# Maintaining stock portfolio back in the US....or not?



## urbanlover (May 24, 2012)

Hi, 

I'm a Canadian citizen who worked in California for 10 years using TN visas all along. I'm NOT a US citizen and I'm NOT a green card holder. I recently came back to Canada and I'm in the process of establishing residency in Montréal. 

I already know it's best to leave my 401K in California. Now, I'm debating whether I should maintain my stock portfolio (outside 401K, IRA, etcc) in the US or move it to Canada. I'd prefer to leave it in the US so to have some sort of geographical diversity. But first, I need to make sure:
1) I won't bet penalized by some double-Canada-US-taxation scheme when selling stocks and making capital gains.
2) Filling 2 tax incomes is not too complicated.

Strategy 1: Move portfolio to Canada
That means selling the whole portfolio, moving the money into a U.S $ trading account in Canada, and re-buying all stocks. That means I'll have to pay taxes to the IRS for the selloff of the whole portfolio for 2012. The good part is I won't have to fill out tax reports in the future since I'll no longer have investment in the U.S. 

Strategy 2: Maintain portfolio in the US
Each time I sell stocks and make a capital gain in any given year, I'll have to fill out a tax report to the IRS, then declare a foreign income to the CRA (Canada Revenue Agency). Question: Will I have to pay taxes both to the US AND Canada? How does it work? 

If you have tips / advices, it's highly appreciated. Also, a reliable Canada-US tax specialist in the Montreal area would probably be helpful.

Thanks!


----------



## leoc2 (Dec 28, 2010)

Here is a site that you may find helpfull

http://forums.serbinski.com/viewtopic.php?t=4290&highlight=broker



> I'm currently living in Chicago on a H-4 visa. I have a Roth IRA with Fidelity Investments and a 401-K with my previous employer. I'm now moving back to Canada and was wondering what were my options about transferring my Roth IRA & 401-K to Canada.


http://forums.serbinski.com/viewtopic.php?t=4064&highlight=broker



> I have been living & working in the US for 17 yrs & am moving back to Canada in June. I have had permanent residency in US for about 15 yrs & am willing to relinquish my status as I do not plan to live in the US in the future. I have a few questions about taxes, 401ks etc. I want to make sure I do everything correctly so I don't get myself into any hot water on either side of the border.


----------

