ARTICLE · 13 JULY 2015

US Estate Tax Exposure For Canadians

Grant Thornton

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Canadian residents who are neither citizens, nor residents, of the United States can be subject to US estate tax?

CanadaTax

Jason Hale

Ray Kinoshita

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Canadian residents who are neither citizens, nor residents, of the United States can be subject to US estate tax?

The application of the estate tax rules depends on an individual's US residence status at the time of death as well as the Fair Market Value (FMV) of assets they own in the United States—including real estate, stocks and other tangible property.

While the American Taxpayer Relief Act, which came into effect on January 1, 2013, alleviates some of this tax burden—in that it sets the maximum US estate tax rate at 40 percent and the exemption amount at $5 million—without proper planning, surviving family members can end up losing a large portion of their loved ones' estates to the US government.

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