The Border Guide: A Canadian's Guide to Living, Working, and Investing in the United States (Self-Counsel Reference) [Paperback]

Robert Keats (Author)

Book Description

Series: Self-Counsel Reference | Publication Date: March 1, 2004

- For "snowbirds" and permanent residents

- Save money with sound cross-border financial planning

- Get the best from both countries

- Learn tips on investing in real estate

Editorial Reviews

Review

"... a must for anyone who has ever considered investing, purchasing property, or seasonal residence in the United States" -- Canadian MoneySaver

"A Comprehensive cross-border financial tool." -- Alexandra Eadie, Globe and Mail

From the Publisher

You Won’t Want to Leave Home Without It!

In this informative guide, noted financial planner and columnist Bob Keats teaches you everything you need to know about cross-border financial planning. You’ll learn how to:

- Avoid getting caught by fluctuations in Canadian currency

- Qualify for old-age and social security benefits on both sides of the border

- Get the best from both the Canadian and U.S. medical systems -- without the disadvantages of either

- Buy a retirement home and deduct the mortgage interest from your Canadian tax return

- Receive your Canadian pensions in the U.S. — almost tax-free!

- Make U.S.-based investments that are exempt from U.S. income tax and filing requirements

- Use the new U.S.–Canada Tax Treaty to receive the equivalent of an unlimited capital gains exemption

- Alleviate your tax burden when you return to Canada after an extended stay in the U.S.

. . . and much, much more!

Don’t make a run for the border without The Border Guide in hand!

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Self Counsel Pr (March 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1551805723
• ISBN-13: 978-1551805726
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #698,015 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Questions answered, October 23, 2005

By 

James Schroeder (Beaufort SC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Border Guide: A Canadian's Guide to Living, Working, and Investing in the United States (Self-Counsel Reference) (Paperback)

This was a very informitive book that gave us great insight into our situation about our retirement in the US.
With just a quick scan thru this book at the public library we knew it had information that was very valueable to us .
We not only bought one for ourselves but bought a copy for our investment advisor and another for our accountant.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Few can afford not to read this, August 1, 2009

By 

Francois Brunet (Madison, WI USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Border Guide: A Canadian's Guide to Living, Working, and Investing in the United States (Border Guide: A Guide to Living, Working & Investing Across the) (Paperback)

I thought I did it right before moving from Canada to the US: I consulted a tax expert, cut my economical and social affiliations with Canada, and crossed the border. Reading The Border Guide was an eye-opener, as there is so much more to think about.

Did you know that capital gain on your RRSP is taxable by the IRS when you become a US resident?
If you own a green card, did you know that the IRS will tax you on your world-wide income *no matter where you live in the world*?

These are just two small examples of stuff you should really, really know before moving to the US, or thinking of coming back to Canada after spending some time in the US with a green card.

The book targets mainly two types of cross-border residents: Canadian retirees spending much of their time in the Sun belt, and investors aiming to widen their portfolio by investing in both countries. As a simple engineer in my thirties, with no estate or businesses, much of this material did not apply to me, but I still found the book extremely resourceful. Even if case studies applied mostly to millionaires, virtually all possible immigration cases are described in some detail.

The book is well structured, giving you the salient information right at the beginning, in the first few chapters. The remaining is well organized for discussing the details, whether you are a small-business owner, a Canadian citizen living in the US and thinking of moving back to Canada, and so on. It is free of jargon, accessible for anybody who once filed their own taxes. I especially appreciated the questions and answers at the end of each chapter, taken from a magazine column written by the author over the years.

One downside: the author is reminding us a little too often to my taste that real border planning should be done by professionals only, that qualified professionals are very rare, expensive, and it is okay to pay a lot for this. This may all be true, but the repeated sales pitch is damaging for the overall reading experience. Also, the chapter on investments does not add much to the usual wisdom: choose your portfolio carefully according to your needs and tolerance for risk. No, really? I would have traded this for more practical information or case studies specific to cross-border planning.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best resource on the subject, March 22, 2007

By 

L. Lorenson (Tucson, AZ USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Border Guide: A Canadian's Guide to Living, Working, and Investing in the United States (Border Guide: A Guide to Living, Working & Investing Across the) (Paperback)

Well written, well researched, great resource for anyone who has assets in both Canada and the US, or wants to move from one country to another with financial savvy, to minimize taxes and maximize assets.