In the course of a general discussion of the Canadian tax treatment of a taxpayer holding an interest in a U.S. “living trust,” CRA stated:
A U.S. revocable living trust is a trust that is usually controlled by and established for the benefit of those who created the trust (“grantors”) during their lifetime. … Where the grantor can change the terms of, or completely revoke the trust during their lifetime, they effectively retain control of the trust assets. Given this retention of control, it is our understanding that…any income generated by the trust would be reported by the grantors of the trust on a personal U.S. income tax return. …
Where U.S. tax is paid on trust income by the grantors, a foreign tax credit may be available to the grantor/beneficiary in Canada. The available credit would depend on whether amounts are considered to be paid or payable from the trust for Canadian tax purposes and whether the timing of the income inclusion by the beneficiary coincides with the payment of tax in the U.S. If income that is not otherwise subject to the application of subsection 75(2) is not distributed out to the grantor/beneficiary in the same year in which it is generated, the trust will pay Canadian taxes on the income, but will not be able to offset these taxes with foreign income tax credits since they are based on the taxes paid personally in the U.S. by the grantors.