3 Canadian Accounts to Avoid as a U.S. Resident

Most of our clients have an alphabet soup of retirement accounts. In Canada, they may have RRSPs, LIRAs, RESPs, Non-Registered accounts, and others. In the U.S., many will have IRAs, 401(k)s, Roth accounts, and brokerage accounts, to name a few. In this video, we discuss some Canadian accounts you may want to avoid if you are now a U.S. resident.

In this video, we discuss:
- Reporting requirements for RRSPs and LIRAs
- The issue with Non-Registered Investment Accounts
- Strategies for your TFSAs
- RESPS

[markchuchra]

Hi Bryan, thanks for the helpful insights. I always refer fellow Americans in Canada to watch your content and to subscribe/follow.

[sherribuntain]

If the TFSA is only holding GIC's would you still caution against the TFSA for Canadian residents (who are still US Citizens)? I assume the same reporting is required for US Citizens who have retired in Canada. Thank you Bryan for these very helpful topics.

[markchuchra]

Bryan, on a related note, one of the fundamental questions that Canadian residents need to contemplate when deciding to move to the US is where specifically to live. It would be great if you could someday put some thoughts/content together on the financial and tax implications of selecting a new destination home state for retirement (prior to making the move).

There is lots of standard info online about differences in state income taxes (as that applies to all Americans making moves inter-state), like the list of states that don't have personal state income taxes at all (e.g., FL, NH, etc.) vs. relatively high state income tax. Of course, there is more to consider than that... For example, I recently came across some content that indicates that certain states (e.g., NJ, PA, MD, CA...) that do not follow the US-Canada Tax treaty -- so doesn't that mean that a cross-border family living in one of those 13 states would end up filing/paying state income taxes on Canadian retirement accounts (RRSPs, RPPs, RIF/LIFs) and CPP/OAS? Are there planning opportunities for the Canadian sourced income to ease the tax expense and/or filing hassles in those states?