Cross-border Canadian Departure Checklist when moving to the U.S.

  1. Canada Health Care – It’s important to contact your Canadian health care provider and notify them that you are no longer a Canadian resident once your U.S. health care is available.
  2. Driver’s License – Once a U.S. driver’s license is obtained, you can cancel your Canadian driver’s license and inform the issuer that you are no longer a resident of Canada. Another option is to allow the Canadian driver’s license to lapse when an expiration date is a short time away.
  3. Memberships – It’s a good idea to cancel memberships with churches, clubs, professional associations, All should be informed of your permanent relocation to the U.S. When possible, you can request a refund for unused membership dues.
  4. Subscriptions – You should cancel all magazine and newspaper subscriptions as well as terminate safety deposit boxes.
  5. Personal Items – It’s important to transition personal property, collectibles and or other valuables to the U.S. during your move or shortly after. It’s best not to permanently store items in Canada.
  6. Estate Plan – A comprehensive estate plan including wills and POAs should be updated with a local attorney within your new state of residency. Canadian based estate planning documents are often not valid or useful for U.S. residents. There are certain Canadian documents such as health care directives and POAs that can be added to an overall Canada U.S. cross-border estate plan.
  7. Canadian Exit Tax and US Tax Filings – Specific Canadian tax filings must to be completed by April 30th following the year of exit. Any tax owed to Canada must be paid at this time. In addition, a U.S. return is due on April 15th of the year following your entry to the U.S. It’s common to postpone the U.S. filing past April 15th by filing an extension. Please note that strict foreign account reporting requirements exist when filing U.S. returns.
  • As the preceding list shows, making a permanent move from Canada to the U.S. is a complicated undertaking and careful planning and preparation will be crucial to your success. When it comes to moving your finances, mistakes in timing or missed deadlines can result in expensive tax or penalty . Finding a good cross-border financial planner can help with the more complicated aspects of such a move and can go a long way towards making your transition to the U.S. a successful one.

Mehboob Ali Meghani

Mehboob Ali is an Entrepreneur and a Social Activist. He is also a contributor at Business Innovators Magazine, Small Business Trendsetters and Marketing Insiders.