Keeping US securities when immigrating to Canada

[g&r84]

Hello,

I'm a resident alien (for tax purposes) in the US & currently on a H1B work visa. I got my Canadian permanent residency 2 years ago but am yet to "settle" there officially (although I completed my PR landing a while back). I'm finally planning to move from USA to Canada later this Summer.

I own several stocks in US companies through my online US based brokerage firm (TD Ameritrade). I wanted to understand if I can continue to keep my US stocks in a US based brokerage account when I move or do I have to dissolve them and purchase/transfer to a Canadian brokerage? I would prefer to not move the stocks right now due to the market downturn but want to understand the regulatory restrictions/requirements and tax implications in case of dividends and stock sales after I officially leave US and move to Canada. I am able to provide a US address for the US brokerage firm, if required.

Thanks for your help!

[nelsona]

You will need to transfer these to a CDn brokerage. This should not be a problem' this will not trigger any cap gains, as you will not need to sell. You would not be able to keep US mutual funds. It is never advisable to fake an address.

When you move, for Cdn tax purposes, you get a new cost basis based on the day you arrive in canada.

It is a good practice to sell any "losers" you have before moving to Canada, but not any winners. Once you are no longer US tax resident, the pre-arrival gains will nit be taxed in US, so there is na opportunity to make tax-free gains.

[g&r84]

Thanks! That's consistent from what I have read/heard for the most part.

I also heard that there may be some brokerages that will allow me to keep my securities in the US (with a Canadian address), although I'm yet to find out which ones. The reason I want to keep them in US is that my move to Canada may be temporary (~3 years) and I plan to hold my stocks for long term. Moving them to Canada will then require me to move them back to the US when I decide to return. I was hoping that I could just leave them here instead.

I'm going to call a few other brokers and check. Will update here.

Thanks again!

[depreciationrecapture]

Any update here?