For you, a sensible starting point is to capture any employer match you will keep, save your return-home money outside retirement accounts, and use a 401(k) or IRA for genuinely long-term savings.

Your contributions; Employer contributions

An employee's own contributions to the plan (for example, employee elective deferrals deducted from salary) are always 100% vested, or owned, by the employee. Different vesting requirements apply to employer contributions depending on the type of plan the employer sponsors.

On the other hand, if you are saving for a short-term goal, five years or less, you don’t want to choose risky investments, because when it’s time to sell, you may have to take a loss.

IRA deduction limits

Your traditional IRA contributions may be tax-deductible. The deduction may be limited if you or your spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work and your income exceeds certain levels.

Roth IRA features

You cannot deduct contributions to a Roth IRA. If you satisfy the requirements, qualified distributions are tax-free.

Keep your money in the plan

You may want to keep the balance in your old plan, especially if:

Rollovers

You can also have your financial institution or plan directly transfer the payment to another plan or IRA. When you roll over a retirement plan distribution, you generally don’t pay tax on it until you withdraw it from the new plan.

Article XVIII(7)

A natural person who is a citizen or resident of a Contracting State and a beneficiary of a trust, company, organization or other arrangement that is a resident of the other Contracting State, generally exempt from income taxation in that other State and operated exclusively to provide pension or employee benefits may elect to defer taxation in the first-mentioned State, subject to rules established by the competent authority of that State, with respect to any income accrued in the plan but not distributed by the plan, until such time as and to the extent that a distribution is made from the plan or any plan substituted therefor.

Early distributions; separation-from-service exception table

Generally, the amounts an individual withdraws from an IRA or retirement plan before reaching age 59½ are called "early" or "premature" distributions. Individuals must pay an additional 10% early withdrawal tax unless an exception applies.

Article XVIII(2)(a)

(a) pensions may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the laws of that State; but if a resident of the other Contracting State is the beneficial owner of a periodic pension payment, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of such payment;

Withholding on foreign payees

You must generally withhold 30% from a plan distribution paid to a foreign payee unless you can reliably associate the payment with valid documentation that establishes the payee is:

Article XXIV(2)(a)

(a) subject to the provisions of the law of Canada regarding the deduction from tax payable in Canada of tax paid in a territory outside Canada and to any subsequent modification of those provisions (which shall not affect the general principle hereof) (i) income tax paid or accrued to the United States on profits, income or gains arising in the United States, and (ii) in the case of an individual, any social security taxes paid to the United States (other than taxes relating to unemployment insurance benefits) by the individual on such profits, income or gains shall be deducted from any Canadian tax payable in respect of such profits, income or gains;

Transferring amounts to an RRSP or other registered plan

To deduct an amount, you have to make the contributions to a plan or fund in the year you receive the amount or no later than 60 days after the end of that year.

Paragraph 60(j)(i)

(i) a superannuation or pension benefit (other than any amount in respect of the benefit that is deducted in computing the taxable income of the taxpayer for a taxation year because of subparagraph 110(1)(f)(i) or a benefit that is part of a series of periodic payments) payable out of or under a pension plan that is not a registered pension plan, attributable to services rendered by the taxpayer or a spouse or common-law partner or former spouse or common-law partner of the taxpayer in a period throughout which that person was not resident in Canada, and included in computing the income of the taxpayer for the year because of subparagraph 56(1)(a)(i), or

Paragraphs 1.12–1.17; election information and mailing address

The Election should be filed on or before the individual’s filing-due date for the tax year in which the individual became resident in Canada.

U.S. citizens and resident aliens abroad

Their worldwide income -- including wages, unearned income and tips -- is subject to U.S. income tax, regardless of where they live or where they earn their income.

Green card test; treaty residency

For U.S. income tax purposes, green card holders continue to be resident aliens until their lawful permanent resident status under immigration laws is either taken away or is administratively or judicially determined to have been abandoned. Even if an individual meets the green card test, if the individual claims foreign residency under a U.S. tax treaty tiebreaker rule, they would be treated as a nonresident for purposes of their tax liability.

When to provide Form W-8BEN; giving the form

Provide Form W-8BEN to the withholding agent or payer before income is paid or credited to you. Do not send Form W-8BEN to the IRS. Instead, give it to the person who is requesting it from you.

Capital gains and losses

When you sell a capital asset, the difference between the adjusted basis in the asset and the amount you realized from the sale is a capital gain or a capital loss.

Property owned before arrival; returning former residents; world income

If you owned certain property at the time that you immigrated to Canada, the CRA considers you to have sold the property and to have immediately reacquired it at a cost equal to the fair market value (FMV) on the date that you became a resident of Canada.

Reporting threshold; Canadian brokers; new residents; filing deadline

As long as you met the reporting requirement threshold of $100,000 at any time in the year, you must report on Form T1135 all specified foreign properties held during the year, even if you sold any or all of the property before the end of the year.

How to transfer; transfer conditions and fees

TD Bank (US) to TD (Canada) Transfer lets you transfer your money on EasyWeb.