From escrow to your Canadian account: the three decisions
Once the closing agent holds your net proceeds, three decisions decide thousands of dollars. WHERE the USD lands first: your existing US account (the snowbird classic) gives you time; a direct international wire from escrow compresses steps but locks you into that day's arrangements. WHO converts: your Canadian bank's incoming-wire desk converts at its posted spread; a specialist provider converts at a narrower one; keeping USD in a Canadian USD account defers the question entirely for owners with ongoing USD lives. WHEN: nothing in tax law forces same-week conversion, and sellers with flexibility can stage conversions (the DCA logic of our monthly conversion guide) or lock a rate with a forward contract when a dated Canadian obligation waits at home.
The paperwork that follows the money is Canadian. The gain was computed in CAD at transaction-date Bank of Canada rates (acquisition, sale, expenses: three conversion dates minimum, the arithmetic of our currency-conversion guide); the sale year closes the property's T1135 story for rental owners; and your bank may ask source-of-funds questions that the closing statement answers in one page. Large transfers are reported under Canada's FINTRAC regime by the institutions, not by you: arriving money is not a tax event, the GAIN was.
Opinion: sellers obsess over the exchange rate and surrender the spread. You cannot choose the rate; you can always choose the rail. Price two rails on the same morning and the decision usually makes itself.
Who does NOT need this page
Sellers rolling proceeds into the next Florida purchase need an escrow-to-escrow plan, not a repatriation; owners keeping a USD life (condo fees, next winter) may convert nothing at all. The page serves the seller whose Florida chapter is closing.
The frame, level by level
| Aspect | Federal US | State (FL) | Federal CA |
|---|---|---|---|
| Withholding at closing | FIRPTA 15 percent regime (sale chapter's file) | No state income tax, no state withholding | Not applicable |
| Moving the money | No exit tax on transferring your own funds | None | No tax on receiving your own capital; institutions report large movements under FINTRAC rules |
| Tax bookkeeping | US filings per the sale chapter | None | Gain computed in CAD at BoC transaction-date rates; T1135 final year if applicable |
A worked example: 500,000 USD home, June 2026 numbers
Diane nets 500,000 USD after closing. Path A, the default: escrow wires her US account, her Canadian bank converts the incoming wire at a 2 percent spread: she receives about 682,600 CAD at the June 10, 2026 BoC rate of 1.3930. Path B: same wire, conversion through a 0.4 percent specialist rail: about 693,700 CAD. The eleven thousand CAD difference (11,100 CAD) bought one comparison morning. Path C, staged: she converts 300,000 USD now and holds 200,000 USD in a Canadian USD account for next winter's expenses, deferring half the spread question and all of the timing anxiety. Typical range: spreads of 1.5 to 2.5 percent at bank wire desks versus 0.3 to 1 percent at specialists, June 2026 published-grid reading; every figure is the provider's page on decision day.
Common mistakes
- Letting the default rail decide. The incoming-wire desk's spread is the most expensive « no decision » in the file.
- Converting everything on closing week by reflex. Timing is yours; obligations, not adrenaline, should set it.
- Losing the conversion records. Each conversion's date and rate feeds the CAD computation CRA expects.
- Forgetting the final T1135. Rental owners file the sale year; the silence after is earned, not assumed.
- Confusing the withholding with the transfer. FIRPTA happened at closing (sale chapter); the transfer itself triggers no new tax.
The repatriation checklist
- Before closing: confirm where escrow will wire, and the account names match.
- Price two conversion rails the same morning (bank vs specialist), all-in.
- Decide the staging: full conversion, partial, or USD retained for the USD life.
- Log dates and rates of every conversion for the CRA file.
- File the sale-year Canadian return with the CAD-computed gain; final T1135 if applicable.
- Keep the closing statement with the transfer records; it answers every bank question.
Frequently asked questions
Is bringing my sale money back to Canada taxable?
The transfer is not; the GAIN was, computed in CAD on your Canadian return (and the US side per the sale chapter). Institutions report large movements under FINTRAC; reporting is not taxation.
Should I convert at once or in stages?
Dated obligations at home argue for locking (forward); no deadline argues for staging or holding USD. The spread decision matters more than the calendar either way.
Where does FIRPTA fit?
At closing, before this page begins: the 15 percent withholding and the 8288-B reduction live in the sale chapter, linked above.
What records will CRA want?
The closing statement, the conversion dates and rates, and the acquisition-side records: the three-date arithmetic of our currency-conversion guide.