Cross-border landlord software for Canada & the U.S.
Own rentals on both sides of the border? Keep them in one ledger. BorderBird runs Canadian and U.S. properties together — CAD + USD, Interac + Zelle, and CRA + IRS reporting from a single set of books.
This is the one job no single-country landlord tool is built to do.
Free plan: 1 door, no time limit, no credit card.
Where single-country software gets awkward
U.S. landlord tools assume one Schedule E, in USD, with every tenant inside the United States. Canadian tools assume a T776, in CAD, with everything inside Canada. Both are fine — until you own on both sides.
A Canadian who buys a Phoenix rental now reports the same income twice — Schedule E in USD for the IRS and T776 in CAD for the CRA — and has to reconcile the foreign tax credit between them. An American who buys a Toronto rental has 25% of every rent payment withheld under Part XIII and has to decide whether to file a Section 216 return. That doesn't fit in QuickBooks, Stessa, or a Canadian-only tool — so the usual answer is a second system, a spreadsheet, and a stressful March.
BorderBird is the system that doesn't break at the border.
One ledger, both countries
Every property reports profit and loss in both currencies at once, using the Bank of Canada annual average rate the CRA accepts. No spreadsheet bridging between your Canadian and U.S. numbers.
Forward an Interac e-Transfer confirmation from your Canadian tenant and a Zelle (or Venmo / Cash App) receipt from your U.S. tenant — both reconcile into the same set of books, matched to the right tenant and lease.
Part XIII 25% withholding by the 15th-of-month rule, NR4 reporting periods and slip data, the NR6 net-rent election, and Section 216 supporting figures — the whole non-resident pipeline, computed for you.
Line-mapped Schedule E CSVs in USD for the U.S. side, ready for Form 1040 (or 1040-NR) — alongside your T776-ready Canadian categories.
A W-8ECI lapses at the end of the third calendar year after you sign it — the 30% withholding restarts and nothing tells you. BorderBird keeps your filings as a history: when you signed, whether a US TIN is on it, and when it expires. It tracks and warns; you still file the form.
Hand your cross-border CPA one clean export per country instead of a shoebox. BorderBird prepares the data; you or your accountant file the returns.
Renting it short-term changes four things at once
An Airbnb or VRBO listing is not a lease with a shorter date on it. Letting by the night moves four separate tax rules at four different thresholds — and none of them announces itself to someone who has only ever had a tenant.
| Rule | Kicks in at | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| GST/HST | under 1 month per stay | Stays become taxable — long-term rent is exempt |
| ITA s. 67.7 | under 90 consecutive days | Expenses denied entirely without the licence your municipality requires |
| US rental-activity test | 7 nights average | Stops being a “rental activity” under the passive-loss rules |
| Residence test | 14 days / 10% | Your own use caps what you can deduct |
Airbnb withholds 30% of GROSS rent from non-resident hosts — before mortgage interest, taxes or depreciation. BorderBird records it as the prepaid tax it actually is: a credit you claim back, never an expense that quietly shrinks the income you report. Form W-8ECI is what stops the withholding, and its expiry is tracked for you.
Drop in the transaction export from your booking platform. BorderBird reads the gross rent, the platform's fee and any tax withheld as three separate figures — so your income is not understated by the two amounts that never reached your bank, and the fee is claimed as the deduction it is.
Read the detail: Airbnb & VRBO tax for Canadians and the Section 871(d) election.
Whichever way you crossed the border
Florida, Arizona and Texas snowbird rentals — Schedule E in USD, the foreign tax credit, and FIRPTA at sale, next to your Canadian books.
A Toronto or Vancouver rental — Part XIII withholding, NR4, and the Section 216 election, next to your U.S. Schedule E.
Run both sides from one account.
Start free — one door, no time limit, no credit card.