Yes—you can hire a Canadian CPA and a U.S. CPA instead of one cross-border accountant, provided they coordinate your residency dates, sales and withdrawal records.
“I am moving to Seattle from Vancouver, BC and plan to liquidate all my Canadian assets (house, car, margin, TFSA, RRSP) before leaving. Do I still need a cross-border accountant, or can I hire a CPA in Canada and another one in the US after I move?”
Resumen
You do not have to liquidate the RRSP or TFSA just to move, and using two accountants is a manageable arrangement. The important work is agreeing on your two tax-residency dates and reviewing the large transactions before—not only after—you make them.
Two coordinated accountants are a workable choice; which country taxes a particular sale or withdrawal depends on your status and the transaction date.
If you were not already a U.S. citizen or tax resident and finish the Canadian transactions before your U.S. residency starts, a Canadian CPA can prepare the departure-year Canadian return and a U.S. CPA can prepare your first . Canada reports your income while you are Canadian-resident; the IRS taxes worldwide income during the U.S.-resident part and generally U.S.-source income during the nonresident part. Give both CPAs one shared transaction-and-residency timeline. [CRA](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/leaving-canada-emigrants.html); [IRS](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxation-of-dual-status-aliens).
If you are a U.S. citizen, already meet a U.S. residency test, or make an applicable residency election, selling before your physical move does not by itself remove the transactions from U.S. tax consideration. A cross-border review *before* liquidating the RRSP, house, or investments is particularly useful; you may still use two CPAs if they coordinate both returns and any available foreign tax credit. [IRS worldwide-income rule](https://www.irs.gov/newsroom/reporting-foreign-income-and-filing-a-tax-return-when-living-abroad); [IRS residency dates](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/residency-starting-and-ending-dates); [IRS foreign tax credit](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/foreign-tax-credit).
If a sale falls after U.S. residency begins, U.S. worldwide-income rules apply to that resident-period income; if the Canadian house is disposed of after Canadian non-residency begins, the separate Canadian non-resident property-notice process can apply. Use either a cross-border specialist or two CPAs working from the same dated records rather than passing completed returns between them afterward. [IRS](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxation-of-dual-status-aliens); [CRA](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/disposing-acquiring-certain-canadian-property.html).
These are timing cases, not three different licenses you must buy; one cross-border adviser can also handle the coordination.
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Watch out for
Próximos pasos
These steps establish which transactions belong to each tax period before the two returns are prepared.
Before any major sale or RRSP withdrawal
Write down both tax-residency timelines
Compare Canada’s latest-of-three departure rule at https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/leaving-canada-emigrants.html with the IRS green-card, substantial-presence and first-year-choice starting-date rules at https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/residency-starting-and-ending-dates. If you already are a U.S. citizen, include your pre-move Canadian transactions in the U.S. tax review; physically entering Seattle is not a citizen’s tax start.
Requisitos
Before instructing the institutions
Compare keeping the registered accounts with withdrawing them
Canada does not deem RRSPs and TFSAs sold merely because you emigrate. A Canadian non-resident may keep or withdraw a TFSA, but cannot re-contribute tax-free; an RRSP payout is Canadian income if taken while resident and generally faces 25% Canadian non-resident withholding if paid after departure, unless reduced by treaty. Eligible U.S. taxpayers have an RRSP treaty-deferral rule for undistributed income. Compare those outcomes before deciding to liquidate: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/dispositions-property.html; https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/rrsps-related-plans/making-withdrawals/tax-rates-on-withdrawals.html; https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-drop/rp-14-55.pdf.
Requisitos
Before the first return is prepared
Give both CPAs one transaction file
Ask the Canadian CPA to map Canadian realized gains, the principal-residence designation and the departure-property calculation; ask the U.S. CPA to map U.S. residency, any U.S. tax on overlapping transactions, foreign tax credits, FBAR and Form 8938. Have them agree on the same dates and amounts. The IRS permits a duly qualified CPA licensed in any U.S. state to practice before it: https://www.irs.gov/publications/p947. The BC regulator lists members and registered firms at https://www.bccpa.ca/protecting-the-public/cpabc-member-firm-directories.
Requisitos
In the year after Canadian tax departure
File the Canadian departure-year return
Use the BC income-tax package and Form 428 for the year you leave; report Canadian-resident-period worldwide income and the home sale on Schedule 3 with Form T2091(IND). Use Form T1243 and Schedule 3 if property is actually subject to , and if the applicable non-excluded property exceeds $25,000. The usual filing and payment deadline is April 30 of the following year—April 30, 2027 for a 2026 departure; a qualifying Canadian-business filer can file by June 15, 2027, but payment remains due April 30. If you dispose of the home only after becoming a Canadian non-resident, the Form T2062 notice is generally due within 10 days of disposition. [CRA departure](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/leaving-canada-emigrants.html); [CRA property forms](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/dispositions-property.html); [CRA due dates](https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/individuals-leaving-entering-canada-non-residents/non-residents-canada.html).
Requisitos
After the calendar year closes
File the U.S. return and any foreign-account reports
If you become a U.S. tax resident during the year and remain resident December 31, file Form 1040 marked “Dual-Status Return” with a nonresident-period statement; Form 1040-NR can serve as that statement. A calendar-year resident’s return is generally due April 15 of the following year—April 15, 2027 for 2026. If an is required, file FinCEN Form 114 at https://bsaefiling.fincen.gov/ by April 15 of the following year, with an automatic extension to October 15; assess Form 8938 separately under its part-year instructions. Review a U.S. foreign tax credit if both countries tax the same income. [IRS dual status](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxation-of-dual-status-individuals); [IRS FBAR](https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/report-of-foreign-bank-and-financial-accounts-fbar); [Form 8938 instructions](https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i8938.pdf).
Requisitos
Fuentes legales
The rules come from the Canada Revenue Agency, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and Treasury, and the Washington Department of Revenue.
CRA, Leaving Canada (emigrants)
Canadian tax departure may occur later than the day you physically leave.
When do you become a non-resident of Canada?
When you leave Canada to settle in another country, you usually become a non-resident of Canada for income tax purposes on the latest of: * the date you leave Canada * the date your spouse or common-law partner and dependants leave Canada * the date you become a resident of the country you settle in
CRA, Leaving Canada (emigrants)
Pre-departure Canadian income and realized gains still belong on the Canadian departure-year return.
Part of the year that you were a resident of Canada
You have to report your world income (in Canadian dollars) for the part of the year that you were a resident of Canada.
CRA, Dispositions of property for emigrants
Departure tax concerns deemed sales of certain property, with exceptions that include Canadian real estate, RRSPs and TFSAs.
Dispositions of property for emigrants of Canada
If you ceased to be a resident of Canada in the year, you were deemed to have disposed of certain types of property at their fair market value (FMV) when you left Canada and to have immediately reacquired them for the same amount. This is called a deemed disposition. This applies to most properties. Some exceptions are:
CRA, Form T1161 guidance
Form T1161 applies above the property-value threshold, subject to the listed exclusions.
Reporting your properties
If the fair market value (FMV) of all of the properties that you owned when you left Canada was more than $25,000, complete Form T1161, List of Properties by an Emigrant of Canada, to list all of your properties inside and outside Canada and attach it to your 2025 return. Certain properties are excluded from this calculation and should not be included in the list.
CRA, Principal residence; Form T2091(IND)
A qualifying house sale can have no Canadian gain tax but still requires a reported designation.
Reporting the sale of your principal residence
Effective 2016 and later tax years, the CRA will only allow the principal residence exemption if you report the disposition and designation of your principal residence on your income tax and benefit return.
CRA, How non-residency affects your TFSA
Canada does not require a TFSA holder to close the account on emigration.
Tax implications for non-resident TFSA holders
A Tax-free Savings Account (TFSA) holder who becomes a non-resident of Canada may continue to hold their TFSA.
CRA, How non-residency affects your TFSA
A Canadian non-resident can withdraw from a TFSA but cannot treat later contributions as tax-free.
Tax implications for non-resident TFSA holders
As a non-resident, you may withdraw funds from your TFSA without being taxed in Canada. However, you cannot re-contribute any amounts tax-free until you become a resident again.
CRA, Tax rates on RRSP withdrawals
Withdrawing an RRSP after Canadian tax departure can trigger non-resident withholding.
For non-residents of Canada, withholding is 25% unless reduced by a treaty.
CRA, Line 12900
An RRSP payout while Canadian-resident is reportable RRSP income.
Line 12900
Registered retirement savings plan (RRSP) income refers to money you withdraw from or receive out of an RRSP.
IRS Rev. Proc. 2014-55
For eligible U.S. people, the retirement-plan treaty deferral can make keeping an RRSP a real alternative to cashing it out.
4.02
An eligible individual who did not previously make an election under Article XVIII(7) of the Convention to defer current U.S. income taxation on the undistributed income of a Canadian retirement plan will be treated as having made the election in the first year in which the individual would have been entitled to elect the benefits under Article XVIII(7) with respect to the plan.
IRS Rev. Proc. 2014-55
Deferral of undistributed RRSP income is not an exemption for later distributions.
6
Distributions received by any beneficiary or annuitant from a Canadian retirement plan, including the portion thereof that constitutes income that has accrued in the plan and has not previously been taxed in the United States, must be included in gross income by the beneficiary or annuitant in the manner provided under section 72, subject to any applicable provision of the Convention.
IRS, Residency starting and ending dates
A qualifying earlier U.S. visit can put the U.S. tax start before the Seattle move.
Residency starting date under the substantial presence test
If you meet the substantial presence test for a calendar year, your residency starting date is generally the first day you are present in the United States during that calendar year.
IRS, Taxation of dual-status individuals
A new dual-status resident has different U.S. income-tax rules before and after the residency start.
Income subject to tax
For the part of the year you are a U.S. resident, you are taxed on income from all sources. Income from sources outside the United States is taxable if you receive it while you are a resident. For the part of the year you are a nonresident, you are taxed on income from U.S. sources only.
IRS Tax Tip 2023-36
A U.S. citizen cannot exclude Canadian pre-move transactions merely by selling before relocating.
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.
FinCEN Form 114 / IRS FBAR guidance
The foreign-account reporting threshold is based on a calendar-year peak, not the closing balance.
Who must file
The aggregate value of those foreign financial accounts exceeded $10,000 at any time during the calendar year reported.
Instructions for Form 8938
Form 8938 expressly limits a newly covered individual’s reporting period.
Exception for Partial Tax Years of Specified Individuals
If you are a specified individual for less than the entire tax year, the reporting period is the part of the year that you are a specified individual.
Washington DOR, Capital Gains Tax FAQ
The timing of a securities sale relative to Washington domicile matters for Washington capital-gains tax.
Allocation of long-term capital gains
For intangible personal property such as stock or bonds, gains are allocated to Washington if the individual is domiciled in Washington at the time the sale or exchange occurred.
CRA, Form T2062 / section 116 notice
A Canadian real-property sale after Canadian non-residency can require prompt non-resident notice.
Disposition or proposed disposition
The non-resident vendor must notify the CRA about the disposition (notification is required within 10 days of the date the property was disposed of) or proposed disposition by completing the applicable notification forms below and sending them to the CRA along with the required information.
CRA, Non-residents of Canada
The usual Canadian filing date is April 30 the next year, with a specified Canadian-business exception; tax owed remains due April 30.
Filing your income tax return
Your tax return has to be filed on or before: April 30 of the year after the tax year. June 15 of the year after the tax year, if you or your spouse or common-law partner carried on a business in Canada (other than a business whose expenditures are mainly in connection with a tax shelter).
IRS, Taxation of dual-status individuals
A person becoming U.S.-resident during the year generally files a dual-status Form 1040 with a nonresident-period statement.
Resident at end of year
You must file Form 1040, U.S. Individual Income Tax Return, if you are a dual-status taxpayer. Write "Dual-Status Return" across the top of the return. Attach a statement to your return to show the income for the part of the year you are a nonresident.
IRS Publication 947
A duly qualified U.S. CPA need not hold a special cross-border credential to practice before the IRS.
Certified Public Accountants (CPAs)
Any CPA who is not currently under suspension or disbarment from practice before the IRS and who is duly qualified to practice as a CPA in any U.S. state, possession, territory, commonwealth, or the District of Columbia may practice before the IRS.
IRS, Foreign Tax Credit
An available U.S. foreign tax credit may help where both countries tax the same income.
If you paid or accrued foreign taxes to a foreign country or U.S. possession and are subject to U.S. tax on the same income, you may be able to take a credit for those taxes.
These are the official rules as published on the cited dates, or on undated official pages; rules can change.
This is general information about official tax processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.

