Moving from the US to Canada
This is not a low-tax corridor. It is a dual-residency and exit-planning problem: Canada taxes residents on worldwide income, while a US citizen continues US worldwide taxation even after becoming Canadian resident.
Canada adds a second worldwide system
Canada’s federal top ordinary-income rate is 33%; provincial or territorial tax is additional. Dividend and capital-gain treatment require their own calculation. The proposed 66.67% capital-gains inclusion rate was cancelled in March 2025; inclusion stays at 50%.
Canada has no estate tax, but death triggers a deemed disposition at fair market value. That is a capital-gains event rather than an estate-tax charge.
The US status does not disappear
A US citizen or green-card holder remains taxable by the US on worldwide income. The move therefore needs foreign-tax-credit, treaty and dual-reporting analysis rather than a simple Canada-versus-US rate comparison.
Canada's residency test is 183 days or significant residential ties. The facts that create Canadian residence can arrive before a person believes the move is complete.
Immigration is not an investment shortcut
Quebec's immigrant investor programme is described as CAD 1.2M passive investment over five years with CAD 2M or more net worth. The federal Start-Up Visa closed on 1 January 2026, so older programme pages are stale.
Before you move
- Do not use the cancelled 66.67% inclusion rate in a 2026 model.
- Death can crystallise Canadian gains through deemed disposition while the US estate system remains relevant to citizens.
- Canada has no expat regime that resolves the US filing position.
Continue your research
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Tax rates are only the first screen. Residency, ownership, treaty position and succession can change the outcome.
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