Retiring to Canada from abroad — can I handle this myself?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: foreign pensions are generally taxable to a Canadian resident with credit for foreign tax, but specific treaty articles override the general rule for particular pension types.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
Will Canada tax my foreign pension after I move here?
As a Canadian resident you are taxed on income from all sources, and a pension paid from abroad is income. Where the source country has also taxed it, relief for that foreign tax is how the same money avoids carrying two full charges. The general rule is not the end of the analysis: treaties carve out particular kinds of pension and allocate the taxing right differently for them, so the answer can differ between two pensions paid to the same person from the same country.
Do my investments get a new cost base when I arrive in Canada?
Arriving in Canada resets the cost of most property you hold to its value on the day you become resident, so growth that happened before you arrived generally falls outside the Canadian net. The reset is only as good as the evidence behind it. Values at the arrival date are easy to obtain at the time and awkward to establish afterwards, particularly for anything not publicly quoted. Recording them as you land is a small piece of work that decides the size of every future gain.
Should I sell my overseas investments before moving to Canada?
Sometimes, and it depends on what the other country does on your way out as much as on what Canada does on your way in. Because the cost base resets on arrival, growth accrued before that day generally sits outside the Canadian charge in any event, so selling purely to capture it is often unnecessary. Where the case for acting early is real is with holdings Canada will treat unfavourably once you are resident. That is a review to do before the move, while both routes are still open.
Is my overseas pension taxed twice once I live in Canada?
It should not be. Where the source country withholds on the pension and Canada taxes it as resident income, relief for the foreign tax is claimed on the Canadian return so the same income does not bear two full charges. That relief is claimed rather than automatic, and it is limited by reference to the Canadian tax on that income. Where a treaty gives one country the exclusive right to tax a particular pension the answer differs again, and the withholding may need to be stopped at source.
Which treaty rules matter for my pension when I retire to Canada?
The articles dealing with pensions and with government service, because they often override the general position and they do not treat every pension alike. A state pension, an occupational scheme and a private retirement account can each land in a different place. The practical consequence is that the useful question is never how foreign pensions are taxed in Canada, but how this pension, from this country, is taxed. Identifying each stream before arrival is what makes the first Canadian return straightforward.
What should I sort out before I actually land in Canada?
Three things, in this order. Record the value of what you own on the day you become resident, because that is the cost base you will use for as long as you hold it. Establish how each pension or retirement account will be treated once you are here, since some are far easier to restructure before the move than after. And fix the date you become resident on facts you can evidence, because it separates the income Canada taxes from the income it does not.
Can I move my 401(k) or IRA into an RRSP?
In limited circumstances, and rarely without cost. Canada allows a transfer of certain US plan proceeds into an RRSP with additional room for that purpose, but the withdrawal is a taxable distribution on the US side first, with withholding and potentially an additional charge for taking it early. Whether the Canadian credit fully absorbs that US tax is the calculation that decides it. Often leaving the plan where it is and drawing later is the better answer. See RRSP against 401(k) and IRA.
Do I have to file in both countries?
Frequently yes, and the two filings do different jobs. The country where the income arises taxes it at source; the country where you are resident taxes your worldwide income and then gives credit for the tax already paid. Filing only one side is what leaves relief unclaimed — the credit has to be asked for on a return. We prepare both sides so the numbers agree. See dual filing.
