The guide
The US is one of the only countries that taxes by citizenship rather than residence. If you hold a US passport, moving abroad changes how you file — not whether you file. This guide covers the system in plain language, from the obligations everyone has to the quiet triggers that turn a simple situation into a specialist one.
You can owe $0 in US tax and still face steep penalties. The disclosure forms expats never hear about — and the catch-up paths if you didn't know.
Born in a US hospital. A green card never formally ended. A US parent. How people acquire US tax status without noticing — and what usually reveals it.
For one year, you're two different taxpayers — resident for part of it, non-resident for the rest. The strangest US return most movers ever file, explained.
Two acronyms, one set of accounts, and a system that watches from both directions. Why the bank's report never satisfies yours — by design.
The income exclusion has two entry doors with different rules. How each test actually works, and the counting errors that void qualification retroactively.
Why 'I paid more tax abroad' doesn't automatically mean owing the US nothing. Baskets, limits, and carryovers — the credit's actual shape, in plain terms.
Tax treaties get the attention, but a separate network of agreements decides whose social security system claims you — and whether your years abroad count.
Where you live changes the details. These pieces go deep on the US–Canada corridor — the treaty, the accounts, and the traps specific to it.
The treaty reduces double tax. It doesn't cancel your US filing obligation. The saving clause, credit mismatches, and the account the treaty doesn't cover.
A Canadian TFSA is tax-free in Canada — not in the US. What it means for your US return, the unsettled trust-reporting question, and the fund problem inside.
Canada's principal residence exemption doesn't cross the border. Why a US citizen selling a Canadian home can owe US tax on a sale Canada ignores.
Staying under 183 days doesn't guarantee you're safe. How the US Substantial Presence Test counts a snowbird's winters, and where Form 8840 fits.
A dual filer's same accounts can be reportable to CRA, FinCEN, and the IRS — under three thresholds and three definitions of what counts. A field guide.
Government pensions are the one cross-border income the treaty actually sorts cleanly — if you know the rule. Who taxes what when retirement spans a border.
Canada's first-home savings account launched without a US instruction manual. What a US person actually knows, doesn't know, and can do about the FHSA.
Renting out a US property as a Canadian starts a US tax relationship with a harsh default — and an election that changes everything, if made properly.