Top 3 Money Transfer Providers for Canada to USA

There are no money transfer restrictions if you are sending money from Canada to the US, whether to purchase a property, fund university education, or pay for imports. Canada and the US have a very close economic and political-social relationship as neighbours and main trading partners.

If you move to the US, it is likely that you will need to open a US bank account. US citizens or resident aliens may open bank accounts online in most cases. To do so, you must provide your US address, driving licence or other state-issued ID, and your Social Security Number (SSN). We recommend that you apply to the Social Security Administration as soon as possible for a SSN, which is required in order to be locally employed and collect Social Security benefits and other government services.

None of Canada’s main commercial banks, such as RBC and CIBC, have a major branch network in the US. The private banking arms of groups such as RBC are global, but it may be preferable to open an account with one of the major American banks. US banks, by contrast, have a larger presence in Canada.

 

As in Canada, US taxes are calculated on the calendar year. This will simplify the process of paying a partial year of taxes in either country. Nonetheless, we recommend seeking expert advice on how your move will affect tax payments, particularly if you plan to make a large purchase, such as a home, in the US.

For tax purposes, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) allows Canadians to stay in the US for only 182 days a year, while the limit set by the Homeland Security, Immigration and Naturalization Act is 180 days. Canadians who remain in the US for more than 180 days in any rolling 12-month period risk being deemed unlawfully present and face a three-year travel ban. Stay longer than 182 days and you could be taxed by the IRS on your worldwide income. However, this 182-day limit is more complicated than that. The IRS has a more complicated way of calculating residency called the “substantial presence” test, which adds the number of days you were in the US in the current year to one-third of the number of days you were there the previous year, and to one-sixth of your US days in the year before that. If this exceeds 183 days, then you could be considered a US resident for tax purposes.

 

Canadian citizens only require a valid passport to enter the US and may visit the country for up to six months per year without a visa. Visas are required in certain cases for visits exceeding six months, including foreign citizen fiancé(e) (K-1 Visa), a US citizen’s foreign spouse awaiting completion of immigration processes (K-3 Visa), and spouses of lawful permanent residents (V-1 Visa). Approval is also required for non-immigrants travelling to the US for short-term work assignments, including employees of foreign governments (A Visa) and international organisations (G Visa). Requirements vary, and we recommend consulting current guidelines at your nearest US consulate.

If you plan to immigrate to the US for work, you will need to obtain a work visa. Canadians are eligible for several different types of visas depending on experience, citizenship status and professional projects. Professionals with certain skill sets may be eligible to obtain a three-year TN visa under the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Canadian students do not require a visa to study in the US and need only obtain an I-20 Certificate of Eligibility from their university.

 

The US is a popular destination for Canadians – typically retirees – buying a holiday home to escape the harsh winters, with Florida, Arizona, California, Hawaii and Texas the most popular states for Canada’s so-called “snowbirds”. Beyond the issue of sending funds to pay for a purchase, there will be many issues to consider, such as bearing in mind that it will be considerably easier to obtain a mortgage with a Canadian bank rather than a US bank. Given the complexity of the US tax code, the tax implications of owning such an asset can be significant. If selling a property to a US citizen, the purchaser is ordinarily required to remit 10% of the gross sale proceeds to the IRS on sales over US$300,000. However, thanks to the US-Canada tax treaty, Canadians are exempt from US estate tax up to US$5.3m (US$10.7m for a married couple), so beneficiaries will not have to pay estate tax on assets below this level.

 

Canada is a large source of foreign students in the US, with 27,000 student visa holders registered in 2016-17. Together, all international students spent some US$34bn in tuition fees and living costs during 2016/17. Canadian citizens do not need visas to study in the US, but do need to be registered by an accredited institution with the US Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS).

 

With trade in nearly all goods and services duty-free since the NAFTA agreement between the US, Canada and Mexico came into force in 1994, trade between the two countries has surged. The US is Canada’s largest source of imports, with total imports of goods reaching almost US$300bn in 2018. The exports for Canada to the US were set at a high level with almost US$320bn in exports made during 2018.