The Diagnostic: twelve points, scored out of 100
A free check of a money life in Canada, the United States or both. Every point has a weight and a rule behind it, and the arithmetic is shown. The rubric is published before the tool opens, so you can judge it first.
Status, November 4, 2026. The Diagnostic opens in the first half of 2027. This is version 0.1 of the rubric, a draft that no licensed professional has reviewed yet.
How a score is made
- Each of the twelve points has a weight. The weights add up to 100.
- For each point you answer Handled, Partly or Not yet. Handled means you can point to the document, the filed form or the number. Believing it is fine does not count.
- Handled earns the full weight. Partly earns half, rounded down. Not yet earns nothing.
- A point that does not apply to you is left out of both your points and the total.
- Score = points earned ÷ points possible × 100, rounded to a whole number.
What the score is not
It is a checklist score. It is not a credit score, not a grade and not a diagnosis, and on its own it means little. The useful part is the list of points marked Partly or Not yet, each with the rule behind it.
The Diagnostic does not know your whole situation and does not tell you what to do. Nothing you enter will be sold or shown to a professional unless you ask.
The twelve points
Points 1 to 6 are for every money life. Points 7 to 12 are the cross-border items where mistakes are most expensive. The last column says how firm the rule behind each point is.
| Point | What it checks | Weight | Kind of rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Months of cash on hand | Whether you hold cash to cover three to six months of spending. | 8 | Convention |
| 2. Disability cover against income | Whether long-term disability cover would replace about 60 to 70 percent of your income, and whether it still pays if you live or work across the border. | 8 | Convention |
| 3. A debt plan with dates | A payoff date and the interest cost for each debt, shown as arithmetic. | 8 | Arithmetic |
| 4. Fee drag on investments | What you pay in fees, in dollars. A 1 percent fee over twenty years is shown as arithmetic. Rule: Canada's total cost reporting rules; the US Form CRS and Form ADV disclosures. | 8 | Law |
| 5. Tax structure for two countries | Whether anyone has looked at your tax position under both countries' rules and the treaty. Rule: Canada-US tax treaty, articles IV and XVIII; IRS Form 8833. | 8 | Treaty |
| 6. Estate documents valid on both sides | Whether your will and powers of attorney work in both countries. Rule: deemed disposition at death in Canada; the US estate-tax regime for non-citizens; treaty article XXIX B. | 8 | Law and treaty |
| 7. Residency days and the forms that follow | Whether you know your days in each country and have filed what follows from them. Rule: substantial presence test; Form 8840; Income Tax Act s. 250. See the day counter. | 9 | Law |
| 8. Departure tax when leaving Canada | If you are leaving Canada: whether the deemed disposition of your property is planned for. Rule: Income Tax Act s. 128.1(4); Forms T1161 and T1243. | 8 | Law |
| 9. Registered accounts a US person holds | If you are a US person: whether your TFSA, RESP and RDSP are reported, or you know why they need not be. Rule: Revenue Procedure 2020-17; Form 3520. See the TFSA tool. | 9 | Law and guidance |
| 10. Canadian funds a US person holds | If you are a US person: whether Canadian mutual funds and ETFs are treated under the passive foreign investment company rules. Rule: Internal Revenue Code ss. 1291 to 1298; Form 8621. | 9 | Law |
| 11. Foreign-account reports | Whether every foreign-account report that applies to you is filed. Rule: FBAR (FinCEN Form 114), Form 8938, and Canada's Form T1135. | 9 | Law |
| 12. US estate-tax exposure on US property | If you hold US property or US securities as a non-citizen: whether you know the exposure. Rule: Form 706-NA; the USD 60,000 filing threshold for US-situs assets; the treaty credit under article XXIX B. | 8 | Law and treaty |
Why these weights
The six everyday points weigh 8 each. Among the cross-border points, days and forms (7), registered accounts (9), Canadian funds (10) and foreign-account reports (11) weigh 9, because in Aurelle's judgement a mistake there most often costs a lost election or a penalty that does not shrink with the balance. Departure tax (8) and US estate tax (12) weigh 8 because they apply to some people and to one event.
This is a judgement, not a measurement. It is listed so you can disagree with it. A change to a weight is dated, logged and published before it applies.
Version
- Rubric
- Version 0.1, November 4, 2026
- Status
- Draft. Reviewers join Aurelle Standards at the first election in January 2027.
- Cost
- Free
- Who pays Aurelle
- Nobody for the Diagnostic
A sample score
An invented person who lives in Ontario, holds a US passport, and has no plan to leave Canada or buy US property. Points 8 and 12 do not apply to them.
| Point | Weight | Answer | Points earned |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Cash on hand | 8 | Handled | 8 |
| 2. Disability cover | 8 | Handled | 8 |
| 3. Debt plan | 8 | Handled | 8 |
| 4. Fee drag | 8 | Partly | 4 |
| 5. Tax structure | 8 | Handled | 8 |
| 6. Estate documents | 8 | Handled | 8 |
| 7. Days and forms | 9 | Partly | 4 |
| 8. Departure tax | 8 | Does not apply | Left out |
| 9. Registered accounts | 9 | Partly | 4 |
| 10. Canadian funds | 9 | Partly | 4 |
| 11. Foreign-account reports | 9 | Partly | 4 |
| 12. US estate tax | 8 | Does not apply | Left out |
Earned: 8 + 8 + 8 + 4 + 8 + 8 + 4 + 4 + 4 + 4 = 60. Possible: 100 − 8 − 8 = 84. Score: 60 ÷ 84 × 100 = 71.4, shown as 71.
The result lists the five points marked Partly, each with its rule. That list, not the 71, is what to take to a professional.
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