BreakThru Realty

Buying a Florida Home From Canada

Winter residents, retirees and investors from Ontario, Quebec and the West: the rules that reach a Canadian owner

Canadians have bought Florida winter homes for generations, and Broward and Palm Beach counties remain among the places they buy most. The purchase works the same way as for any buyer; what is different is the life around it. How many days you may spend here before the United States counts you as a resident for tax, how long you may be away before your province questions your health coverage, how the dollar moves, how a Canadian bank's American arm lends, and what happens at the border and at sale. This page covers the Canadian questions, and a cross border adviser answers them for your family.

BreakThru Realty · Founder and Broker of Record: Tyson E. Sam, Florida License 3565210

Published October 24, 2026 · Reviewed by Tyson E. Sam, Founder and Broker of Record

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Find My Florida Home

Your first step: BreakThru International Buyer Plan

Buying in Florida From Another Country? Settle the Rules, the Money and the Paperwork Before You Choose a Home

Foreign citizens buy South Florida homes every day, and the ones who do it well settle three things first: which rules reach them, how the money will arrive and what they can sign from home. The plan starts with a consultation in your language about how you will use the home and how you will pay, and ends with a shortlist, a carrying cost review in United States dollars, and a closing you can complete without a second flight.

What you receive

  • A consultation in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French, about how you will use the home and how you will pay
  • A plain summary of the rules that reach a buyer from your country: the Florida ownership law, the tax identification you will need, and FIRPTA when you sell
  • A shortlist of homes and buildings whose rules allow your plans, including seasonal use and renting it out
  • A carrying cost review in United States dollars: property tax without homestead, insurance, flood, association dues and the services that run while you are away
  • Introductions to the professionals a foreign buyer needs: a lender who writes foreign national loans, a cross border tax adviser, an attorney and a title company that closes with buyers abroad
  • A tour and closing plan: live video tours now, one visit scheduled around the finalists, and the signing arranged for where you live

What happens next

  1. Tell us where you live, where you are looking, your budget in United States dollars, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer.
  2. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation.
  3. After the consultation, your agent prepares the rules summary, the shortlist and the carrying cost review, and introduces the professionals you need.
  4. You tour by video or in person when you are ready, and the closing is arranged around where you are.

Free and without obligation. Nothing you tell us is shared with a seller, and you sign a buyer agreement only when you are ready to tour.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad · Find My Florida Home

What should a Canadian know before buying a home in Florida? That the United States counts your days under the substantial presence test and a closer connection statement on Form 8840 usually keeps a long winter from making you a United States tax resident; that your province limits time away for health coverage; that Canadian banks lend here through United States arms; and that FIRPTA applies when you sell. A cross border accountant plans it.

Counting the Days: The Substantial Presence Test

The United States decides who is a resident for income tax by counting days. Under the substantial presence test you are treated as a resident if you are here at least 31 days in the current year and at least 183 days over three years, counting every day this year, a third of the days last year and a sixth of the days the year before. A snowbird who spends four or five months here each winter can cross that line without noticing. The consequence is not a tax on your Florida home but a potential obligation to file as a United States resident on your worldwide income, which is why the next section matters more than this one.

Form 8840 and the Closer Connection

A Canadian who meets the day count can usually avoid being treated as a United States resident by filing a closer connection statement, IRS Form 8840, each year. It states that you were in the United States fewer than 183 days in the year, that your tax home is in Canada and that your connections there, your permanent home, your family, your banking, your driver license and your voting, are closer than any here. Filed on time every year, it keeps a long winter from turning into a United States tax return on your Canadian income. Missing it does not. A cross border accountant prepares it with your other filings, and the plan reminds you that it exists.

Your Province and Your Health Coverage

Each province sets a limit on how long a resident may be outside the province in a year and keep provincial health coverage, with rules on how the days are counted and on extensions for longer absences. Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and Alberta each have their own figure and their own procedure. A Florida winter that fits one province's rule may not fit another's, and travel insurance for the months here is a separate purchase that most Canadian owners make every year. Check your province's current rule before you decide how many months the home needs to serve, and before you choose between a condo and a house on that basis.

Financing and the Canadian Dollar

Several Canadian banks have United States subsidiaries that lend to Canadians buying in Florida, using your Canadian credit history in ways a United States lender cannot, and foreign national programs from Florida lenders are open to you as well. Consult a mortgage lender on both sides of the border before you set a budget, and ask how each treats a condominium. Many Canadian buyers pay cash, and for them the exchange rate is the single largest variable in the price: a move of a few cents on the dollar changes the cost of a home by more than most negotiations do. A currency specialist can lock a rate ahead of closing; your bank can explain the options.

Taxes in Two Countries

Canada taxes its residents on their worldwide income, so rent from a Florida home is reported in Canada as well as in the United States, where a nonresident owner elects to be taxed on the net rent and files a return each year. The Canada United States tax treaty generally provides a credit so the same dollar is not taxed twice. When you sell, FIRPTA withholding applies at closing as a deposit against United States tax on the gain, and Canada taxes the gain too, again with a credit. The treaty also softens United States estate tax for Canadians in a way most countries' residents do not enjoy, which affects how you should hold title. A cross border accountant should be chosen before the contract, not after.

The Border, Registration and Insurance

Entry rules for Canadians visiting the United States change from time to time, including how long a visit may last and whether longer stays must be registered with the United States government. Check the Government of Canada's travel advice before each season rather than relying on last year's practice. Once here, a Canadian owner faces the same practical questions as any seasonal owner: windstorm and flood insurance for the home, a home watch service for the months away, and association rules on leasing and guests. Our snowbird page covers that side of ownership; this page covers the side that depends on your passport.

Where Canadians Tend to Buy, and Why

The condominium towns of Broward and southern Palm Beach County, from Hollywood and Hallandale Beach north through Pompano Beach, Deerfield Beach, Boca Raton and Delray Beach, hold a large share of Canadian owned homes, because a condo near the beach is easy to lock and leave and the airports are close. Golf and villa communities inland, many with 55+ age rules, draw retirees who want a yard without the upkeep. The Treasure Coast offers lower prices and a slower pace at the cost of a longer drive from the airport. The plan compares them against how many months you will be here and whether the home will be rented in summer.

Service for Canadian Buyers

The purchase itself is the same as for any buyer, and your agent handles it the same way: live video tours, inspections with you on the line, a carrying cost review in United States dollars, and a closing you can sign in Canada before a notary with the authentication the title company requires or through an online notary session. What the plan adds for a Canadian is the introductions: a cross border accountant who prepares the closer connection statement and both returns, a lender on either side of the border, and a currency specialist. Buyers from Quebec who prefer French get an interpreter at the consultation and on every tour.

Questions you may be asking

Can a foreigner even buy property in Florida?
Yes. Citizenship and residency are not required to own real estate in the United States, and a foreign owner has the same property rights as anyone else. One Florida law restricts purchases by people domiciled in a short list of countries, and the plan tells you plainly whether it reaches you.
We do not have United States credit or a bank account.
Most international buyers start that way. Lenders who write foreign national loans work from documents in your home country rather than a United States credit file, and a bank account and a taxpayer identification number can be opened as part of the process. Consult a mortgage lender early; many buyers simply pay cash instead.
We cannot travel for every step.
You should not have to. Your agent tours homes on live video, attends the inspection with you on the line, and the closing documents can be signed abroad before a notary, at a United States consulate, by remote online notarization where the title company allows it, or by a power of attorney.
What about taxes when we sell one day?
FIRPTA requires the buyer of a home from a foreign seller to withhold a share of the price for the IRS, as a deposit against the tax on the gain. There are exceptions and a certificate that can reduce it. The plan explains it in outline; a tax adviser who handles nonresident owners plans it with you before you buy.
We would rather do this in our own language.
Then we will. Spanish speaking agents are on staff, and for Portuguese or French an interpreter joins the consultation and the tours. The contracts are in English, as Florida law and the title company require, and your attorney explains them in your language.

Plan My Florida Purchase From Abroad

Tell us where you live, where in South Florida you are looking, how you expect to pay and the language you prefer. A BreakThru agent replies within one business day to schedule your consultation, in English or Spanish, with an interpreter arranged for Portuguese or French.

Call or email the brokerage directly: (786) 914-1017 · sales@breakthrurealty.com

Questions International Buyers Ask

How many days can a Canadian spend in Florida each year?
Two rules apply. The United States substantial presence test treats you as a tax resident at 31 days this year and 183 weighted days over three years, which a closer connection statement on Form 8840 can usually address. Your province sets its own limit on days outside the province for health coverage. Entry rules are the United States government's. A cross border accountant and the Government of Canada's travel advice give the current figures.
Can a Canadian get a mortgage for a Florida home?
Yes. Some Canadian banks lend through United States subsidiaries and can use your Canadian credit history, and Florida lenders offer foreign national programs. Terms, down payments and the treatment of condominiums differ, so consult a mortgage lender on each side of the border before you set a budget. Many Canadian buyers pay cash.
Will I pay tax in both countries on rent or on the sale?
Both countries tax the income, and the Canada United States tax treaty generally provides a credit so it is not taxed twice. In the United States a nonresident owner files a return on net rent, and FIRPTA withholding applies at sale as a deposit against tax on the gain. Canada taxes the same gain with a credit. A cross border accountant files both.
Can I get the Florida homestead exemption as a Canadian snowbird?
No. The exemption and the Save Our Homes cap apply only to a home that is the owner's permanent residence on January 1, which a Canadian resident's winter home is not. Your property tax rests on the full assessed value, which resets to the market when you buy. The carrying cost review in the plan uses that figure.
Do I need a will or an estate plan in the United States for the home?
Many Canadian owners do, because a Florida home passes under Florida law and can require a Florida probate unless it is held in a way that avoids one. The tax treaty softens United States estate tax for Canadians, but how the home is held still matters. A Florida attorney and your Canadian adviser should look at it together before you buy.
Can we do this in French?
Yes. An interpreter sits in on the consultation and the tours for buyers from Quebec, and this site can be switched to French from the language menu. Florida contracts are written in English; your attorney walks you through each document in French before you sign.

The Service

Rules, Taxes and Money

Buying From Your Country

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