Information returns about what you own abroad are separate from the tax on what it earns, and the penalties for missing them are set without reference to any tax owed. These guides explain who has to report, what counts as a foreign asset, and how the thresholds and forms differ between countries.
Foreign Asset Reporting — 1 in-depth guide
What Is Specified Foreign Property for T1135
What is specified foreign property for t1135 — the mechanism, the paperwork sequence, and the errors we correct most often, with every variant of the question answered in one guide.
Other topics Foreign Income Basics, Retirement & Pensions, Cross-Border Basics, Residency & Status, Withholding & Forms.
Files that look like this one
Canadian tax-free account's US reporting duty explained to its holder
A US person holding a Canadian tax-free savings account needed to understand why that account was not tax-free from the US side and what reporting the account itself triggered. We reviewed the account's US treatment and set out the specific reporting the holder needed to keep current going forward.
Late foreign-property disclosure's penalty exposure assessed and a relief request prepared
A Canadian resident who discovered a foreign property disclosure had been filed late needed the resulting penalty exposure assessed and a request for relief prepared on the client's actual reasons. We reviewed the circumstances behind the delay and prepared the relief request on the facts that supported it.
Foreign trust distribution's character determined before it was received
A beneficiary of a trust settled abroad needed the character of a distribution determined before it was received, since the same payment could be treated differently by each country involved. We reviewed the distribution's source and character in advance and set out how it would be reported once received.
A TFSA That Costs More Than It Saves
Canadian tax-free accounts are not tax-free to a US person, and some of them carry a reporting form of their own. The file is a review of what is held, what each account triggers on the US side, and whether the account is worth keeping once the reporting is priced in.
Read how this one runsA Distribution From a Trust Set Up Abroad
A distribution can be capital in the trust's country and income here, and the reporting attaches to the beneficiary rather than the trustee. The work is characterising the payment before it is received where possible.
Read how this one runsA Foreign Property Form Filed Late, With Penalties Running Daily
The foreign asset return carries a penalty that accrues per day rather than per return, so the exposure grows quietly. Relief is discretionary and it is granted on the reasons given, which means the request is the work rather than the form.
Read how this one runsA US Filer Married to Someone Outside the System
Electing to treat a non-resident spouse as a US filer buys joint rates and brings that spouse's worldwide income and foreign accounts into the return. The election is easy to make and hard to revoke, so both positions are modelled first.
Read how this one runsA Retirement Plan That Grows Tax-Deferred in Only One Country
Cross-border retirement accounts are recognised by treaty, but the deferral usually has to be elected rather than assumed. The engagement checks whether the election was made, makes it where it was missed, and reports the account on whichever side requires it.
Read how this one runsAll case studies — every published engagement in one place.
Core International & Cross-Border Tax Services
Strategy and compliance for income, assets and families spread across borders.
Industries & Client Types We Serve Worldwide
- Foreign VAT / GST / sales tax registrations
- Marketplace withholding reviews
- Inventory nexus & PE analysis
- Multi-currency books reconciled
Software revenue crosses borders by default — sourcing rules, withholding on licence-like payments and IP location decide the effective rate.
Software revenue is rarely taxed where the team sits. Licence, subscription and service income are characterised differently by each side, and the answer decides withholding at source, treaty relief and whether a foreign customer creates a taxable presence at all — questions that are cheap to settle before the contract and expensive afterwards.
- Cross-border revenue sourcing & withholding
- IP structuring with real substance
- Equity for cross-border teams
- U.S. expansion: entity & PE setup
- Reg 105 / 102 waivers
- Permanent establishment risk
- Partner mobility planning
- Cross-border withholding recovery
- Section 216 rental returns
- FIRPTA withholding recovery
- Section 116 clearance
- Treaty credit optimization
- Transfer pricing documentation (s.247)
- Customs value vs transfer price
- Foreign affiliate reporting (T1134)
- Country-by-country reporting
- Reg 105 & U.S. CWA agreements
- Multi-state & country calendars
- Touring income allocation
- Royalty & image-rights withholding
- Residency analysis before moving
- Employer payroll exposure
- Totalization & social security
- Foreign tax credits
- Treaty access & PPT reviews
- FAPI & surplus computations
- Withholding-efficient routing
- Governance & substance
