USA Withdraw Canadian Retirement Funds

[Judith Croen]

I am a US citizen over 59-1/2 and want to withdraw my Canadian RRSP and LIRA retirement savings accounts. The Canadian bank holding these funds told me to file a Residency Determination Status Form (NR73) with Revenue Canada. I submitted this form and Revenue CA acknowledged receipt in September, 2016 but stated it can take up to 9 months for processing and approval. The Canadian bank representative stated that they can not do an institution:institution transfer as might be possible within the country, but that once they receive notice from Revenue Canada that I am no longer a resident of Canada, the Canadian government will tax me 15% and then, after the currency exchange depreciates my retirement savings further, I will receive a check for the remaining value on the accounts. I don't know whether I will have to file taxes in Canada when this money is distributed in 2017. I also hope to avoid/minimize double taxation in the US and to invest this money in a retirement fund in the US. I am looking for an accountant in CT or NY experienced with this process who can help me with this in the 2017 tax year.