Tag Archives: 5th protocol Canada U.S. tax treaty

How Americans moving to Canada can maximize the use of their existing Roth IRA

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I have previously explained how the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty allows a U.S. citizen to move to Canada and continue the deferral of taxation (in both Canada and the United States) on his existing Roth.The treaty allows for deferral with respect to the existing balance in the Roth. It does NOT allow for deferral with respect to contributions made after the person becomes a tax resident of Canada.

That post concluded with:

Conclusions:

1. The owner of a ROTH who moves to Canada can will continue to not pay tax on the income earned by the ROTH and will not pay tax on distributions from the ROTH. We will see that this can prevent a tremendous investing opportunity; and

2. Contributions made to the ROTH after moving to Canada will cease to be “pensions” within the meaning of of Article XVIII of the Treaty! This means that post “resident in Canada” contributions will NOT be subject tax “tax deferral” (as per paragraph 7) and will be subject to taxation (as per paragraph 1).

Possible Additional Conclusion:

3. Because a Canadian TFSA is the same kind of retirement vehicle as a U.S. ROTH IRA, and the ROTH IRA is treated as a “pension” under Article XVIII of the treaty:

A TFSA should be treated as a pension under Article XVIII of the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty.

But, moving back to the U.S. citizen who moves to Canada with a Roth IRA.

How a U.S. citizen who moves to Canada can maximize use of the Roth and the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty

Q. How does this work? A. It takes advantage of the “stretch” principle
The general “stretch” principle is described at Phil Hogan as follows:

How US plans can “stretch” to Future Generations

Chris discusses the often overlooked benefits of US plans for Canadian residents. Under US tax laws IRA (and sometimes 401k) plans can be “stretched” or transferred to future generations tax free. Pursuant to Canada-US treaty provisions the same treatment can be had for Canadian tax purposes.

Unlike RRSP accounts, US IRA accounts can be transferred to a second generation (non-spouse) tax free under the Canada-US tax treaty. The impact of the tax free transfer and compounding investment over the lifetime of the beneficiary can be significant. This is outlined in detail in Chris’ new white paper report Roth IRAs in Canada – The gift that keeps on giving. How $250,000 can turn into $35 million TAX FREE to an heir.

Here is the full video …

And the written explanation …

See the link in the above tweet here …

roth_IRA_in_Canada_compliance_approved-1 (1)

Bottom line:

The features of a Roth IRA coupled with certain provisions of the Canada U.S. tax treaty may provide for better financial planning options for U.S. citizens who move to Canada than are available to Canadian residents who have not lived in the United States.

John Richardson Follow me on Twitter @ExpatriationLaw

Canada U.S. Tax Treaty: Why the 5th protocol of the Canada US Tax Treaty Clarifies that the TFSA is a pension within the meaning of the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty

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Article XVIII of the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty Continued – The question of the TFSA

In a previous post I discussed how a U.S. citizen moving to Canada with an existing ROTH will be treated under the Canada U.S. Tax treaty.

The purpose of this post is two-fold:

First, to argue that the the TFSA should be treated as a “pension” within the meaning of Article XVIII of the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty; and

Second, to argue that the 5th protocol (which clarifies that the ROTH IRA) is a pension within the meaning of the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty means that the Canadian TFSA has the same status.

This will be developed in three parts:

Part A – How the Canada U.S. Tax Treaty affects U.S. Taxation of the Canadian TFSA

Part B- Wait just a minute! I heard that the “Savings Clause” means that the treaty would not apply to U.S. citizens?

Part C – The TFSA and Information Returns: To file Form 3520 and 3520A or to not, that is the question

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