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Cross - Border Considerations For Moving Between Canada and the US
Episode 5326th August 2021 • The Wealth and Wellness Podcast with Kalee Boisvert • Kalee Boisvert
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In this episode, we are joined by special guest Krista Rabidoux who provides U.S.-Canadian cross-border tax planning services. Krista offers some great reminders of what you will need to consider if you are planning to make a cross-border move. As well she shares the importance of filing the right forms on time to avoid costly penalties. And if you are dreaming of the snowbird lifestyle be sure to listen to important considerations about your length of stay. She also touches on buying property on the other side of the border and what you will need to keep in mind for tax purposes. 

About the Guest: 

Krista Rabidoux is a CPA, with over 20 years of experience providing US -Canadian cross-border tax planning and compliance services. As a Principal with Andersen Tax, Krista works with businesses and individuals to assist them with mitigating tax requirements in both the US and Canada.

Krista would love to hear from you:

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/krista-rabidoux/

Email: krista.rabidoux@andersentax.ca

Website: https://ca.andersen.com/

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUZqqfsjWw0UHVGnsuzkJwg

About the Host:

I am a financial professional, who specializes in helping people to achieve their financial goals. My absolute passion is creating new possibilities in people’s lives by showing them the ropes when it comes to money. I’m here to spark healthy and positive conversations around wealth and investment and create a world where nobody is limited by their financial situation. I believe this begins with education and shifting our relationships with money. I love getting to witness people achieving their most ambitious goals and creating new possibilities for themselves and their families!

I love your questions! Reach out to me anytime at:

Email: kalee.boisvert@raymondjames.ca

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/kaleeboisvert/

Twitter:https://twitter.com/wealthandwelln2

https://www.facebook.com/kaleeboisvertwealthandwellness/

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Transcripts

Kalee Boisvert:

Welcome to the wealth and wellness podcast with me Kaylie Bob air, I specialize in helping people to achieve their financial goals. I have a love for all things numbers, and I'm passionate about financial literacy. My goal is to spark healthy and positive conversations around wealth and investment and create a world where nobody is limited by their financial situation. But wealth is just one piece of the equation of living our best lives. So join me as we explore both wealth and wellness topics. From your net worth to your self worth. Get ready to take confident action. Hello, this is Kaylee and thank you so much for tuning into this episode of the wealth and wellness podcast. I'm really excited for today's episode. Today we're going to be talking all about cross border considerations for Canadian and US residents and citizens. I love this topic because I do work with clients on both sides of the border. And whether it's you know, they're moving between countries being relocated, there are intricacies that are important to be aware of. So I'm very excited that I'm also joined by my special guest today. So today we have on the podcast, Krista rabideau. Krista is a CPA and has over 20 years of experience providing us Canadian cross border tax planning and compliance services. As a principal with Andersen tax crystal works with businesses and individuals to assist them with mitigating tax requirements in both the US and Canada. And just a disclaimer when we're talking about taxes. And I mean, even on the investment side of things, I'd like people to be aware of that, you know, this isn't we don't want you to be taking what we're talking about today as specific tax advice. So it's still important, obviously, for you to seek counsel of a professional to discuss really the particulars of your own situation. So again, this is for information purposes, everyone's situation is quite unique. And so we do kind of strongly suggest that for your specific circumstances that you reach out to a professional just to also, you know, make sure that that what we're talking about and, and whatnot is relevant to your particular situation. So thank you so much for being here today, Krista. Um, to just to get started, you want to share a little bit more about your background? And you know, what brought you to do this work that you specifically do?

Krista Rabidoux:

Sure, yeah, thanks for having me today. I appreciate the opportunity to talk with you and share some information. Hi, as you mentioned, I have been practicing for over 20 years in the cross border tax market. And I mean, if you had asked me 10 years ago, if I'd still be here today, I probably would have said no way because of the intricacies as you said, with tax law gets quite complicated and and quite overwhelming sometimes. But, you know, at the end of the day, I just, I really truly enjoy the complexities and working through situations advising people on on how best to manage their tax situations when they're looking to move across borders, and live in just different jurisdictions outside of Canada, or into the US or outside of the US for citizens who want to live in other place in the world. And just really helping them to mitigate the exposure that they may face and to try and make their tax filings as simplistic as possible, given given the complexities that all countries are starting to put in place for capturing revenue that's happening outside of their countries. So you know, I just for myself, I really just enjoy, enjoy. It's almost like investigative detective work. Trying to resolve those those matters.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes, it is very tricky, because it is different for everyone. And there's all different scenarios, like I come across that in my business too. And it's, you know, you can kind of have the textbook information but it really depends on the particulars of you know, their the person's situation. So it is a lot of learning, like continuing to kind of problem solve and investigate. Grow. Yeah, and it's That's right. Yeah. And it's it's fun because it's Yeah, it's putting it you know, finding solutions to that's putting more money, hopefully in their pocket right and less in the hands of, you know, government and and taxes. Of course, we're not trying to get in the hands of their accountants to Yes, exactly right. And it's. And that's, that's important. And it's, again, it's very tricky for us to know this stuff for, you know, this isn't our if this isn't your day to day or specialty, it's not really expected that you would know the ins and outs of this tax law. Absolutely.

Unknown:

Well, and you know, it's interesting, because as you said, One little fact pattern can completely change the answer and, and for anybody, if you keep anything up to date, in the past four to five years, the amount of tax laws that have changed, you can't even necessarily rely on the internet anymore. Yeah, because of the overwhelming redrafting of all tax laws, both in the US and Canada that if you read an article from 2016, it could be not even valid anymore.

Kalee Boisvert:

Absolutely, absolutely. So definitely be aware of that people. So it's like self diagnosing on the internet, it's not a good idea. necessarily a good idea to get your tax information online, is right, especially if it's dated. So with everything going on with COVID, you know, what really comes to mind for me is people are feeling a lot less location, you know, sort of dependent, and they're feeling that they can go in different places and work from different locations. So are there considerations then for people that, you know, can be working from home? And have decided, Hey, I don't really you know, love living where I am, I want to go live in a warmer climate, I want to go, you know, move down south, I'm in Canada, I, you know, I want to maybe go live in the US while I work and I could still be doing the work I do, but from a new location. So for people in those scenarios, what are the considerations that need they need to keep in mind if they're moving between countries?

Unknown:

Sure. Yeah. I mean, that's, that's probably the biggest question we faced in the past year, and even with our own team, for that matter, about being able to just kind of work from wherever they want. And in theory, it sounds wonderful. And it is easy, technically, to do that, because the technology is there, especially for those that work on a computer most of the time. But unfortunately, it's not quite that simple, both with immigration and tax to just pick up and go to another country and work. There are a lot of rules, and I'm not an immigration lawyer. So I can't really speak to what you need to do. But there are rules that you can't actually legally work in another country without a visa of some kind. And so you really need to be careful in what you're doing. If you intend to move there on a permanent basis and work from that country. Are you breaking any immigration laws, and then on the flip side is the tax side. Generally, most countries will tax on residency. So if you're planning to, let's say, You're an individual who lives in Canada, and you're like, you know what, I think I want to go live in Florida for the next few years. And I can just work from there remotely, that can create a lot of issues both on the Canadian side and on the US side. So from a Canadian side, when you plan to leave, they have something that's called a departure tax. So depending on your situation, and what types of assets that you hold, you could trigger a large deemed tax situation. And when I mean deemed, it doesn't actually happen. But the government looks at it and says, we're going to tell you what happened because you're leaving our country. And basically, the the point of that is that any appreciation that has happened in your assets up from the point that you bought it to the point that you leave Canada, Canada wants to be able to tax that share of wealth that are that occurred while living in Canada. So they have this thing called departure tax when you leave Canada and you have to not all assets, but most assets you have to deem dispose of and pay the tax on there is the ability to defer that tax. But that's kind of there's some complexities that come into that when when you want to try and defer that. And then on the flip side, when you look down to the US, the US is going to say Well, hey, wait a second, you're living here, we want our chunk of change. And so when you're actually an employee, this creates a lot of issues for the employer, because the employer now is technically required to set up and withhold us payroll versus Canadian payroll on your pay, as well as you as an individual now has to file a US Federal return and potentially state return if you move somewhere else besides Florida and pay your tax down in the US. So although you won't be subjected to the Canadian income tax on that earnings any any further, you will be subjected on to US tax and your employer. We'll have to set up us payroll. So it can get quite complex. And there are there are third party forums out there that can help manage those situations for companies that want to have remote employees. But it is a complexity that you definitely need to take into account. And you know, other things such as health care, if you leave Canada, you're not going to be able to qualify for the Canadian health care if you're gone for more than six months. So there are, you can't just kind of pack up and go to another country without triggering a different type of implication that can happen from many fronts.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes. Okay. So that's definitely something to consider. Then, what about if we're talking just for vacationing purposes, so here in Canada, I think a lot of Canadians have this desire, you know, Canada's cold, it gets cold here in the winter. So what about for those people then, okay, I want to go down south, I want to go somewhere hot to spend my winters rather than staying here in Canada, maybe it's, you know, let's talk maybe more so retirees then or later. So it's not necessarily that they're making, you know, an employment income, but they have maybe their retirement income or whatnot, but they're wanting to go down to stay there vacation.

Unknown:

So I mean, generally in those situation, when we refer to those as snowbirds, we recommend that they stay in the US less than 182 days. If you end up being there longer than 183 days, the US domestic system actually requires you to file a US return. And you'll be subjected to all of their foreign reporting, which is where a lot of the US reporting becomes complex is less not always about the income tax reporting, but the actual reporting of all your assets that you hold in Canada. So by accidentally staying those two extra days, you now need to disclose all assets that you hold in Canada to the IRS. And they can get quite complex depending on on what this retiree owns. Now, the treaty between Canada and the US will protect the income so you don't actually need to disclose income to the US. However, you do need to file and report and claim that treaty position between the trade tax treaty between Canada and the US, you'll maintain Canadian residency as as no different and file your Canadian tax return and pay tax on your income in Canada for retiree if you're a retiree, or someone who's just traveling for a few months down to the US. But it's usually the US side of things. Now, I say this 182 days, and that's what a lot of people, you know, have in their brain, they just need to stay under that. But it's the EU, if you're in the US, I actually tell people to think of 120 days, because the US also has this rolling three year test that they use to calculate how many days you can be in the US before you're considered a US resident under US law. Now, there's three year rolling test, there is a form you can file to kind of get out of any foreign reporting in the US, but it is something to keep in mind this three year rolling test that the US has, it's called substantial presence test. And if you meet that substantial presence test, then you do have a filing obligation in the US.

Kalee Boisvert:

Okay. And how do they is it calendar years? We're talking? Is it like January one to December 31?

Unknown:

That's right. Yeah. So it's calendar year. For individuals, you always look at a calendar year when we're looking at businesses, we're looking at 12 month rolling tests.

Kalee Boisvert:

Okay, perfect. And keep in mind, obviously, if it comes to a point where you went over and again, it's just that you're gonna have these extra forms to file a big consideration with that. It's like when you're filing the forms, I'm sure it's about being on time, right? Because I know, from my experience, I've seen that there's a big penalties if you're Yes, on any of these forms. Yeah,

Unknown:

the IRS isn't quite as nice when it comes to penalties as Canada's I know, I know. I know, Canadians think that Canadian systems quite punitive. But the US system if you forget to file a form, it's an immediate $10,000 penalty, regardless if there's tax or no tax, so it's performed per year. So it can I have had people with hundreds that are worth maybe, you know, $100,000, and they have penalties of $100,000. And they there's no absolute way this person would ever be able to even pay that. But that's they have less mercy in the US than than in Canada.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yeah. So really just being aware and even, you know, better safe than sorry, and just saying, am I even getting close as potentially something I'm going to need so you're not missing any of those deadlines. If you try

Unknown:

to file or any you know, it's interesting because a lot of times people would advise that the treaties always there and the treaty would protect you and you always have the right to the treaty. And, and we have always said to people, you can't always rely on that because If you don't claim your treaty position, the US actually has the right to deny the treaty position. And that's how their laws are written. And previously, a lot of people would still advise that, you know, you should be able to but most recently, there was actually a court case that said, No, the law says, if you don't file and claim your treaty position, you don't get it. So. So now there's court law out there that's actually siding with the IRS on that part, too. So it's it's better we call them insurance filings. You're basically filing to protect yourself?

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes. From Yeah, massive penalties of 10,000 perform cheaper. Exactly. Yeah, exactly. Um, and so Okay, so if we're talking about Snowbird, like we just said snowbirds, you're going there, okay, being aware of how long you're spending. What about though, for people that want to buy a vacation property down there? Or a second, a second property, I guess, or vacation property? What do they need to consider?

Unknown:

Yeah, so as far as purchasing a property, there's absolutely no problems for non residents purchasing a property, we deal with many people that have that the two areas that most concern when you decide to purchase a property is one, are you planning on renting it, too? Are you exposing yourself to estate tax in the US. So those are the kind of the two main areas that a person needs to look at when they're deciding if they want to buy a property down in the US to to use and or rent. If you decide to rent the property, you have, there's either a there has to be withholdings, but there's also actually a requirement to file a US or sorry, a return in the US reporting that rental income and there may depending on what state you own that property, and you also have to file a state return, reporting that rental income. And one of the biggest things that we find people saying to us as well, it's a loss. So it doesn't really matter. But the biggest concern that we always express to people when we when they say that, that there's a loss doesn't matter, there's no tax. So there's no penalty is that in the US, it is mandatory to actually claim depreciation on property. So unlike Canada with the CCA, where you have the option to take it or not the US it's a mandatory deduction. And unfortunately, if you choose not to file your return and carry create that pool of loss carry forwards, when you go to sell that property, you're deemed to have claimed all the depreciation. So you may be in a position of very low cost basis, which would increase the recapturing gain on that property and have no losses to offset it. So if we would always tell people again, you want to file your returns, because you don't want to be in a position in the future where you are more tax because you chose not to.

Kalee Boisvert:

Absolutely,

Unknown:

yeah. And on the flip side, talking about a state tax, you know, right now, the estate tax thresholds quite high, it's $11.7 million, or something. But under the new administration, they're proposing to drop that to three and a half million. And one of the biggest misconceptions is, is that three and a half million is actually or 11. and a half million is based on worldwide assets. So when they're looking at your total estate value, they're actually looking at all assets everywhere. And if you're, if you own property in the US that's greater than $60,000. And it's called us situs property. I'll explain that in a second. If you own us situs property that's in excess of $60,000. us, you must file a US estate return if someone passes. It's for non resident. Now, if the person's worldwide estate happens to be in excess of 11 and a half million dollars, they're actually going to be subjected to a state tax, which is a gross value tax, not a capital gain tax. So it can get quite expensive for someone who has a large estate. And when we're looking at what is the US status property, and we're talking about this vacation home or rental home that someone might buy, but it also actually includes if you own US stock and an in an investment account here in Canada, so you can quite easily get into that $60,000 threshold when you're taking into account all of your assets.

Kalee Boisvert:

Absolutely. Yeah. Like we're talking if you have some shares of Amazon or Apple or anything like that in your portfolio. That Canada.

Unknown:

Yeah, yeah. It doesn't matter if it's in a Canadian bank. The minute you have something in your portfolio, that's a US situs stock. That's us property.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yeah. And it's just a matter of then making sure you follow that form that was specifically for state purposes. That's right.

Unknown:

Yeah, exactly. And like I said, if your state right now is less than 11 and a half million dollars, it's just a disclosure. There's not going to be any tax, but if it is in in excess of that it's at 40% of the gross value of the estate. Yeah. Of Us property. Sorry, not the full estate, just the US property.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes. And like you said that that amount can change. It's that 11 million now. Yeah, it's in talks to be brought down.

Unknown:

Yeah, exactly. And I mean, as the administration's have changed over the years, it's gone up, and it's gone down, and it's gone up. So this has been a cycle that's happened every time the administration changes.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes. Okay. So definitely, again, things to keep in mind, where a tax professional, especially cross border can always help you answering these questions. If you are concerned, you know, is there? Is this going to be an issue for you? Is there something that that you should, you know, be aware of for your own situation? That's definitely who I'd recommend to discuss with someone like yourself? Of course, Krista, you're a wealth of knowledge. Yeah. I was gonna say to so the US has a global tax reporting requirement. Do you want to explain a bit about what that means to listeners? And who is your ex? I

Unknown:

guess? Like you're referring to the US citizen? Yeah. Our thing? Yeah. So. So yeah, as I kind of alluded to it earlier, most countries tax based on residency, there's only two three countries in the world that actually tax based on citizenship. And the US is one of those countries that taxes based on you or US citizenship. And so basically, what what the rules are, is if you are a US citizen, or green card holder, permanent resident, for that matter, it is anybody who has some type of permanent status of the US, you are required to file and report as if you were living in the US. So it doesn't matter where you live in the world, the US will always treat you as though you're living there, and you have to report your worldwide income and worldwide assets to the IRS. A lot of times we the two biggest hiccups that we usually find is people with green cards that have expired, that assume because they have expired, they don't need to file. That is not true. Immigration Law and tax law are two completely different scope of practice. Tax Law says so long as you actually have that card on your person, regardless if you can use it for immigration are not, you are subjected to income tax filings. So people actually have to physically renounce their green card and give it back to the border, in order to get out of income tax violence. Now, you need to be a little bit careful, because you've had if you've had it for greater than eight years, and your your total estates over $2 million, you could trigger some tax. So you don't want to just kind of say, Oh, I'm just gonna hand it in and walk away. Because there could possibly be an exit tax similar to how we talked about earlier, Canada with a departure tax us has the same type of regime. And the other area where we usually find people getting caught up in is what we call the accidental American. So those ones that don't realize they're a US citizen, either a because they were born there, but have lived in Canada their whole life. So they don't actually think that they need to report anything, because they've never been there. Or B, which is the biggest one that we run into is people who were born to US citizens, parents, they were born in Canada have never lived in the US. But under US tax, or sorry, US immigration law, they technically for tax reporting purposes, have US citizenship. And so those are that's probably the one that catches people the most when they don't realize that because their parents were born or sorry, lived in the United States and their parents were US citizens themselves, regardless of where their children are born. They have kind of inherited that US citizenship status, even if they haven't applied for it. So that I wanted that one can get quite tricky. We do work with some legal counsel who do too, does digging. And it can get tricky, because you know, how do you get a social security number? How do you how do you prove all of this stuff in it? It can get a little hairy, but that under the technical rules of law, that is how it is?

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes. And that was something I remember really coming up. I don't know how long but maybe like 10 years ago or something? Yeah. It was almost like those people were kind of going under the radar and nothing was happening. But then they really started cracking down it sounds like and that. Yeah, thinking that you don't have to do anything. You've never been there. You haven't worked their butt very much. So you actually do have to still do a US tax return.

Unknown:

Yeah, and the biggest the biggest, when it really started to kind of blow up is when they came out with the fatca reporting where the Canadian banks now had to report to the US if a person was a US citizen or not, and anybody who kind of has an investment portfolio they'll have had to filled out either a W eight Ben or a W nine for their broker to show that they either are a US person because Canadian banks will not just it's any bank in the world, really, it's not just Canada, but the US has reached their arms out saying we want to know where all our citizens are basically. And it was the starting of all of this. And they have since so they used to have two programs in which people could file under, there's the streamline, and then there was the offshore voluntary disclosure, they it was two years ago, three years ago, I don't know with COVID, timing just seems all off in my brain, but they closed down the offshore one. So all that's left is the streamline now, and they they're actually threatening to close down the streamline as well. So I know we still deal with people who are human and hauling, whether they should file or not. And if if they don't get to file under streamline, they are subject to all those penalties we were talking about earlier, at least with the streamline process. The IRS waives the penalties under this voluntary process. Right. But, but as I said, they are there's talks, they've already got rid of one of the programs and they're talking about getting rid of the other one. So it's it. Hi, hi. I always try and tell people don't delay. I know, I know. It's a pain. I know it's a lot of work, and it's gonna cost money. But the cost it could be if they if you file after they shut down the streamline will be way more.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yeah. Yeah, it's just yeah, doing things right the first time rather than try to have to Yeah, ask for forgiveness later. Exactly. Don't give the forgiveness very easily. That's

Unknown:

not very easily at all. Don't That is correct. Um,

Kalee Boisvert:

so what would you say then for people planning for a move? I mean, I think I know the answer is like, if you're going to move between the countries, you know, start having these conversations and doing these things sort of sooner than later. Because oftentimes, what happens is they relocate, they get there. And then that's oftentimes when they're reaching out to me about their investments and things like that. But so are people planning for a move? How can we be proactive? What kind of conversations can be had leading up to it? And what are some considerations for them?

Unknown:

That's right. And I, I actually say that they should at least talk with their financial advisor, your accountant and their lawyer six months before leaving, and getting that detailed plan, because if they've moved, we just kept report how it is, there's nothing that can be done to go back in time to change the facts. Whereas if someone talks to their professional advisors prior to making a move across the border, then then it's there's ways to make sure that you're structuring things the right way, planning things the right way, thinking in advance, for instance, this departure tax that I was talking about, and deferring it, you can defer it, but you may need to get a note of security from a bank. And if you've left already, it makes it harder to try and go back in time to request that security. Right. So there's just a lot of things that you kind of, really need to take an account of what assets do I keep? What should I maybe dispose of, especially people who own corporations, there's a lot to do I need to restructure my Corporation so that it's minimal impact in the US are minimal departure tax. So there's just kind of multiple layers to look at when deciding. And one of the biggest things we always get asked is should I move my pension plan to the other country? Again, that's not a checkmark, yes, just move it because you're living in that country, you may not want to because you could create more tax than just leaving it. So there's, there's always just a number of scenarios you need to take into account depending on what you own, what your long term goals are. And the first question I always ask someone when they're planning to move is are you moving for good? Are you moving for two years? Like what why are you moving? Right? Because depending on that answer will depend on what type of planning needs to be done. I mean, I've had situations where people moved, without telling us we find out the next year when we go to do the tax return. And it created millions of dollars of taxes because we weren't able to plan around it. Right. So it's it's it's just important to kind of make sure that, that you're talking to your advisors, and like I said, the lawyer, the accountant and the financial advisor, those three people need to be talked to if someone's planning to move across the border.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yeah, yeah. And it's, you know, I think sometimes the fear people have is, that sounds really expensive. You know, I think of the cost, but yeah, again, like you said, the cost of missing these things of not doing it correctly, can oftentimes be or are far more if that's, you know, that happens and that comes to fruition. So There's

Unknown:

an advisor fees will be way more if we have to clean it up. And if we just did it right the first time.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes, yeah. And the planning and get done ahead of time. What about if they own a home? And they're moving between? Like, do they want to make sure they sell the home before they leave the country? Does that make a difference?

Unknown:

Yeah, you know, it really, a lot of the times I talk to people, and it says, It depends, because the actual real property isn't subject to departure tax. So you don't have to sell the home when you move. Sometimes people are worried that if they keep a home in Canada, and move to the US that they're still going to create a residential tie. But if you have a home in both countries, that's just kind of the first test of the residential tie. And you go on to the other tests of, you know, the economic abode, and the habitual abode and, and all of those types of things to figure out where your residents so owning a home in Canada, in itself is not necessarily a bad thing. We've I've had clients who've just decided not to sell it because the market was depressed. So they kept it and rented it out instead and converted it to a rental property and did the change in use, and then eventually sold it. Now when you sell it, it is going to create Canadian tax because you do have to pay that tax in Canada eventually. And then you can proportion how much is related to principal residence, how much related to rental property. And if you're earning rental income, you would have to file Canadian returns. But you don't have to sell your home especially especially, I mean, right now, in a lot of economies, it's a good selling market. Yeah. But a few years ago, it wasn't. So a lot of people were choosing not to sell their homes and just keep them.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yeah, yeah, no, that's good. But yeah, with all this, like you're saying it's kind of it depends. And there's sort of ways to finesse it. And there's ways to kind of, you know, spread things out and plan for So again, it's that reminder, you know, the sooner you have these conversations, the more proactive you can be. That's right. That's really where the success lies. It sounds like if you this is something that's going through your mind, you know, you're planning to move this sounds like those Job Change or whatever coming up, make sure you're having those conversations.

Unknown:

Exactly. And you know, you may not always have six months to plan, you may only have a month, but even if a month is better than than retroactive,

Kalee Boisvert:

yes, absolutely gives you more flexibility. What can people expect, like working with a cross border? Like if they were to reach out to you your firm, you know, what does that look like?

Unknown:

What can they expect? Yeah, I mean, most advisors in this area are? Well, right now very busy. But a lot of times, when we are working with people, we generally new clients, we talk with them for 1530 minutes, get an understanding of what they need, see if we're the right fit for them, depending on the complexities that they have, or if it's another advisor that might be best suited for them. And generally, when we do advisory, and we also do the compliance, because usually it's better for having the same person to do both. And at our firm specifically, we do that all Canadian all US personal, corporate and trusts estate. So it's, it makes it quite easy, because we can in house everything and, and create the best tax plan. Yeah, but on the flip side, there's a lot of people who say US citizens living in Canada who own businesses here, they work with an accountant that does all of the Canadian compliance for their corporations and such because it's not quite as complex. So we work with those CPAs to help manage their filing and take care of the cross border components for them, and work with that other CPA in order to to create the next best tax plan. Sorry, I'm a big firm believer in teamwork. Getting the financial advisor and the accountants working together. Yeah. For her and having meetings together so that everybody's on the same page providing the best advice.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes, yeah. Yes, I think that's so important that all the professionals are kind of if they can sort of get together and Yeah, kind of talk and discuss because exactly scary things can happen to you when it's one person's doing something, if the advisor is doing something that's not considering the cross border implications and things like that.

Unknown:

Exactly. And it's, you know, the age old tale of what you don't know you don't know, right. And it's easy to kind of give advice in a silo with the with the magnifying glass on what you're doing, but you always have to take into account what else commis effect when you try and do that and we've seen some pretty big nightmare planning happen on a Canadian side that created a lot of tax issues on the US side. So it's always just important. It If you're planning and doing stuff, you want to get the cross border people involved if you have any type specially US citizens, if you if you have any type of reporting to get them involved,

Kalee Boisvert:

yes, yeah. Yeah. Like I think it's just such an important reminder to people that you know, if this some of this sounds overwhelming, and again, over your head, it's that you don't have to do this yourself. Like, that's why professionals exist in these professions. And people like yourself who have 20 plus years experience, like you said, You're still learning, you're still having to catch up with, you know, the changes and what's going on. And you have a whole team of people at your office as well that get to collaborate. And so this isn't, you know, you're not expected to know this by yourself, you're not expected to have the answers. But when you're paired with the right person that's able to help you. This does get a lot more like a lot less overwhelming. So I don't want to scare people away, and they're like, Oh, my gosh, I'm never gonna move. Because it's still fine. I always say that to you. When they come to me. I'm like, it's fine. It's just, you know, there's different things we have to consider, but it's still okay. It's nice to be aware. Exactly. Yes. Yes. I love that. Absolutely. Um, so how can people reach out to you then? Or your firm? What's the best way for them? Sure. So

Unknown:

we, I mean, we're on the website Anderson. If you look up Anderson tax, you will find that we do go by Anderson. Now we're part of the we're part of the global firm, member firm Anderson so we are independent and operate independently. We have offices in Calgary, Edmonton, and Vancouver, myself, personally, I actually trapped I moved between the three offices with my primary being Calgary, but I do move between the three offices, working with my clients in the prairies. And for myself, specifically, you know, feel free to look me up on LinkedIn at Krista robidoux. And messaged me on there if you need anything. I'm pretty active on LinkedIn and always willing to have conversations and and I'm always willing to have a coffee and talk about stuff because, as you said just a few minutes ago, there's so much to know that I'm always happy to kind of talk and, and learn myself because there's always things to also learn. So that's the one thing about this industry is you're never, you never stop learning.

Kalee Boisvert:

Yes. And I love that you guys share that information. So you guys do host information sessions. You have a YouTube channel as well, right people can we do?

Unknown:

Yeah, we have a YouTube channel, we actually have webinars every couple months, we do have another one coming up on September 21, I believe on reporting for cross border estates and trusts. So and all of our webinars that we've had are on our youtube youtube channel on Anderson, Canada, so

Kalee Boisvert:

I'll make sure I can include that in the show notes for everyone as well, but absolutely gets I think sometimes when it comes to reaching out to the big, you know, the service professionals that we talked to, maybe it's a bit intimidating, it can be scary. But, you know, as we've talked to Krista, you are very approachable, you're very knowledgeable. And that's, you know, really what I love about you is that you're willing to have these conversations, share knowledge and, and talk in terms too, that isn't too overwhelming or technical, because that's accountants as well, you know, you guys can get in the, you know, very complicated scenarios and things like that. But it's nice to just kind of Yeah, just I think this episode was really good broken down. And I hope it's kind of a nice, easy way just for people to conceptualize it now and just, you know, the key is, then, hey, do I need some help? Do I need to reach out to someone and talk to them about this? You know, what are some things that I have to consider if this is a salary? Yeah,

Unknown:

yeah, exactly. I really appreciate you having me on your on your show today.

Kalee Boisvert:

Thank you, Krista. Well, thank you so much. And thank you everyone for listening in. Again, I feel free to reach out I will include some of the the links and contact in the show notes. And thank you so much for joining us today and I will catch you next time.

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