The wire that lands in your account after closing is going to be smaller than the number on your contract. Sometimes a lot smaller.

Selling a Florida property as a Canadian is not the same transaction your American neighbor goes through. A federal law called FIRPTA requires the buyer to hold back a slice of your gross sale price and send it to the IRS before you see a dollar of it. On a $600,000 condo, that can be $90,000 sitting with the U.S. Treasury while you wait months for a refund.

None of it is a surprise if you plan for it. Most of the pain Canadian sellers feel comes from starting the paperwork after they accept an offer instead of before they list.

By the end of this guide you will know what gets withheld and why, how to legally reduce it, which forms you need on both sides of the border, and how long each step actually takes.

Why Selling a Florida Property as a Canadian Is a Different Transaction

Selling a Florida property as a Canadian adds three layers to a normal sale: FIRPTA withholding of up to 15% of the gross sale price, a U.S. nonresident tax return to reclaim the overage, and a separate Canadian return that reports the same gain in Canadian dollars. The property sale itself works the same way. The tax and paperwork around it do not.

You are also selling into a shifted market. According to the National Association of REALTORS® 2026 International Transactions report, foreign buyers purchased $45.3 billion of U.S. existing homes between April 2025 and March 2026, down 19.1% in dollar volume and 14% in units from the prior year. Florida still drew 20% of all foreign buyers, more than any other state, and Canadians led every other country in the number of homes purchased.

That cuts both ways. Fewer international buyers are shopping, but Canadians remain the largest group by unit count and Florida is still where they buy. Your most likely buyer may well be another Canadian.

Step 1: Confirm Your U.S. Tax Status Before You List

Everything downstream depends on one question: does the IRS consider you a nonresident?

Most snowbirds are nonresident aliens. But the IRS uses a three-year weighted formula called the substantial presence test, and it catches people who feel very Canadian. It counts all your U.S. days this year, one third of last year's, and one sixth of the year before. Cross 183 weighted days and the IRS can treat you as a U.S. resident taxed on worldwide income.

There is an out. If you were physically in the U.S. fewer than 183 actual days this year and keep a tax home and stronger ties in Canada, you can claim the closer connection exception by filing Form 8840. The IRS is blunt about the deadline: file late and you generally cannot claim the exception at all, unless you can show by clear and convincing evidence that you took reasonable steps to comply.

Pull your travel records now: passport stamps, flight itineraries, border crossings. Your accountant will need them.

Step 2: Start Your ITIN Application Immediately

You cannot get your FIRPTA money back without a U.S. taxpayer ID number. Without a Social Security number, that means an ITIN, applied for on Form W-7.

This is the step that quietly wrecks timelines. TheIRS instructions for Form W-7</a> tell applicants to allow seven weeks for a status notification, stretching to nine to eleven weeks during the January 15 to April 30 peak or when filing from outside the U.S. As a Canadian selling a winter property, you are usually both. Assume the long end, and remember both spouses on title need one. Start before you sign a listing agreement, not after you accept an offer.

Not sure where to start? Reach out to Bill at +1 813 312 1007 or Bill@EaganLuxury.com. He can walk you through the ITIN and FIRPTA timeline for your specific situation before you list.

Step 3: Rebuild Your Cost Basis in Two Currencies

Your gain is calculated twice, in two currencies, and the two numbers will not match.

For the IRS, everything is in U.S. dollars. Purchase price, original closing costs, capital improvements, and selling costs all come off your proceeds.

For the Canada Revenue Agency, the same transaction converts to Canadian dollars using the exchange rate on your purchase date and the rate on your sale date. If the loonie weakened in between, you can post a larger gain in Canada than in the U.S. on the exact same property. Currency movement alone can create a taxable Canadian gain on a property that barely appreciated in U.S. terms.

Start a folder now with:

Your original HUD-1 or closing disclosure
Every capital improvement invoice (roof, impact windows, kitchen, HVAC)
Records of any depreciation claimed if you ever rented the unit
The CAD/USD exchange rate on your purchase date

Routine repairs do not count. A new roof does. And if you rented the unit and claimed depreciation, that depreciation gets recaptured and taxed on the sale, which surprises a lot of owners.

Step 4: Run the FIRPTA Numbers Before You Set a Price

FIRPTA withholding is based on your gross sale price, not your profit. You can sell at a loss and still have money withheld.

The IRS requires the buyer to withhold 15% of the amount realized when a foreign person disposes of a U.S. real property interest. Two exceptions narrow that:

0% withholding. The sale price is $300,000 or less and the buyer signs an affidavit stating they intend to use the property as a residence for more than half the days it is in use during each of the two years after closing.
10% withholding. The sale price is between $300,001 and $1,000,000 and the buyer meets that same residence test.
15% withholding. Everything else, including any sale above $1,000,000 and any sale to an investor or a buyer who will rent the unit out.

Notice who controls those exceptions: the buyer. Someone purchasing your $450,000 St. Petersburg condo as a primary residence triggers 10% withholding. An investor paying the same price triggers 15%. That is a $22,500 difference, decided entirely by who writes the offer.

Consider an illustrative example. A Toronto couple bought a Gulf-front condo in 2016 for $410,000 and sells in 2026 for $585,000. Their U.S. gain after improvements and selling costs is roughly $120,000. At 15%, $87,750 is withheld at closing while their actual U.S. federal tax on that gain is closer to $18,000. The IRS is holding almost $70,000 they will not see for months. That gap is the entire reason Step 5 exists.

Step 5: Decide Whether to File for a Withholding Certificate

You can ask the IRS to reduce the withholding to something close to your real tax liability. You do it by filing Form 8288-B, an Application for Withholding Certificate, before closing.

Here is the timing that decides everything. The IRS states it will generally act on these applications within 90 days of receiving a complete application, including the taxpayer ID numbers of every party to the transaction. Ninety days, from a complete application, with every party's ITIN or SSN already in hand.

That is why Step 2 matters. Start your ITIN in October and take an offer in February, and you have a real shot at an approved certificate before closing. Start both in February for an April closing and you do not.

Filing is not automatically the right call. Here is the honest tradeoff.

Reasons to file:

It frees up the gap between 15% of your gross price and your actual tax bill. On a large sale with a modest gain, that is tens of thousands of dollars back in your hands a year earlier.
The buyer still withholds, but the funds are typically held in escrow rather than sent to the IRS, so the money stays inside the transaction instead of disappearing into a federal account.
It removes the pressure to price aggressively just to cover a cash shortfall at closing.

Reasons to skip it:

It is a real filing with a real cost, usually a cross-border CPA fee. On a $300,000 sale with a small gain, that fee can eat most of the benefit.
It only works if the timing works. Without every party's tax ID in hand well before closing, the 90-day clock will not finish in time.
Some buyers get uneasy about a closing with an open IRS application attached, which can cost you leverage in a tight negotiation.
You still file a 1040-NR and still wait for any remaining refund. A certificate shortens the wait, it does not remove the paperwork.

Two rules apply either way. You must notify the buyer in writing on or before the day of transfer that an application is pending, and applying purely to delay payment triggers interest and penalties.

Talk to a cross-border CPA about this decision before you list, not after.

Step 6: Get the Property Ready for How Buyers Shop in 2026

Cross-border paperwork is only half the sale. The other half is the property, and the bar has moved.

If you own a condo, Florida's structural inspection and reserve study requirements changed how buyers and lenders evaluate buildings. Buyers now ask for the milestone inspection report, the reserve study, reserve balances, and any special assessment history before they get emotionally attached. If your association is compliant and funded, that is a selling point. If not, you need to know before a buyer's agent finds out for you.

Assemble this package before your first showing:

Milestone inspection report and reserve study, if applicable
Two years of association budgets and current reserve balances
Any special assessments levied, pending, or discussed
Insurance declarations for the unit and the association
Four-point and wind mitigation reports if the building is older
Elevation certificate, current flood premium, and last two tax bills

Non-resident owners cannot claim Florida's homestead exemption, which caps annual assessed value increases at 3% for primary residents. Your tax bill has likely climbed faster than your neighbor's, and buyers will see it on the county appraiser's site. Have the number and the explanation ready.

Step 7: Price to the Segment You Are Actually In

Florida is not one market right now, and that matters more than anything you will do with staging.

Single family homes and condos are moving on separate tracks. Redfin data for St. Petersburg shows a median sale price of $454,000 over the three months ending June 2026, up 9.3% year over year, with homes selling in about 37 days. That is a healthy market. Condo inventory across much of coastal Florida, particularly in older buildings carrying inspection and reserve questions, tells a different story: longer marketing times and more negotiation.

Ask your agent for three things before you agree to a list price:

Closed comparable sales in your exact building or community from the last 90 days, not the last year
Current months of supply for your property type, not the county average
A net sheet that subtracts commission, documentary stamps, title costs, prorated taxes, estoppel fees, and FIRPTA withholding so you see the actual wire amount

That third item is the one Canadian sellers most often skip and most often regret. Ask for it in writing, and browse the current listings to see how comparable properties are being positioned against your own.

Step 8: Understand What Happens at the Closing Table

Florida closings run through title companies, not lawyers, and you do not need to be in the country. Documents are couriered to you or executed before a notary whose signature can be authenticated for use in Florida. Confirm the method with your title company early, because notarization requirements from Canada can add a week.

Expect these line items:

Documentary stamp tax on the deed. The Florida Department of Revenue levies $0.70 per $100 in every county except Miami-Dade. On a $585,000 Pinellas sale, that is $4,095, customarily seller-paid.
Owner's title insurance at Florida's promulgated rate, customarily seller-paid.
Prorated property taxes through the closing date.
Association estoppel fee and any unpaid assessments.
Real estate commission as negotiated.
FIRPTA withholding, sent to the IRS by the buyer on Forms 8288 and 8288-A, or held per an approved certificate.

The buyer is legally the withholding agent, and payment is due to the IRS within 20 days of the transfer. The IRS stamps Copy B of Form 8288-A and mails it to you. Guard that document. Without it, claiming credit for the withheld money becomes a paperwork fight, and the IRS will not issue a stamped copy at all if your taxpayer ID number is missing from the form.

Step 9: File Both Returns and Collect Your Refund

You are not done at closing. You are done when both governments have been paid correctly and your refund has landed.

On the U.S. side, you file Form 1040-NR for the year the sale closed, report it on Form 8949 and Schedule D, and apply the FIRPTA withholding as a credit against tax actually owed. A sale closing in 2026 is reported on a 2026 return due April 15, 2027, or October 15, 2027 with an extension. The excess comes back as a refund.

On the Canadian side, you report the same disposition on your T1 in Canadian dollars. U.S. tax paid on that gain is generally creditable against your Canadian liability through Form T2209, which is what stops you from being taxed twice on the same money.

Do not overlook Form T1135. The CRA requires it from residents who owned specified foreign property costing more than $100,000 at any point in the year. A personal use vacation home you never rented is generally excluded; a rental is not, and the penalties for missing it are real.

Nothing here is tax advice. It is the map. The route needs a cross-border accountant who handles both countries, ideally one your listing agent has worked with before.

The Timeline, Start to Finish

Working backward from a target closing date:

Five to six months out: File Form W-7. Assemble cost basis records. Have a CPA estimate your U.S. gain.
Three to four months out: Order association documents, inspections, and insurance declarations. Interview agents.
Two to three months out: List, with an 8288-B ready to file the moment you have a signed contract.
At closing: Collect your stamped Form 8288-A copy and full closing statement.
The following spring: File Form 1040-NR in the U.S. and your T1 with Form T2209 in Canada.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will I be taxed twice on the same gain?

Generally no. You will owe U.S. tax on the gain from U.S. real property, and Canada taxes the same gain as part of your worldwide income. The Canada-U.S. tax treaty and the foreign tax credit on Form T2209 let you credit U.S. tax paid against your Canadian liability. Currency movement can still make the two calculated gains differ.

How long does it take to get FIRPTA money back?

If you file Form 1040-NR for the year of the sale, the refund typically arrives several months after filing, and the return cannot be processed at all until your ITIN is issued. A sale closing in March 2026 is reported on a return filed in early 2027, which means the withheld funds can be out of your hands for over a year. A withholding certificate filed before closing is the faster route.

Can I avoid FIRPTA withholding completely?

Only in narrow cases. The main exemption applies when the sale price is $300,000 or less and the buyer signs an affidavit that they will use the property as a residence for more than half the days it is in use during each of the two years following closing. Above that price, withholding applies at 10% or 15%, though a withholding certificate can reduce the amount.

Does Florida charge state income tax on my sale?

Florida has no state personal income tax, so there is no Florida income tax on your capital gain. You will still pay documentary stamp tax on the deed at $0.70 per $100 of the sale price in every county except Miami-Dade, plus title and closing costs. Federal FIRPTA withholding and federal capital gains tax still apply.

Should I wait for a stronger Canadian dollar before selling?

Currency affects both the proceeds you receive and the gain reported to the CRA, and it cuts both ways. A weaker loonie raises your Canadian dollar proceeds and your reported Canadian gain at the same time. Carrying costs, association assessments, insurance, and your own timeline usually matter more than timing an exchange rate.

What to Do Next

Selling a Florida property as a Canadian rewards owners who start early. The withholding rules are fixed, but how much of your money sits with the IRS, and for how long, is decided months before a buyer walks through the door. Rushed sales cost Canadian owners real money, almost always as over-withholding they wait a year to recover.

Get your ITIN moving, rebuild your cost basis, find a cross-border accountant, then bring in an agent who has closed cross-border transactions here.

If you own on Florida's Gulf Coast and are weighing a sale, talk to our team about a no-obligation net proceeds analysis covering value, real closing costs, and a realistic timeline. You can also see how we prepare and market seller properties first.

Selling a Florida Property as a Canadian | The Complete 9-Step Process for 2026