1) When you left Canada did you tell the CRA you were going to be non-resident, at which point you’d have to pay the non-resident exit tax which is a deemed capital gain?
2) You can keep it as US IB if you are no longer US resident but you need to file a W-8.
3) Malaysia might be an option for tax residency. No capital gains forever and all foreign income exempted until the start of 2027, need to spend 90 days at least per year. English speaking and you can live like a king for $3k a month.
Most banks and financial institutions want you to be resident “somewhere.”
Ok, so then you don’t owe Canada anything as you are already non-resident for CRA purposes and since you are on a non-immigrant visa (TN1) in the US you can just leave with your capital gains unrealized.
You canucks get visa free US access with no ESTA, TN-1, infinite foreign deferral through weak FAPI rules, no estate nor gift taxes!
I won't lie, It does sound like a good deal. My employer has been pressuring me to get green card multiple years but I've been avoiding it for this purpose.
Malaysia has been intriguing to me but I heard that their retirement visa updates haven't been appealing.
They elected some socialist during covid but he was kicked out and the MM2H program is pretty easy again:
$100k deposit in bank for 5y renewable visa
Or you can do a labuan directors visa for 2y renewable visa for about $5k a year in cost…
If they are not long term US permanent residents (aka green card holders).
If they are, then they are treated the same way as US citizens expatriating from the US.
Thank you. That’s very helpful to know. Do you know if they will still be able to keep their investments with brokerages like Robin Hood for example after they leave?
One more question. If I'm spending 3-4K /month in Asia, my capital gains tax would be a really small amount in Canada if I was a tax resident there. Any reason why I shouldn't do that? Seems like it'll cost me more money to become a tax resident in Malaysia.
If you ever return to Canada, and become a Canadian tax resident again, they are going to ask you to account for those missing years. If you can't prove you were a tax resident in another country, they will demand back-taxes.
If I was you, I would become a tax resident in Malaysia, and somehow find a way to pay a token amount of tax to the Malaysia government.
I hear Paraguay has a relatively easy process to get permanent residence, even if you don't live there at all. Some people do this simply to be registered somewhere.
If you truly don’t establish tax residency anywhere (no work performed in a country or stay anywhere long enough to establish tax residency) then your one of those weird edge cases your investment accounts likely can’t handle.
What I might do is research which country you spend time in temporarily and see which has the best tax residency setup and just leave it there.
If you tell them “i don’t have any tax residency” you’re going to enter into a customer service hell where they say “i have to put something sir”
For example Singapore doesn’t tax investment income at all. So if your residency was in Singapore (whether you stay there or not) the brokerages will be happy and there is no tax reporting for Singapore.
Not sure if this was implied, but if you can’t establish residency anywhere, you become a Canadian tax resident due to your citizenship, even if you don’t spend a day in Canada
Damn. I’d be looking at establishing tax residency, if I had to do a bunch of tourist visits, in a country like Thailand which, when I last checked, didn’t tax income from outside the country.
1) When you left Canada did you tell the CRA you were going to be non-resident, at which point you’d have to pay the non-resident exit tax which is a deemed capital gain? 2) You can keep it as US IB if you are no longer US resident but you need to file a W-8. 3) Malaysia might be an option for tax residency. No capital gains forever and all foreign income exempted until the start of 2027, need to spend 90 days at least per year. English speaking and you can live like a king for $3k a month. Most banks and financial institutions want you to be resident “somewhere.”
1. Yes, that was handled 8 years ago. I do have new gains since I moved to the US. 2. Good to know. 3. I'll look into Malaysia, thanks.
Ok, so then you don’t owe Canada anything as you are already non-resident for CRA purposes and since you are on a non-immigrant visa (TN1) in the US you can just leave with your capital gains unrealized. You canucks get visa free US access with no ESTA, TN-1, infinite foreign deferral through weak FAPI rules, no estate nor gift taxes!
I won't lie, It does sound like a good deal. My employer has been pressuring me to get green card multiple years but I've been avoiding it for this purpose. Malaysia has been intriguing to me but I heard that their retirement visa updates haven't been appealing.
They elected some socialist during covid but he was kicked out and the MM2H program is pretty easy again: $100k deposit in bank for 5y renewable visa Or you can do a labuan directors visa for 2y renewable visa for about $5k a year in cost…
If a Canadian leaves with capital gains unrealized won’t they just pay the taxes in whatever jurisdiction they are in when they do realize them?
If they are not long term US permanent residents (aka green card holders). If they are, then they are treated the same way as US citizens expatriating from the US.
Thank you. That’s very helpful to know. Do you know if they will still be able to keep their investments with brokerages like Robin Hood for example after they leave?
One more question. If I'm spending 3-4K /month in Asia, my capital gains tax would be a really small amount in Canada if I was a tax resident there. Any reason why I shouldn't do that? Seems like it'll cost me more money to become a tax resident in Malaysia.
If you ever return to Canada, and become a Canadian tax resident again, they are going to ask you to account for those missing years. If you can't prove you were a tax resident in another country, they will demand back-taxes. If I was you, I would become a tax resident in Malaysia, and somehow find a way to pay a token amount of tax to the Malaysia government.
>If you can't prove you were a tax resident in another country, they will demand back-taxes. Then you'll gracefully bow out again. Problem solved.
I hear Paraguay has a relatively easy process to get permanent residence, even if you don't live there at all. Some people do this simply to be registered somewhere.
If you truly don’t establish tax residency anywhere (no work performed in a country or stay anywhere long enough to establish tax residency) then your one of those weird edge cases your investment accounts likely can’t handle. What I might do is research which country you spend time in temporarily and see which has the best tax residency setup and just leave it there. If you tell them “i don’t have any tax residency” you’re going to enter into a customer service hell where they say “i have to put something sir” For example Singapore doesn’t tax investment income at all. So if your residency was in Singapore (whether you stay there or not) the brokerages will be happy and there is no tax reporting for Singapore.
Not sure if this was implied, but if you can’t establish residency anywhere, you become a Canadian tax resident due to your citizenship, even if you don’t spend a day in Canada
Damn. I’d be looking at establishing tax residency, if I had to do a bunch of tourist visits, in a country like Thailand which, when I last checked, didn’t tax income from outside the country.
He will not return to Canada.
Who knows maybe he really loves lining up with 400 Indian immigrants for a Tim Horton's coffee.