Who files the FBAR and Form 8938, how the TFSA and FHSA are treated, Canadian mutual funds as PFICs, Form 3520 penalties, and the Canadian T1135 for US accounts.
26 guides, each written by a CPA licensed in the US and Canada.
US persons report foreign accounts on FBAR and Form 8938. Canadian residents report foreign property on T1135. Thresholds, due dates, and penalties differ.
Cross-BorderFATCA requires foreign banks to report accounts held by US persons to the IRS and requires US persons to report foreign financial assets on Form 8938.
Cross-BorderThe 2025 FBAR was due April 15, 2026, with an automatic extension to October 15, 2026, and the 2026 FBAR is due April 15, 2027. Weekend rules, disaster relief, missed dates.
Cross-BorderYou file an FBAR if you're a US person and your foreign accounts together topped $10,000 at any point in the year. Who counts, which Canadian accounts, and the dates.
Cross-BorderA CPA or enrolled agent usually handles non-willful FBAR catch-ups. Willfulness, criminal risk or an exam that raises willfulness is lawyer territory, partly because of privilege.
Cross-BorderUsually six. Streamlined asks for the last 6 FBAR years and 3 years of returns, and FBAR penalties can generally be assessed for 6 years. What changes it and why.
Cross-BorderThe IRS now considers reasonable cause statements on late Forms 3520 and 3520-A before assessing a penalty. What that means for TFSA, RESP and gift penalties, and abatement.
Cross-BorderForm 3520 reports foreign trusts and large foreign gifts. In Canada that's usually an inheritance over $100,000, or a TFSA or RESP that may be a trust. Who files, when, penalties.
Cross-BorderThe penalties are designed for large multinationals hiding offshore income, but they land equally on dual citizens running a one-person Canadian company.
Cross-BorderYou file Form 8938 with your return if your foreign financial assets top $50,000 to $600,000, depending on where you live and how you file. Who files, what counts, penalties.
Cross-BorderOften yes. The FBAR goes to FinCEN at $10,000; Form 8938 goes to the IRS at $50,000 or more. Thresholds, what counts, penalties and Canadian examples side by side.
Cross-BorderHow to report US income on your Canadian T1, including foreign tax credits on T2209, T1135 filing thresholds, and the mistakes that trigger reassessments.
Cross-BorderYou file the FBAR online through FinCEN's BSA E-Filing System, no account needed. What to gather, which part each Canadian account goes in, spouses, preparers and fixes.
Cross-BorderFile one Form 8621 per Canadian fund, attached to your 1040 by its due date. Who must file, the $25,000 exception, the three PFIC regimes and the election deadlines.
Cross-BorderNo definitive answer. The IRS has never ruled on TFSAs specifically. There's no definitive answer, because the IRS has never ruled on TFSAs specifically.
Cross-BorderIs your FHSA a foreign trust for Form 3520? Only the trusteed kind can be. Insured and deposit FHSAs aren't trusts, and Rev. Proc. 2020-17 doesn't settle it.
Cross-BorderA joint bank or investment account with a person in the other country creates reporting obligations for both parties. Covers treaty provisions, foreign.
Cross-BorderCanadian and European banks are closing accounts over FATCA when a customer can't produce a US Social Security number. Covers key rules, filing.
Cross-BorderCanadian residents report US Airbnb income on Form T776, claim the foreign tax credit on T2209, and file T1135 if the property cost exceeds $100,000 CAD.
Canadian TaxYou file Form T1135 if you're a Canadian resident whose foreign property cost more than $100,000 at any time in the year. Here's what counts, Part A vs B, and the due date.
Cross-BorderThe T1135 late filing penalty is $25 a day up to $2,500 per form, even with no tax owing. Gross negligence adds more. Here's how relief and the 2025 VDP rules work.
Cross-BorderA section 6677 penalty is assessable, meaning the IRS can charge it without first sending a proposed notice you get to argue.
Cross-BorderUS-listed ETFs and most operating-company stocks avoid the PFIC rules; Canadian mutual funds and Canadian-listed ETFs don't. What to hold, where, and how to clean up.
Cross-BorderA PFIC is a foreign corporation with mostly passive income or assets. Canadian mutual funds and ETFs usually qualify; GICs and RRSP-held funds are treated differently.
Cross-BorderAn ITF account at a Canadian bank looks simple but triggers Canadian attribution rules, plus foreign trust reporting when a parent or child is a US person.
Cross-BorderThe foreign trust files it, the trustee signs it, and it's due the 15th day of the 3rd month after the trust's year end (15 March for a calendar-year.