Buying a Home in Boca Raton as a Canadian: A Cross-Border Guide for Toronto and Montreal Buyers

Every fall, the license plates in Boca Raton start to change. Ontario, Quebec, a few from British Columbia. Canadians have been part of this coastline for generations, and many of the buyers I work with in Highland Beach and east Boca come from Toronto, Montreal and the suburbs around them.

But buying here as a Canadian isn't the same as buying here as a New Yorker. The home search looks similar. The paperwork, the tax exposure and the questions you need to answer before signing a contract are different. Most of the mistakes I see Canadian buyers make happen before they ever tour a property, not after.

This guide covers what I walk Canadian clients through first. It isn't tax or legal advice. You'll want a cross-border accountant and a Florida real estate attorney on your team. But it should help you ask them the right questions.

Start With the Calendar, Not the Listings

Before we talk about neighborhoods, I ask Canadian buyers one question: how many days a year do you actually plan to be here? The answer shapes almost everything else.

The US day count

The IRS uses what's called the substantial presence test. It counts all your days in the US in the current year, plus one-third of your days from the prior year, plus one-sixth from the year before that. If the weighted total reaches 183, you can be treated as a US resident for tax purposes unless you qualify for an exception. Many Canadian snowbirds who spend four to five months here each year end up near that line without realizing it. The usual answer is the closer connection exception, claimed on IRS Form 8840. Your accountant should confirm whether it applies to you.

Your provincial health coverage

The other side of the calendar is at home. Provincial health plans set their own residency rules. Ontario's OHIP, for example, requires you to be physically present in Ontario for at least 153 days in any 12-month period. Other provinces use different thresholds. Buyers who plan to spend more time in Florida after they own here sometimes discover that their winter plans conflict with their coverage at home.

The right home for a three-month winter and the right home for a six-month season are often different properties. Get the calendar right first and the search gets much simpler.

Where Canadian Buyers Tend to Land

Every buyer is different, but some patterns hold up in my experience.

Highland Beach and the A1A condo corridor

For part-year owners, a lock-and-leave oceanfront condo in Highland Beach is hard to beat. Building staff, security and a manager on site mean you can close the door in April and not worry until November. Oceanfront residences here generally run from around $1M for older buildings to $5M and well beyond for newer towers with private elevators and large terraces. Read the building's financials and reserve history carefully. Post-Surfside condo safety laws have changed the cost of ownership in older Florida buildings.

Downtown and east Boca

Buyers who want to walk to dinner tend to look at the condos around Mizner Park and along the Intracoastal in east Boca. Pricing typically ranges from about $1.5M to $6M+, depending on view, floor and building age. It's an easy life for someone coming from Yorkville or Westmount who's used to walking everywhere.

Gated single-family communities

Families and buyers planning longer stays often move toward single-family homes in communities like The Oaks and Boca Falls, where homes have usually traded from roughly $1.5M to $5M+. A guard gate and an HOA that maintains common areas make part-year ownership more manageable. For deepwater boating, Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club sits at the top of the market, from several million dollars to well into eight figures.

Delray Beach

Buyers who want a livelier downtown and a beach-town feel often prefer Delray Beach, especially east of Swinton near Atlantic Avenue. Smaller historic homes and new construction sit side by side, and pricing varies widely by block.

How You Hold Title Matters More Than You Think

This is where I see the most expensive mistakes. A structure that works well for an American buyer can create problems for a Canadian one.

• US LLCs. They're popular with American buyers for privacy and liability protection. For Canadians, the Canada Revenue Agency generally treats a US LLC as a corporation while the IRS may treat it as a pass-through. That mismatch can lead to double taxation that a foreign tax credit doesn't fully fix. Never form an LLC for a Florida purchase on reflex.
• Personal names. Holding in your own name, alone or jointly, is simpler and common for personal-use homes. It leaves you exposed to US estate tax, which I'll cover below.
• Trusts and other structures. Some Canadians use cross-border trusts or other planning tools. These need to be set up by advisors who work in both systems. Get it right at closing, because changing title later can trigger costs of its own.

The Two Tax Issues Canadians Overlook

US estate tax

Non-resident aliens are exposed to US estate tax on US-situated assets, and Florida real estate counts. The basic exemption for non-residents is very small compared with the exemption US citizens get. The Canada-US tax treaty gives Canadian residents a prorated version of the larger US credit, based on how much of their worldwide estate sits in the US. For many families that treaty relief is enough. For larger estates it may not be. This is a conversation to have before you buy, not something your heirs should discover.

FIRPTA when you sell

When a foreign seller sells US real estate, the buyer is generally required to withhold 15% of the gross sale price under FIRPTA and send it to the IRS. That's 15% of the price, not 15% of your gain. On a $3M sale, that's $450,000 held back at closing. You can apply for a reduced withholding certificate when your actual tax owed will be lower. You can also file a return to recover the excess, but it takes time. Plan for it in advance, especially if you intend to use the proceeds for your next purchase.

Property Taxes Without the Homestead Exemption

Florida's homestead exemption and its Save Our Homes cap, which limits annual assessment increases to 3%, are tied to permanent residence. Canadians living here part-year on visitor status generally don't qualify. Non-homestead properties do have a separate cap of 10% a year on assessment increases for non-school taxes. In practice, your property tax bill can rise faster than your American neighbor's on the same street, and the bill a seller shows you may not be the bill you'll pay. I always ask my Canadian clients to budget for the tax bill as if the home were reassessed at the purchase price.

Financing, Currency and Insurance

• Financing. Several Canadian banks have US operations that offer mortgages to Canadian clients and can use your Canadian credit history. Expect larger down payments than a domestic buyer would need. Many of my Canadian clients buy in cash and decide later whether to finance.
• Currency. On a seven-figure purchase, timing your conversion matters. Some buyers move funds in tranches or use a currency specialist instead of their bank's retail rate. Talk to someone before you wire a deposit.
• Insurance and vacancy. Insurers ask how long a home sits empty. A home-watch service, a monitored security system and documented hurricane protection can affect both coverage and premiums. Line up your insurance quote before you sign a contract, not after.
• Renting it out. If you plan to rent while you're home, check the HOA or condo rules first. Many Boca communities restrict leasing. US rents paid to a non-resident are subject to 30% withholding on the gross amount unless you elect to be taxed on net income, which most owners do with their accountant's help.

Buying From a Distance

Most of my Canadian clients do some of this from Toronto or Montreal. They tour in person during a winter visit, follow up on video calls, and sign the closing documents remotely or at a Canadian notary arranged in advance. That works well when one person on this end is accountable for everything: inspections, building documents, insurance quotes, contractor walkthroughs and keys. A team that hands you off to a different coordinator at every stage is the last thing you want when you're 1,500 miles away.

Let's Plan Your Florida Season

If you're thinking about a home in Boca Raton, Highland Beach or Delray Beach, I'm happy to talk through your calendar, the communities that fit it, and the questions to bring to your cross-border advisors. I'll be the person you talk to from the first call through the closing table.

One Broker. One Priority. You. Call or text me, Julian Rizzuto Flancbaum, at 561-287-7247.