International and Cross-Border Tax Guides for Canadians

Canadians who work, invest, travel, or live across borders face a layer of tax rules that domestic filing guides don’t cover. This directory lists every guide on the site to cross-border and international tax, grouped by situation: deciding residency and leaving Canada, owing tax as a non-resident, reporting foreign income, and US ties and other specific audiences.

Start with residency

Almost every cross-border outcome flows from one question: are you a Canadian tax resident? Factual residents (who keep significant ties such as a home or spouse here) and deemed residents are taxed on worldwide income; non-residents are taxed only on Canadian-source income, and a treaty tie-breaker can make a dual resident a deemed non-resident. The ties CRA weighs, the 183-day rule and how treaties settle dual residency are explained in am I a Canadian tax resident.

Residency and leaving Canada

• Leaving Canada Tax Checklist The departure tax on emigration, what happens to an RRSP, TFSA, CPP and OAS after you leave, and the forms and steps in order.

Non-residents

• Non-Resident Tax Guide Canada What non-residents owe on Canadian-source income: Part XIII withholding on each type of income, how treaties change it, and the returns and forms non-residents file.

Foreign income and foreign property

• Foreign Income Tax in Canada How residents are taxed on worldwide income, how each type of US income is treated, and converting foreign amounts to Canadian dollars.
• T1135 Foreign Property Reporting The $100,000 cost threshold, what counts as specified foreign property, the two reporting methods and the penalties.
• Foreign Pension Income and Canadian Taxes Reporting a foreign pension or US Social Security on a Canadian return, treaty relief and credit for tax withheld at source.

US ties and other audiences

• Working in the US as a Canadian US work visas, the substantial presence test, cross-border filing, and how the US treats RRSPs, TFSAs and RESPs.
• Dual Citizenship Tax Canada For US-Canada dual citizens and green card holders in Canada: US filing every year, FBAR and FATCA, PFICs, and TFSAs and RESPs.
• International Students Working in Canada: Taxes Residency for students, getting a SIN, T4 slips, CPP and EI, the credits students claim and how to file.
• Canada vs. USA Tax Comparison Side-by-side income tax on the same salary in Canada and the US, in the income tax guides.

Related topics

• Tax Filing Hub: filing obligations and the annual return
• Investment Tax Hub: tax on investment income and capital gains
• Newcomers Hub: arriving in Canada for the first time
• Moving Provinces Hub: interprovincial (domestic) moves
• How to File Taxes in Canada for the First Time as a Newcomer
• T4 Slip Explained