GST plus a separate provincial tax. The rate follows the province of supply, not where your business sits.
File a T1 return for the year, sending it electronically with CRA-certified software or mailing a paper return. Gather your slips and receipts first and check them against the ones listed in My Account. For the 2025 tax year the filing and payment deadline was 30 April 2026, or 15 June 2026 to file if you or your spouse were self-employed, with payment still due 30 April 2026. CRA online filing for 2025 returns closes 29 January 2027.
Rent on your home is not deductible on a Canadian return. Two situations change that. Self-employed people, and employees who meet the work-space-in-the-home conditions, may claim the share of rent tied to the area used for work. Several provinces also run a property tax or rent based credit, applied for on the provincial schedule filed with your T1, where rent paid affects the amount. Keep receipts and your landlord's details either way.
Canada taxes income in graduated brackets, so only the income above a threshold is taxed at that bracket's higher rate and moving up a bracket never reprices the income below it. There is one federal set of brackets and a separate set for each province and territory, and the thresholds are indexed to inflation every year. Look up the current figures for your province on the CRA rate tables rather than relying on an older list.
Contact your municipality’s tax or revenue office and ask for a reissued bill; most cities also let you view and pay it in an online property tax account set up with your roll number. Not receiving the bill does not cancel the obligation or stop late-payment charges, so ask for the amount and due dates straight away. Update your mailing address, and check whether your lender already pays the tax through your mortgage.
Rent is not deductible against employment income, so most tenants claim nothing for it directly. It can still matter. Ontario tenants may report rent paid toward the Ontario energy and property tax credit on the provincial benefits schedule, and Quebec and Manitoba have their own renter measures. If you are self-employed or required to work from home, a reasonable share of rent based on workspace area is deductible. Keep receipts, the amounts paid and your landlord's details.
Not alone. A municipal council sets the property tax rate when it votes the annual budget and levy, and the mayor holds one vote, though a few provinces give mayors added budget powers that council can still override. Your bill is the assessed value of the property multiplied by that rate, plus an education portion the province sets. Assessments come from a provincial assessment body, not from the mayor.
Yes. Social assistance is reported on a slip and included in income, then offset by a matching deduction, so it does not create tax, but it does count when benefits are calculated. Filing is how you receive refundable amounts: the GST/HST credit, the Canada child benefit, provincial credits, and any tax withheld on other income during the year. Many people on assistance get money back only because they filed, so file every year even with no tax payable.
Canada has no tax called VAT. The equivalent is GST at 5% for 2025 and 2026, combined with the provincial part as HST in Ontario at 13%, Nova Scotia at 14% since 1 April 2025, and New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador and Prince Edward Island at 15%. Other provinces add a separate provincial sales tax or Quebec's QST. Foreign VAT you paid abroad cannot be recovered through a Canadian GST/HST return.
Taxable income covers employment income and taxable benefits, self-employment and side income, tips, pensions and registered plan withdrawals, EI and most government support payments, interest, dividends, the taxable part of capital gains, rental profit, and foreign income earned while resident here. Residents report worldwide income, and the absence of a slip does not make an amount exempt. Taxable income is what remains after the deductions you qualify for, and the rates apply to that figure.
Ontario's employer health tax is provincial, so it goes to the Ontario Ministry of Finance rather than the CRA. Register with the province, then file the annual return and pay online through ONT-TAXS, at your financial institution, or by mail. Eligible private-sector employers receive an exemption on payroll up to a set amount, and employers above a higher payroll level must make monthly instalments during the year. The current exemption and instalment thresholds are on Ontario's employer health tax page.
A refund is not taxable. It returns tax you already overpaid through withholding or instalments, so it never goes back on a return as income. Interest the CRA pays on a delayed refund is different: that interest is taxable and belongs on the return for the year you receive it. A refund also has no effect on the credits or benefits you claim.
Reviewed and fact-checked by Udit Gupta
Ex Big 4 — Ernst & Young, Deloitte · International & cross-border tax specialist · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program) · Chartered accountant, ICAI & MIA
Udit Gupta has over 15 years of experience helping corporations and business owners with corporate structuring, corporate tax filing, bookkeeping, payroll, GST/HST, cross-border tax and CRA representation. He is Big 4 trained, at Ernst & Young and Deloitte, and qualified as a chartered accountant in India and again in Malaysia. In 2014 he founded his accounting practice to serve entrepreneurs, startups and non-resident business owners across Canada. View full member bio.
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India — member 521458 · Malaysian Institute of Accountants — member CA 44667 · Ex Big 4: Ernst & Young, Deloitte · CPA Canada (In-Depth Tax Program), completed 19 Dec 2023 · In-Depth GST/HST Part I, 12 Jul 2022 · Part II, 5 Jul 2023
Editorial policy. Every page is researched against primary sources — the Income Tax Act, CRA publications and CPA Canada guidance — and every rate or threshold is stated with the tax year it applies to.
Sources. CRA — International and non-resident taxes · Income Tax Act (Justice Laws Website)
