# Buying in Apollo Beach as a Canadian: What Actually Matters By Shawna Calvert (@shawnacalvert) · Published 2026-09-25 Canonical: https://voce.com/@shawnacalvert/apollo-buying-beach-canadian-actually-matters-985qop --- If you’re Canadian and shopping the Tampa Bay area, you’re in better company than you probably realize. In the first quarter of 2026, Tampa ranked fifth in the country for international home-shopping activity. Only Miami, Orlando and two markets outside Florida drew more. Canadians made up 58.8% of Tampa’s international demand, up 4.6 points from the year before. Most of what gets written for Canadian buyers is written about Miami, Naples or Fort Myers. Apollo Beach and the Southshore communities south of Tampa rarely get a mention, which is a shame, because for a lot of Canadian buyers this is the better fit: deep-water canals, boat lifts, a real neighbourhood feel, and prices that haven’t gone the way Sarasota’s have. Here’s what actually matters when you’re buying in Apollo Beach as a Canadian. Not the brochure version. ## How long can a Canadian stay in Florida each year? Two separate rules govern how long you can be here, and they have nothing to do with each other. People conflate them constantly, and it causes real problems. ### What does the six-month visitor rule actually mean? This is the immigration clock. As a Canadian visitor you’re generally admitted for up to six months at a time. That’s a border officer’s decision rather than an entitlement, and it says nothing at all about taxes. Plenty of Canadians assume that staying inside the immigration limit keeps them clear of the IRS. It doesn’t. ### What is the Substantial Presence Test? This is the tax clock, and it’s the one that catches people. The IRS Substantial Presence Test counts: - all your U.S. days this year, plus - one-third of last year’s days, plus - one-sixth of the year before that If that weighted total hits 183 and you were here at least 31 days this year, the IRS can treat you as a U.S. tax resident, and that means on your worldwide income. Do the arithmetic. Four months a winter, every winter, gets you there: 120 + 40 + 20 = 180. One extra week and you’re over. ### What is Form 8840, and do I have to file it every year? Form 8840 is the Closer Connection Exception, and it’s the fix. You can use it if you were physically here fewer than 183 actual days this year, kept your tax home in Canada, and have stronger ties there: home, family, bank, doctor, driver’s licence. It’s due June 15 of the following year if you had no U.S. wages, April 15 if you did. It is not automatic. You have to file it. Every year. ## What is FIRPTA, and how much does the IRS hold back when I sell? Everyone researches the purchase. Almost nobody researches the sale. When a foreign person sells U.S. real estate, the buyer is required to withhold a percentage of the gross sale price and send it to the IRS. Not your profit. The gross price. **FIRPTA withholding on a sale by a foreign person. The affidavit is the buyer confirming they’ll live in the property at least half the days over the next two years.** Sale price Buyer signs residence affidavit Withholding Under $300,000 Yes 0% $300,001 to $1,000,000 Yes 10% Over $1,000,000, or no affidavit Either way 15% Sell an $800,000 canal home with no affidavit and $120,000 goes to the IRS at closing, regardless of whether you made a dollar. You get it back when you file, eventually. ### Can I reduce FIRPTA withholding before closing? Yes, by filing Form 8288-B for a withholding certificate in advance. The IRS takes roughly 90 days to process one, which means the time to start that paperwork is when you list, not when you’re already under contract. Miss that window and your money sits with the IRS until you file a return for the year. This is the single most expensive thing Canadian sellers learn too late. ## Can a Canadian get a mortgage on a Florida home? Yes. Financing works, but not the way it does at home. You don’t need U.S. credit history, though you do need a lender who does this routinely. There are two paths: the U.S. arms of Canadian banks, which can often use your Canadian credit file, or U.S. foreign-national mortgage programs. Either way, expect a larger down payment than a U.S. buyer would put down, and rates that reflect the added underwriting. Ask for the specific number early, because it varies more by lender than people expect, and it changes what you can shop for. Cash is common here, and it’s a real negotiating advantage in Southshore. ## Which costs do Canadian buyers underestimate? Four of them, consistently. ### Why don’t Canadians get Florida’s homestead exemption? Because Florida’s homestead exemption and its 3% Save Our Homes assessment cap both require Florida permanent residency. As a non-resident you don’t get either. Your assessed value can rise up to 10% a year instead of 3%, and that 10% cap doesn’t cover school district taxes at all. Over a decade, the gap between 3% and 10% is not small. Worth watching: Amendment 3 goes to Florida voters on November 3, 2026. Should 60% approve it, the non-homestead assessment cap drops from 10% to 5% starting January 1, 2027. The much larger homestead exemptions in that same amendment still wouldn’t apply to you, but the tighter cap would. ### What does insurance actually cost on an Apollo Beach home? More than the number in your head, and there’s no honest average anyone can give you. Windstorm and flood are separate from your standard policy, and they’re the line item that surprises people most, especially on the water. Get real quotes on a specific address before you fall in love with it. Never a regional average, because two homes on the same street can price very differently. ### What is a CDD fee, and why is it on top of my HOA dues? A CDD is a Community Development District, and many Southshore communities carry one. The assessment pays off the infrastructure the developer built, meaning roads, drainage and amenities, and it lands on your tax bill rather than your HOA statement. It isn’t optional, and buyers miss it constantly when they compare two homes that look identically priced. ### How much does the exchange rate matter? Enough to plan around. You’re buying a USD asset with CAD, so the purchase, the carrying costs and the eventual sale all move with the rate. That’s an exposure, and it cuts both ways. ## Can I rent the house out while I’m back in Canada? Plenty of Canadians offset costs by renting in the off-season. Two things matter before you count on it. ### How is a Canadian owner’s rental income taxed? Gross rental income paid to a foreign owner is subject to 30% withholding unless you make an election to be taxed on a net basis, after expenses and depreciation. That election almost always produces a better result, but it requires filing. Nobody applies it for you. ### Will my community even allow it? Southshore HOAs vary widely on minimum lease terms. Some allow monthly, many require three, six or twelve months, and short-term rental is off the table in a lot of neighbourhoods. Read the specific community’s documents before you buy on a rental assumption, because the rules differ from one gate to the next. ## What happens to a Florida property when a Canadian owner dies? This is the one almost nobody raises, and it deserves a conversation. A non-resident who isn’t a U.S. citizen has a dramatically smaller U.S. estate tax exemption than a citizen does. We’re talking tens of thousands of dollars of U.S.-situs assets, not millions. A canal home in Apollo Beach clears that threshold comfortably. The Canada and U.S. tax treaty provides meaningful relief, and how you take title matters. Put this question to a cross-border accountant before you close, because it’s far easier to structure at purchase than to fix later. ![Sunset over an Apollo Beach canal lined with private docks and boat lifts](data:image/svg+xml;base64,PHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iMSIgaGVpZ2h0PSIxIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciPjwvc3ZnPg==) _A canal home in Apollo Beach at sunset, dock and boat lift in view._ ## What should I check on an Apollo Beach waterfront home? This is Apollo Beach, so the waterfront questions are the real questions. Elevation and flood insurance come first. Before anything else, know the property’s elevation and get a real flood quote on that address. Two homes on the same canal can carry very different numbers. Then the water. How deep is the canal at low tide, not at high tide, which is what listings tend to imply? What’s the bridge clearance between the property and open water? And what’s the lift capacity, meaning the weight the boat lift is rated to carry, which is a different question from whether it was ever permitted? If your boat doesn’t fit under the bridge, or the lift can’t carry it, the waterfront is decorative. ## Where should a Canadian buyer start? 1. Decide roughly how many days a year you’ll actually be here. That answers the tax-residency question before it becomes a problem. 2. Talk to a cross-border accountant early, before you make an offer rather than after. Title structure and estate planning are cheap to get right at the start. 3. Get insurance quotes on real addresses, not averages. 4. Then go look at houses. ## Canadian buyer FAQ ### Can a Canadian buy a house in Florida? Yes. There’s no citizenship requirement and no visa requirement to own U.S. real estate, and Canadians buy in Florida every day. Owning a home gives you no additional right to stay in the country, though. Ownership and immigration status are completely separate systems. ### How many days can a Canadian spend in Florida without becoming a U.S. tax resident? Fewer than you’d guess, because the IRS weights prior years. Add all your U.S. days this year, one-third of last year’s and one-sixth of the year before; at 183 or more, with at least 31 days this year, you meet the Substantial Presence Test. Four consecutive winters of four months each puts you at 180. ### Do I have to file Form 8840 every year? Yes, if you’re relying on the Closer Connection Exception. The form isn’t a one-time registration and it isn’t automatic. File it by June 15 of the following year when you’ve had no U.S. wages, or April 15 when you have. ### How much tax is withheld when a Canadian sells a Florida home? Under FIRPTA the buyer withholds from the gross sale price: 0% under $300,000 with a buyer residence affidavit, 10% from $300,001 to $1,000,000 with that affidavit, and 15% above $1,000,000 or whenever no affidavit is signed. Filing Form 8288-B in advance can reduce it, but allow about 90 days. ### Can a Canadian get a mortgage in Florida without U.S. credit? Yes. The U.S. arms of Canadian banks can often read your Canadian credit file directly, and U.S. foreign-national mortgage programs exist for exactly this. Both usually want a larger down payment than a domestic buyer would make, so ask for the specific figure before you set a budget. ### Do Canadians pay higher property taxes in Florida? The tax rate is the same, but the protections aren’t. Florida residents get the homestead exemption and a 3% annual assessment cap; non-residents get neither, so an assessment can climb up to 10% a year, and that cap excludes school district taxes. Over ten years the difference compounds meaningfully. ### Can I rent out my Apollo Beach home when I’m not there? Usually, within limits. Your rental income faces 30% withholding on the gross unless you elect net-basis taxation, and your HOA sets the minimum lease term. Southshore communities range from monthly minimums to twelve-month minimums, and several prohibit short-term rental entirely, so check the documents before you buy on a rental assumption. ### Do I need a U.S. bank account to own a home in Florida? It isn’t legally required, but it makes ownership far simpler. Utilities, HOA dues, CDD assessments, insurance premiums and property tax bills all want a U.S. payment method, and paying each one from Canada means conversion costs every time. Most Canadian banks can open a U.S. account for you before you close. ### Is Apollo Beach in a flood zone? Much of waterfront Apollo Beach sits in a FEMA special flood hazard area, but the zone and the base flood elevation change parcel by parcel. Never take a neighbour’s premium as a guide to yours. Pull the elevation certificate and get a quote on the exact address you’re considering. ### Which Apollo Beach community suits a Canadian buyer best? It depends on the boat and on how much you want handled while you’re away. [MiraBay](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/neighborhoods/mirabay/) is the amenity-heavy, golf-cart-friendly option; [Bimini Bay](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/neighborhoods/bimini-bay/) is smaller and quieter on deep water; [Andalucía](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/neighborhoods/andalucia/) is guarded and gated. All three are true navigable waterfront with Tampa Bay access. * * * _This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Cross-border ownership touches U.S. and Canadian tax law, immigration rules and Florida property law at the same time, so work with a cross-border accountant and a Florida real estate attorney on your specific situation._ _Shawna Calvert is a REALTOR® and Team Leader of The Calvert Home Team at 27North Realty in Apollo Beach._ [_RateMyAgent_](https://www.ratemyagent.com/real-estate-agent/shawna-calvert-b147b7/sales/overview) _ranked her #10 in its 2026 national Top 100 and named her Florida Agent of the Year, Hillsborough County Agent of the Year, and Apollo Beach Agent of the Year for the second year running. She has more than 290 verified five-star reviews there, and Stellar MLS ranks her the #1 agent in Apollo Beach by total sales volume for January 2025 through August 2026. She and her team work MiraBay, Bimini Bay, Andalucía, Waterset, Covington Park, Harbour Isles and Symphony Isles, and they answer the elevation and flood questions before you ask them._ ## Related reading - [Relocation services](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/relocation-services/) - [Waterfront communities in Apollo Beach](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/waterfront-communities/) - [Apollo Beach, Florida](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/apollo-beach/) - [Neighborhood guide](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/neighborhoods/) - [Southshore Tampa relocation tips](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/southshore-tampa-relocation-tips/) ## Sources - FIRPTA rates and thresholds: [IRS, FIRPTA withholding](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/firpta-withholding) - Substantial Presence Test, Form 8840 eligibility and deadlines: [IRS, closer connection exception](https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/closer-connection-exception-to-the-substantial-presence-test) - Tampa’s #5 national ranking and the 58.8% Canadian share of its international demand, Q1 2026: [Florida Realtors](https://www.floridarealtors.org/news-media/news-articles/2026/06/florida-metros-rank-among-top-us-markets-international-buyers) - The 10% non-homestead assessment cap, its school-tax exclusion and proposed Amendment 3: [Pinellas County Property Appraiser](https://www.pcpao.gov/learn-more/non-homestead-10-cap) This article first appeared on [Relocating to Paradise](https://relocatingtoparadise.com/buying-in-apollo-beach-as-a-canadian/). Shawna Calvert, REALTOR and Team Leader, The Calvert Home Team at 27North Realty