Often, U.S. citizens who move to Canada are shareholders of U.S. S Corporations. This can potentially create double tax problems.

Under Canadian tax law, the S Corporation is just like any other foreign corporation. Dividends received are generally fully taxable. In addition, if the S Corporation is a “controlled foreign affiliate”, the shareholder can be taxable on his or her share of underlying investment income and capital gains under Canada’s “foreign accrual property income” (“FAPI”) rules.

Double taxation can arise because of the fact that Canada will generally only grant limited foreign tax credit relief for the U.S. taxes paid by the shareholder on the S Corporation Read More