Frequently asked questions

No. Taxminator provides educational information and estimates only. We don't give legal, tax, accounting, immigration, or financial advice. Always consult a qualified expat CPA, immigration lawyer, and financial advisor before making a relocation decision.

Primarily Americans and Canadians — remote workers, entrepreneurs, freelancers, retirees, and investors — who want to compare countries on tax, cost of living, visas, and lifestyle before deciding where to live, work, or invest next.

Usually not entirely. The US taxes citizens on worldwide income regardless of where they live. The FEIE (~$126,500 for 2024) and Foreign Tax Credit can reduce or eliminate US tax on earned income, but FBAR, Form 8938, self-employment tax, and US tax on investment income often continue. Renunciation is the only way to fully end US tax obligations and has its own exit tax rules.

When you cease to be a Canadian tax resident, the CRA treats you as having sold most non-exempt capital property at fair market value the day before departure — the so-called 'departure tax'. Canada also withholds tax on Canadian-source income paid to non-residents. Treaty residency rules and exempt property categories matter a lot here.

They're directional, not precise. We use published statutory rates and well-known regimes (FEIE, NHR, treaty rates, etc.) to give you a useful order-of-magnitude number. Your actual liability depends on filing status, deductions, credits, investment mix, state/province, and treaty positions — all of which require a real tax professional.

We aggregate from publicly available sources: official tax authority publications, Numbeo-style cost-of-living indices, Speedtest internet data, and visa program documentation. We refresh data periodically but always verify time-sensitive numbers (current-year rates, visa thresholds) on the source before acting.

No. The calculator, country profiles, comparison, nomad planner, and salary purchasing-power tools are all free and don't require sign-up. An account lets you save comparisons, chat with the AI planner with threaded history, and track expenses for your accountant.

Your chat threads and saved comparisons are stored under your account and protected by row-level security — only you can read them. Anything you type to the AI is sent to the model provider for the response and isn't used to train Taxminator. Don't paste real SSNs, SINs, or bank details.

We don't recommend specific professionals yet, but the AI planner can tell you what credentials to look for (e.g. a CPA with Form 2555/1116 experience for US expats, a CGA/CPA familiar with departure tax for Canadians) and what to ask in a discovery call.

Paid plans with deeper modeling, side-by-side scenario plans, a CPA/lawyer directory, country alerts when tax or visa rules change, and team accounts for advisors planning relocations for clients.