The Internal Revenue Service has issued guidance for Canadian
individuals who emigrate to the United States and desire to make a
gain recognition election under Article XIII(7) of the
Canada-United States Treaty ("Treaty"), as amended by the
Fifth Protocol to the Treaty.1
Canada's Deemed Disposition Rule
Canadian individual residents who emigrate from Canada are
generally deemed to have disposed of their capital property for
proceeds of disposition equal to fair market value on the date of
emigration, with any resulting gain or loss subject to Canadian tax
("Departure Tax").2 For Canadians emigrating
to the United States, the Departure Tax creates a potential double
tax issue since the individual is ordinarily subject to U.S. tax on
the same gain only upon an actual disposition of the property, when
foreign tax credits for the Canadian tax paid on the earlier deemed
disposition may not be available.
Election under Article XIII of the
Treaty
To resolve this timing difference, a Canadian who emigrates to
the United States can make an election under Article XIII(7) of the
Treaty to be treated also for U.S. federal income tax purposes as
having disposed of his or her property and reacquired it at its
fair market value immediately before the deemed Canadian
disposition. Prior to the Fifth Protocol, this election was
available in cases where the gain resulting from the deemed
disposition would be taxable in the United States (either because
the individual is a U.S. citizen or because the property in
question is a U.S. real property interest or is attributable to a
permanent establishment in the U.S.). The Fifth Protocol amended
Article XIII(7) to make the election available even in the case of
a Canadian resident who is not a U.S. citizen and is not subject to
U.S. taxation on the deemed disposition. In such cases, the
election is particularly attractive, as it will give the individual
an adjusted basis in the property equal to the fair market value of
the property on the date of the deemed disposition, which means
that the individual will only be taxed in the United States on
post-emigration gain.
Relief from Double Taxation
In the case of a Canadian resident who is subject to U.S.
taxation on gain realized from the deemed disposition, the
individual will be permitted to utilize foreign tax credits to
eliminate double taxation. Where the property deemed disposed of
consists of U.S. real property or property attributable to a U.S.
permanent establishment, Article XXIV(2) of the Treaty allows
individuals to credit the U.S. tax against the Canadian taxes on
the deemed disposition. Where the deemed disposition is by a
Canadian resident who is also a U.S. citizen, Article XXIV(4) of
the Treaty limits the credit against Canadian taxes to the amount
of U.S. income tax that would have been imposed on a Canadian
resident who is not a U.S. citizen. Any Canadian tax imposed on the
remainder of such individual's income is credited against his
or her U.S. tax liability.
The individual makes the Article XIII(7) election by (i) reporting
the deemed disposition on the individual's timely filed U.S.
federal income tax return for the first taxable year ending after
emigration, (ii) attaching IRS Form 8833, Treaty-Based Return
Position Disclosure Under Section 6114 or 7701(b) ("Form
8833"), and (iii) attaching documentation establishing the
fair market value of the property and confirming that gain or loss
was recognized and reported in Canada in the year of the deemed
disposition.
Multiple Properties
If an individual is deemed to have disposed of multiple properties
under Canadian law, any election that is made under Article XIII(7)
must be made with respect to all such properties.3 No
election is permitted to be made if the deemed disposition of all
of the properties resulted in a net loss for Canadian tax
purposes.
Relief for Individuals Who Emigrated after September 17,
2000 and before March 29, 2010
The expansion of the Article XIII(7) election to deemed
dispositions that are not subject to U.S. tax was publicly
announced in simultaneous press releases issued on September 18,
2000, by the Department of Finance Canada and the U.S. Treasury
Department. The press releases stated that the new rule, if
approved, would apply to changes in residence that took place on
and after September 28, 2000. Consistent with the press releases,
the Fifth Protocol provided that the amendment to Article XIII(7)
is effective for individuals who emigrated from Canada after
September 17, 2000. Revenue Procedure. 2010-19 permits such
elections to be made by filing an amended return for the year in
which the individual emigrated and including the attachments and
documentation described above. The new procedures, however, include
limitations and adjustments for elections by such individuals in
cases where relevant years are closed under the statute of
limitations. While the Fifth Protocol does not refer to such
limitations, they appear to be a reasonable attempt to implement
the new rules in a fair manner.
With respect to deemed dispositions of property that is subject to
U.S. tax, an individual can make the election only if the year of
the deemed disposition is still open under the statute of
limitations. If the year of emigration is a closed year, then no
election is available.4 In general, an election is not
time barred if it is made within three years from the date the
return was filed or two years from the date that the tax was paid,
whichever period expires later. In the case of a deemed disposition
of property that would not have been subject to U.S. tax,
the election is permitted to be made for an emigration that
occurred after September 17, 2000, even if the year of emigration
is a closed year.5
If any property that was subject to the deemed disposition was
actually disposed of by the taxpayer in an intervening year for
which the taxpayer has filed a return, then the taxpayer is
required to file an amended return to correct the amount of gain or
loss reported on the disposition. If the year in which the property
was disposed of is one which the statute of limitations has closed,
then the taxpayer is barred from making the election for such
property but is permitted to make the election for any remaining
property. If the property that was disposed of in the closed year
was disposed of at a loss, then the taxpayer is required to make
appropriate adjustments to prevent a duplicate benefit, e.g., by
reducing the basis of the remaining properties by the amount of
such loss.
The foregoing limitations on elections relating to closed years do
not apply if the individual has made an election under Article
XIII(7) before the statute of limitations for the year closed by
attaching a Form 8833 or similar statement to a timely filed tax
return. In that case, the IRS will not challenge such election, and
the individual is not required to make a new election pursuant to
Revenue Procedure 2010-19, provided the election was not
inconsistent with the principles of the Revenue Procedure, and all
tax returns and information returns are consistent with such
election. Thus, taxpayers who had the foresight to rely on the
press releases issued in 2000 are rewarded for their
initiative.
Footnotes
1. Revenue Procedure 2010-19, 2010-13 IRB.
2. Certain exceptions to this rule apply. For example, the
"deemed disposition" rule does not apply to direct
interests in Canadian real property, property used in a business
carried on in Canada through a Canadian permanent establishment,
employee stock options, or interests in certain Canadian resident
trusts.
3. This election is unrelated to the one provided for by Code
section 877A(h)(2) which is permitted to be made by individuals who
emigrate to the United States and later expatriate.
4. But see the point below regarding elections that were made in a
timely filed return.
5. In the case of an individual that has both property that is
subject to U.S. tax and property that is not subject to U.S. tax,
the individual should list both types of property on the same
election statement.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.