Tax Accountant for Snowbirds in Ontario and Across Canada
You do not work there, you hold no status there, and you may still have three American tax exposures nobody has mentioned to you. The first is presence: the substantial presence test can treat a long-staying visitor as a US tax resident on days alone, and the instrument that addresses it is the closer connection exception on Form 8840. The second is the property. A Florida or Arizona home brings FIRPTA withholding when you sell, a possible Form 1040-NR if you rent it out, and one genuinely counter-intuitive Canadian point: personal-use property is excluded from specified foreign property, so the vacation home you assumed was a Form T1135 item usually is not — until it earns rent. The third is the one almost nobody raises. A non-resident who dies owning American real property can be within the US estate tax regime, with relief under treaty Article XXIX B. We handle the Canadian side and tell you which questions belong elsewhere — with AFFORDABLE flat fees.
AFFORDABLE Tax Accountant for Snowbirds
Snowbirds are the most under-advised group in cross-border tax, and the reason is understandable: nothing about the arrangement feels like a tax event. You are not working there, you are not emigrating, you have no status, and you go for the weather. But the American system does not only tax work and status. It also counts days, it taxes real property, and it reaches the estate of a non-resident who dies owning American assets. Those three things are what this page is about, and they are the three a general preparer almost never raises. At Gondaliya CPA, we start with the two records that make the whole position manageable — a running count of days present and a clear picture of what you own in the United States and how it is titled — then work outwards from there, providing AFFORDABLE flat-fee support that keeps your Canadian filings correct and stops the American side turning into a surprise.
We work with couples wintering in Florida, Arizona and Texas, retirees who own a condo and rent it out for part of the season, people who have decided to sell up after fifteen years, families who inherited American property, and snowbirds who are starting to think properly about what happens to those assets when they die. The Canadian side is steady: you almost certainly remain resident here under ITA subsection 2(1), taxed on worldwide income, with relief for American tax through the foreign tax credit in ITA section 126.
Two lines we draw plainly. We advise on the Canadian side and coordinate with a preparer licensed in the United States, and we state no American threshold, rate, day count or estate tax figure anywhere on this page. Separately, we do not tell you how long you may stay or how a winter absence affects your provincial health coverage — those are not tax questions and they are not ours.
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Accounting That Understands What Wintering South Actually Triggers
Most people in your position have been told either nothing or a rule of thumb somebody heard at the clubhouse. The real position has four moving parts, and only one of them is about income. At Gondaliya CPA, we set them out in plain terms and say clearly which ones are ours and which belong to an American preparer or to counsel.
Stay Compliant on Both Sides of the Border
For a snowbird the risk is rarely an audit. It is an exposure that sat unexamined for years and then surfaced at the worst possible moment — on a sale, or in an estate. We keep the Canadian filings correct and make sure the American questions are at least asked.
Accounting & Tax Experts for Snowbirds
- AFFORDABLE + Registered CPA Firm
- Business and Corporate Tax Expert
- Small & Medium Business Expert
- Accounting, bookkeeping, and tax filing
- CPA (Chartered Professional Accountant)
- 1300+ 5-star Google reviews
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Why Choose Our Accounting Services for Snowbirds?
Tax Planning — Before the Sale
We model the Canadian side of selling the property and flag FIRPTA and the estate exposure well before a listing, because both are far cheaper to plan for than to discover at closing.
Consulting — Days and Assets
We set up your day-present record and your schedule of American assets and titling in the first month, which are the two documents everything else on this file depends on.
CRA Representation — Credits & Reporting
When CRA questions your foreign tax credit, your rental reporting or your residency, we produce the records and pursue relief on Form RC4288 where a prior error caused penalties.
Bookkeeping — The Estate File
We keep the cost base, titling and account records your executor will need, because an estate with American assets and no paperwork is where families lose months and real money.
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Snowbird Clients
Snowbird Tax and Accounting Services in Ontario
Personal Tax Filing (T1) for Snowbirds
T1 preparation reporting worldwide income as a Canadian resident, with the ITA section 126 foreign tax credit against American tax actually paid and instalments set where needed.
Days-Present Record & Form 8840 Support
The running count of days present set up properly, with the substantial presence question and the closer connection exception framed for your American preparer.
US Rental Property Reporting
Rental income from an American property reported correctly in Canada, with the Form 1040-NR side coordinated and the net election question raised rather than assumed.
Sale of US Property & FIRPTA Coordination
The Canadian gain computed and the FIRPTA withholding and withholding certificate question raised with your American preparer before you list rather than at closing.
US Estate Exposure Review
A plain schedule of what you own there and how it is titled, with the US estate tax exposure and treaty Article XXIX B named and referred to cross-border counsel.
Form T1135 Determination
The foreign property question answered properly, including the personal-use exclusion that means most vacation homes are not reportable while accounts often are.
Retirement & Withdrawal Planning
RRIF withdrawals, pension income splitting, OAS and CPP timing and the credits a retired couple is entitled to, planned against a year with American income in it.
Cross-Border Return Coordination
We prepare the Canadian side and work with a preparer licensed in the United States so the two returns support each other instead of contradicting.
Catch-Up Filing for Snowbirds
File overdue T1 and T1135 years, recompute the credits that were missed on American rental income, and get back into CRA compliance without drama.
CRA Audit Resolution for Cross-Border Income
Expert support on foreign tax credit, rental income, residency and foreign property reviews, handled with confidence from the first letter.
Catch-Up Bookkeeping for Cross-Border Households
Years of American rental records, bank statements, property costs and Canadian slips reconstructed and reconciled, so both returns rest on the same numbers.
Voluntary Disclosure Program for Snowbirds
Come forward on unreported American rental income, missed Form T1135 filings or unfiled years, cancelling penalties through a Voluntary Disclosures Program application.
Accounting & Tax Services Tailored for Snowbirds
Real, practitioner-level CPA expertise for couples wintering in Florida, Arizona and Texas, retirees who rent the property out for part of the season, people selling up after many years, families who inherited American property, and snowbirds finally putting the estate question on the table.
- We prepare your T1 reporting worldwide income as a Canadian resident under ITA subsection 2(1), because wintering in another country for part of the year does not by itself change your residency here.
- We compute the foreign tax credit under ITA section 126 against the American tax you actually paid rather than any amount withheld along the way, with the supporting computation retained behind the claim.
- We convert American income and tax on a consistent and documented basis, which matters more than people expect across a long holding period and a property sold years after it was bought.
- We set instalments where no Canadian tax is withheld at source, which is the normal position for a retired couple living on pensions, registered withdrawals and investment income rather than salary.
- We claim the credits a retired household is entitled to, including pension income splitting between spouses and the medical and donation credits that are routinely left unclaimed on these returns.
- We set up a running count of days present in the United States in your first month with us, because the substantial presence test counts presence alone and takes no account of why you were there.
- We tell you what evidence to keep alongside the count, including travel documents, border records and dated receipts, so the figure is supported rather than recalled at the point somebody asks for it.
- We note that the test looks across more than a single year, which is why a record that starts the day you first ask the question is already missing part of what the analysis needs.
- We frame the closer connection exception and identify Form 8840 as where it is claimed, along with Form 8833 for a treaty position, and we assert no eligibility criterion or outcome for either.
- We state no day count and no threshold anywhere on this page, because those are specific and because a number taken from a website is exactly the kind of position that fails when tested.
- Where you rent the property out, the net rental income is reported on your Canadian return as well, with relief for any American tax through the ITA section 126 foreign tax credit.
- We coordinate with your American preparer on the Form 1040-NR side and note that an election exists to be taxed on a net rather than gross basis, without asserting which is better for you.
- We keep the rental records properly from the start, separating the rental period from your personal use, because that split drives what is deductible in each country and is impossible to rebuild later.
- We maintain the capital cost allowance position consistently across years rather than claiming it opportunistically, since an inconsistent history is one of the harder things to defend on a review.
- We flag that renting the property is what puts the Form T1135 personal-use exclusion in question, so the reporting answer that was right while you used it yourself may stop being right.
- We compute the Canadian capital gain on the sale, with the cost base built from the original purchase documents and the improvements you made over the years rather than estimated at the end.
- We flag FIRPTA well before you list, because a disposition of a United States real property interest by a foreign person is subject to withholding at closing whether or not the actual tax is lower.
- We note that a withholding certificate application exists where the real liability is less than the amount otherwise withheld, and we leave that application and its outcome to your American preparer.
- We claim the foreign tax credit for the American tax finally paid on the gain, which requires the American return to be settled first and is a common place for relief to go unclaimed.
- We plan the timing of the sale against your other income for the year, because a large gain landing in the same year as a registered withdrawal is a decision rather than an accident.
- We build a plain schedule of what you own in the United States and how each item is titled, which on this file is the single document that turns a vague worry into an answerable question.
- We name the exposure honestly: a non-resident who dies owning American real property can be within the US estate tax regime, and certain American securities can raise the same question.
- We identify treaty Article XXIX B as the provision giving relief, including a marital credit, and we state no threshold, exemption amount, rate or outcome for any person or any asset.
- We flag that how the property is held interacts with probate in the American state and with whether your Canadian will reaches those assets, and we send that structuring to cross-border counsel.
- We keep the cost base, titling and account records your executor will need, because an estate holding American assets with no paperwork behind them costs a family months and real money.
- We answer the foreign property question properly rather than by reflex, starting from the definition in ITA subsection 233.3(1), which expressly excludes personal-use property from the meaning of specified foreign property and is where this analysis has to begin.
- That exclusion is why the vacation home most snowbirds assume they must report generally is not a Form T1135 item while it is used personally, which surprises nearly everyone we explain it to.
- Your American bank and brokerage accounts stand on an entirely different footing and are reportable on their own once the total cost of specified foreign property exceeds $100,000.
- We apply the cost-amount test rather than market value, which is what the form actually requires, and we build the list from statements rather than from memory or a rounded estimate.
- Where the property earns rent we review whether the personal-use exclusion still applies rather than assuming it either way, and we file for any year the reporting obligation did arise.
- We plan RRIF withdrawals and other registered income against the year’s overall picture, because a withdrawal that is neutral in an ordinary year is not neutral in the year you sell a property.
- We split eligible pension income between spouses where it helps, which on a retired household’s return is frequently the single largest adjustment available and is also the one most routinely missed by a preparer working quickly.
- We plan OAS and CPP timing and watch the clawback position, keeping the top Ontario personal rate of 53.53% in view so a decision is tested against what it actually costs.
- We coordinate the timing of American and Canadian income within the same year so the foreign tax credit can actually be used rather than stranded against the wrong kind of income.
- We review the credits a retired couple is entitled to each year rather than copying last year’s return forward, which is how medical, donation and age-related amounts quietly stop being claimed.
- We prepare the Canadian side and work alongside a preparer licensed in the United States, because two unconnected preparers is how a household ends up paying twice on the same income.
- We sequence the returns so the American position is settled before the Canadian credit is computed, which matters most in the year a property is sold and the final American tax is not yet known.
- We hand your American preparer the day-present record and the asset schedule in the form they need, rather than sending a notice of assessment and hoping they can work backwards.
- We note that an identifying number is generally needed to file there and that it is obtained on Form W-7, and we assert nothing about the procedure, timeline or outcome.
- We state no American threshold, rate, day count or filing deadline, and we say plainly when a question has crossed into your American preparer’s territory instead of answering it anyway.
- We reconstruct your unfiled Canadian years from rental records, bank statements, property documents and Canadian slips, rebuilding the six years of records ITA section 230 requires from source.
- Late filing costs 5% of the balance owing plus 1% per month up to twelve months, so we file the oldest unfiled T1 first to stop the penalty compounding and limit the arrears interest CRA charges.
- We recompute the foreign tax credit for each prior year with American rental income in it, because the most common finding on a snowbird catch-up is relief that was available and never claimed.
- We file the Form T1135 years where the obligation genuinely arose and, just as importantly, do not file for years where the personal-use exclusion meant there was nothing to report.
- We bring the Canadian side forward on Form RC199 before CRA contacts you, confirming the disclosure is genuinely voluntary, which is the single condition that makes the application valid.
- When CRA questions your foreign tax credit, we produce the American return as filed, the tax actually paid, the income it was paid on and the by-country computation behind the claim.
- When CRA reviews your rental reporting, we produce the lease records, the personal-use split and the expense documentation, which is why we insist on keeping that split from the first season.
- When CRA asks about foreign property, we produce the analysis showing why the home was or was not reportable, which is a far better answer than a filing made defensively in case.
- When CRA challenges whether you remained resident here, we assemble the residential ties analysis against Income Tax Folio S5-F1-C1 and frame the Article IV position without asserting its outcome.
- We file the Notice of Objection within 90 days of a reassessment and pursue taxpayer relief on Form RC4288, cancelling penalties and interest where a prior preparer’s error caused them.
- We rebuild years of mixed records — American rental statements, property costs and improvements, bank and brokerage statements and Canadian slips — so both returns rest on the same numbers.
- We reconstruct the property cost base from the original purchase documents and every improvement we can evidence, which is the figure that decides the tax on an eventual sale in both countries.
- We reconstruct the foreign currency conversion across the backlog on a consistent basis, because inconsistent translation over a long holding period is among the hardest things to defend later.
- We separate the rental period from personal use across each year of the backlog, since that split drives the deductions in both countries and nobody reconstructs it accurately from memory.
- We produce working papers your American preparer can use directly, and the same file is what your executor will eventually need, which is a second reason to build it properly once.
- We bring you forward on unreported American rental income, missed Form T1135 filings and unfiled years, which on these files are usually a few specific seasons rather than an entire history.
- We file on Form RC199 with a full reconstruction from rental records, property documents and bank statements, so you are not left facing an arbitrary CRA assessment built on estimates.
- We confirm your disclosure is genuinely voluntary before CRA contacts you — the single condition that makes it valid — and secure roughly 50% interest relief on the older years.
- We often find the corrected years produce less tax than expected, because the credit for American tax paid on the rental income was available throughout and nobody had ever claimed it.
- We coordinate the timing of our Canadian filing with whatever route your American preparer is taking, and we assert no eligibility criterion, lookback period, penalty structure or outcome for any American procedure.
Snowbird Tax & Exposure Check
Six quick questions on your days-present record, your American filing position, your rental reporting, your foreign property answer, your estate exposure and your cost base. No fee shown.
1. Do you keep a record of days present in the United States each year?
2. Has anyone assessed whether the substantial presence test reaches you?
3. If you rent the property out, is that income reported in both countries?
4. Do you know whether your American property is reportable on Form T1135?
5. Has your US estate tax exposure on those assets ever been reviewed?
6. Do you have the purchase documents and improvement records for the property?
Free CPA Consultation for Snowbirds
Case Studies: Snowbirds
Toronto Couple — A Condo They Were Sure They Had to Report
The problem: A retired Toronto couple had owned a Florida condo for eleven years, used it personally every winter, and had been dutifully filing Form T1135 on it the whole time because their previous preparer told them foreign property meant foreign property. They had also never been asked how many days they spent there, had no record of it, and had never heard of the substantial presence test. Nobody had ever mentioned US estate tax to them either, despite the property being in both their names.
What we did: We worked through the definition in ITA subsection 233.3(1) and established that the personally used condo fell within the personal-use exclusion, while their American bank and brokerage accounts were a separate question on their own cost footing. We started a days-present record, built the asset and titling schedule, and sent the estate exposure and Article XXIX B question to cross-border counsel.
The result:
- Foreign property reporting corrected to what the definition actually requires
- Days-present record started and the presence question framed properly
- Estate exposure put in front of counsel after eleven years unexamined
Mississauga Retiree — Renting It Out, Reporting It Nowhere
The problem: A Mississauga retiree rented her Arizona house out for three months each year through an agent and treated the income as an American matter that stayed in America. It was not reported on her Canadian return at all. She also had no split between the rental period and her own use, so the expenses she had claimed on the American side were an estimate, and the Canadian return showed no foreign tax credit because it showed no foreign income.
What we did: We reported the net rental income in Canada for the years still open, claimed the ITA section 126 foreign tax credit for the American tax she had already paid on it, rebuilt the personal-use split from her own calendar and the agent’s records, reviewed whether the Form T1135 exclusion still applied once rent was involved, and brought the earlier years forward on Form RC199.
The result:
- Rental income reported in both countries with the credit claimed
- Personal-use split rebuilt and maintained from that season onward
- Earlier years disclosed voluntarily with penalties cancelled
Ottawa Family — A Sale That Surprised Everyone at Closing
The problem: An Ottawa couple decided to sell the Florida property they had held for nineteen years. Nobody had told them that a disposition of a United States real property interest by a foreign person is subject to FIRPTA withholding at closing, so a substantial amount was held back from proceeds they had already earmarked. Worse, their cost base was a guess: the purchase papers were in a box somewhere and two decades of improvements had never been recorded anywhere.
What we did: We reconstructed the cost base from the original purchase documents, municipal records and what contractor invoices survived, computed the Canadian gain properly, coordinated the FIRPTA position and the withholding certificate question with a preparer licensed in the United States, and claimed the foreign tax credit once the American tax was finally settled.
The result:
- Cost base documented instead of estimated, reducing the Canadian gain
- FIRPTA and the certificate question handled by the right adviser
- Foreign tax credit claimed after the American return was settled
Our clear, efficient process ensures every step is transparent, building trust and long-term client relationships.
Kickoff (Document Request)
Collect prior T1 and any American returns, the property purchase documents and improvement records, rental and agent statements, American bank and brokerage statements, titling documents, and your travel history.
First 30 Days (Two Records)
Start the days-present record and build the schedule of American assets and how each is titled, settle the Form T1135 question on the actual definition, and identify any unfiled year.
Exposure Review
Frame the substantial presence and closer connection position for your American preparer, and put the US estate tax exposure and treaty Article XXIX B question to cross-border counsel.
Annual Planning Review
RRIF and pension withdrawal timing, pension income splitting, the foreign tax credit position, and the sale question if selling up is anywhere on the horizon.
Year-End Close & T1 Filing
T1 reporting worldwide income, foreign tax credit against American tax actually paid, rental income and Form T1135 where genuinely required, instalments set, and CRA correspondence handled.
Get Your Snowbird Tax Position Reviewed Today
Affordable Pricing for Snowbirds
We believe in clear, upfront pricing so you know exactly what to expect. All fees include HST.
- Tax Preparation (Corporation) — From $400
- Tax Return Filing (Corporation) — From $400
- Tax Compliance Audit — FREE CRA audit support for our clients
- Tax Strategy — FREE for our clients
- Accounting Base Plan — From $100 per month
- Bookkeeping Management — Free for our Accounting clients
- Financial Reporting — Free for our Accounting clients
- Business Formation — Flat $35
- Incorporation Process — Flat $35
- Entity Setup Assistance — Flat $35
- Full-Service Payroll — From $125 per month
Payment is by Interac e-Transfer to info@gondaliyacpa.ca only. Security question: Not Applicable, as auto-deposit is enabled.
Meet Your Lead Cross-Border Accountant
Meet your lead cross-border accountant. As your personal and cross-border tax adviser, you deal with the same two people every year.
What Our Clients Say
1300+ five-star reviews from snowbirds, retirees and cross-border households across Ontario and Canada.
Serving Snowbirds Across Ontario
Our CPA team provides specialized accounting and tax solutions for snowbirds across Ontario. We understand why the substantial presence test can reach someone who has never worked a day in the United States, why the vacation home most people expect to report on Form T1135 usually is not reportable while their American accounts are, why FIRPTA surfaces at closing rather than at listing, and why the US estate tax exposure on American property is the question this group is almost never asked.
Toronto (ON)
55 Queen St E Ste 1205, Toronto, ON M5C 1R6, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
9:00 AM – 8:30 PM (Mon – Sun)
Mississauga (ON)
2100 Camilla Rd #716, Mississauga, ON L5A 2J8
+1 (647) 212-9559
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Brampton (ON)
4 Starhill Crescent, Brampton, ON L6R 2P9, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
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Scarborough (ON)
24 Clementine Square, Scarborough, ON M1G 2V7, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
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Vaughan (ON)
19 Cabinet Crescent, Woodbridge, ON L4L 6H9, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
9:00 AM – 8:30 PM (Mon – Sun)
Oshawa (ON)
210 Durham St, Oshawa, ON L1J 5R3, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
9:00 AM – 8:30 PM (Mon – Sun)
Ottawa (ON)
2090 Neepawa Ave a314, Ottawa, ON K2A 3L6, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
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Etobicoke (ON)
60 Stevenson Rd #1601, Etobicoke, ON M9V 2B4, Canada
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Hamilton (ON)
70 Starling Dr, Hamilton, ON L9A 0C5, Canada
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Guelph (ON)
1155 Gordon St, Guelph, ON N1L 1S8, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
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Windsor (ON)
4387 Guppy Ct, Windsor, ON N9G 2N8, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
9:00 AM – 8:30 PM (Mon – Sun)
North York (ON)
150 Graydon Hall Dr #912, North York, ON M3A 3B2, Canada
+1 (647) 212-9559
9:00 AM – 8:30 PM (Mon – Sun)
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Snowbird Cross-Border Tax Done Right.
Built for the three exposures nobody mentions to a snowbird: the substantial presence test that can reach you on days of presence alone with the closer connection exception on Form 8840 as the answer, the American property that brings FIRPTA withholding at closing and a possible Form 1040-NR on the rent, and the US estate tax exposure on United States situs assets with treaty Article XXIX B as the relief. Plus the Canadian side done properly — your T1 reporting worldwide income under ITA subsection 2(1), the ITA section 126 foreign tax credit against tax actually paid, and the Form T1135 question answered on the real definition, where personal-use property is excluded and your accounts are not. Two records kept from day one: days present, and what you own and how it is titled. AFFORDABLE flat fees, no hourly billing. Licensed CPA Ontario. 1300+ five-star reviews. 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee.