Moving from Vancouver to New York: Taxes, Hollywood North, and the RRSP Addback

By Yarik Yarosh, CPA ·August 31, 2026 ·9 min read

Written by Yarik Yarosh, CPA (US & Canada) August 31, 2026 · FL CPA license AC61704 · CPA Ontario

Vancouver and New York don’t look like a natural pair on a map, but the traffic between them is real: film and TV production crews who cut their teeth on “Hollywood North” soundstages moving into NYC’s own production and post pipeline, real estate developers with Manhattan or Brooklyn projects, tech workers riding Amazon and Microsoft’s Vancouver-to-New York transfer routes, and finance staff moving between BMO, RBC, or TD’s Vancouver desks and their New York operations. The BC-to-New-York guide covers the province-level mechanics. This one covers what’s specific to the Vancouver version of the move: the industries actually driving it, the RRSP trap New York shares with California, and where people end up living.

✓Key takeaway

BC’s combined top rate runs about 53.5%. New York’s combined federal, state, and city rate for a Manhattan resident tops out near 51.8% once the state’s 10.9% top bracket stacks with NYC’s own 3.876%. That’s close enough to a lateral move on income tax alone. The real gotcha is that New York, like California, does not follow the federal treaty deferral on RRSP growth: it taxes the plan’s annual earnings on your state return every year, whether or not you touch the account.

How does BC’s tax rate actually compare to New York’s?

Close enough that this isn’t the rate escape that Vancouver-to-Seattle or Vancouver-to-Austin is. New York layers a state tax and, for city residents, a separate city tax on top of the federal bracket, and the two together land within a few points of what BC already charges.

Tax	Vancouver / BC	New York City
Personal income tax	Combined federal + BC top rate ~53.5%	Combined federal + NY state (10.9%) + NYC (3.876%) ~51.8%
RRSP/RRIF growth	Not taxed while held	Taxed annually on the state return, treaty deferral doesn’t apply for state purposes
Sales tax	12% (5% GST + 7% PST)	About 8.875% in NYC
Property tax	Roughly 0.3% to 0.5% of assessed value	Varies widely by borough, often higher once transfer taxes are counted
City-level income tax	None	Up to 3.876% for New York City residents
Estate tax	None (deemed disposition at death instead)	State estate tax, threshold near $6.94 million, with a 105% cliff

Does New York City add its own income tax on top?

Yes, and it only reaches you if you actually live there. New York City runs its own personal income tax on top of the state’s, up to 3.876% at the top of its scale, and it turns on residency in the five boroughs, not on where your desk is. BC has no equivalent city-level income tax anywhere in the province, so this layer is new no matter which BC city you’re coming from.

What happens to my BC tax bill on the way out?

Leaving BC triggers the same deemed disposition every departing Canadian resident faces: a paper sale of most property at fair market value on your last day of residence. The taxable half lands on your final T1 at BC’s own rates, up to 20.5% provincial on top of the federal brackets. Unvested equity, non-principal real estate, and non-registered brokerage gains all get caught here. The departure tax guide covers the forms; the full checklist lays out the exit sequence.

Does New York really tax my RRSP every year?

Yes, and this is the trap most people moving from Vancouver don’t see coming. New York does not conform to the federal treaty deferral on RRSP and RRIF growth the way most states do. Your federal 1040 shows nothing on plan earnings, because the treaty defers that income at the federal level. New York’s own return doesn’t follow that deferral, so the plan’s interest, dividends, and realized gains inside the account get added back as state income every year they accrue, whether or not you withdraw a dollar.

Hypothetical example

Invented numbers. A Vancouver-based film editor takes a post-production role with a New York studio, moving in the fall on a $175,000 USD salary. She rents an apartment in Brooklyn and becomes a New York City resident from the day she arrives. On departure, BC treats a $30,000 CAD non-registered brokerage gain as deemed disposed, adding roughly $15,000 CAD to her final BC taxable income. She keeps her $140,000 CAD RRSP invested rather than collapsing it. In her first full New York year, the plan earns $6,500 CAD in interest and dividends. Nothing shows on her federal return, but that $6,500 lands as an addition on her New York state return, taxed at her marginal New York rate, the same mechanic she’d have faced had she moved to California instead.

Illustrative numbers only, not a real client and not advice for your facts.

What about the TFSA and MSP coverage?

The TFSA doesn’t get the RRSP’s partial treatment anywhere in the US, New York included. A TFSA held after you leave Canada is treated as a foreign trust for US purposes, which drags Form 3520 and 3520-A reporting behind it every year the account stays open, so most people collapse it before departure. BC’s Medical Services Plan keeps covering you to the end of the month after you leave, plus any prepaid period; after that you need employer or marketplace coverage in New York, and the health insurance timing guide covers the gap.

Why do film and finance workers make this move?

Vancouver’s production industry, built on decades as “Hollywood North,” feeds New York’s own soundstages, post houses, and network offices directly, without a Los Angeles detour. Real estate developers and investors follow Vancouver capital into Manhattan and Brooklyn projects. Tech workers move along the Amazon and Microsoft corridors that both cities share, and finance staff shift between BMO, RBC, and TD’s Vancouver operations and their New York desks. Fashion, media, and other creative industries round out the traffic, pulled by the same production and publishing ecosystem that draws the film crews.

Where do most people actually live?

Manhattan draws the finance and media crowd, split between Midtown for the commute, the Financial District for newer buildings, and the Upper West and East Sides for a quieter feel. Brooklyn (Park Slope, Williamsburg, DUMBO) pulls in creative and production workers on a smaller budget, closer to the boroughs’ own studio space. Queens (Astoria, Long Island City) runs cheaper still with a fast train into Manhattan. Jersey City and Hoboken sit across the Hudson on New Jersey’s tax system, a PATH commute many decide is worth a different state’s return.

What about estate tax and the cost of living?

New York carries its own state estate tax with a threshold near $6.94 million, and a genuine cliff: cross 105% of that threshold and the exemption doesn’t taper off, it disappears and the tax applies to the entire estate. BC has no estate tax; the equivalent event is the deemed disposition at death, taxed as income on the final return. Day to day, sales tax drops from BC’s 12% to about 8.875% in New York City, while property tax swings widely by borough, often landing higher than BC’s once a Manhattan co-op’s transfer taxes are counted.

What visa gets most people across?

TN status covers most of the tech, finance, and professional roles in this corridor, renewing indefinitely as long as the job qualifies. Film and production work runs more often through O-1 or industry-specific categories tied to the specific project or employer, since “film editor” doesn’t map to a standard TN category the way an accountant or engineer role does. The RRSP and TFSA guide for a TN move covers what to do with Canadian accounts before the visa start date regardless of which category applies.

What should I settle before the move?

Get the BC departure return scoped before you leave, so unvested equity and brokerage gains are handled on purpose. Decide what to do with the RRSP before New York residency starts, since every year you hold it afterward is another year of state-return reporting on growth you haven’t touched. Line up US health coverage for the gap after MSP ends, and settle whether you’re renting in the city itself or across the river in New Jersey before you sign a lease, since that single decision determines whether NYC’s own income tax reaches you at all.

BC to New York taxes, the province-level parent for this corridor
Canada to New York taxes, the generic corridor from any province
Toronto to New York taxes, the residency test worked through in depth
Ottawa to New York taxes, the government and policy corridor
Montreal to New York taxes, the Quebec-specific version of this move
Vancouver to San Francisco taxes, the sibling corridor with the same RRSP addback
Vancouver to Los Angeles taxes, the other entertainment-industry corridor from BC
Vancouver to Seattle taxes, the corridor that actually cuts the income tax
Vancouver to Austin taxes, the no-income-tax tech corridor from BC
Canadian departure tax basics, the T1161/T1243 filing mechanics
Departure checklist, the full exit sequence
RRSP and TFSA on a TN move, what to do with Canadian accounts before you go
The US-Canada tax treaty explained, the framework behind most of this
Your first US tax return, what filing looks like in year one
Provincial health insurance timing, the MSP coverage tail
State income tax for cross-border filers, the general state-by-state picture
Calgary to New York, the energy finance corridor from Alberta
Vancouver to Washington DC, the tech-to-policy corridor into DC
Vancouver to Chicago, the flat-rate Midwest corridor from BC

Planning a move from Vancouver to New York?

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Cite this page

Yarik Yarosh, CPA. "Moving from Vancouver to New York: Taxes, Hollywood North, and the RRSP Addback." Blue Cloud CPA, August 31, 2026. https://bluecloudcpa.com/guides/moving-from-vancouver-to-new-york-taxes

This guide is general information, not tax advice for your specific situation. Which points apply, and how, depends on your facts.