Investment Q&A

Q: Hello, is it better to hold a Corporate Class mutual fund as opposed to a traditional
mutual fund in a Corporate investment account? Could you please explain your answer? Thank you.

Q: Are there any investment options that are independent of capital gains tax policy? For instance an investor may decide not to sell an equity to avoid triggering a capital gain and reducing capital (or may decide to sell for tax loss reasons). To avoid this bias are there etf/ funds that can swap investments without triggering capital gains?

Q: Those excellent Cies, and others in various sectors, could be significantly punished if the US law bill 899 were adopted by the US senate with no change..Curiously, the valuations of those Cies are not compromised to this day , maybe because it is still too early, and that all this would only start in early 2026....What strategy do you suggest concerning all Cies that have significant US revenues in general ,before any official US senate confirmation? Your point of view shall be extremely appreciated !

Q: Regarding Greg's question of June 9/25......re: the tax rate of selling one stock now versus waiting to sell the same stock after his father passes away. While the 5iR answer was technically correct, I would like to add the following:

In Canada we have a graduated tax system.....the more income you make, the higher potential for you to be in a higher tax bracket for that incremental income. Once you pass away, ALL of your RRSP-RRIF holdings are deemed to be withdrawn and taxed as income. Additionally, ALL of your Cash account holdings are deemed to be sold, generating (hopefully) capital gains. Then the combination is taxed according to our graduated tax system.

So....if I understood Greg's question correctly, the estate tax for his father would potentially be significantly higher if he waited until "later".

My personal current Marginal Tax Rate is around 31%. Using TurboTax, my final (terminal) MTR is 49%.

Apologies if I got this wrong and generated any confusion. Please do not post if I got this wrong. Post if I am correct. Thanks....Steve

Q: Hi. would like to know in what account (RRSP,TFSA,NON-REGISTERED) would be best suited for these ETFs and your best to less favored in order for each account type please. ZWB, HCAL, ZWK, ZWE, ZPW, UMAX, HYLD, HDIV, HDIF, ENCC. Thank you

Q: Knowing your not tax experts ,I’m wondering if you could help me with this situation
Would there be any difference in capitol gains tax if my father sold roughly 200K of one stock now,what would be the difference if any,when he passes and the same stock is sold and goes through estate taxes.Is their any tax difference between the 2 scenarios…Thanks

Q: This is in response to Dean's question about the tax treatment of Irish companies like MDT. I hold MDT in a non-registered account and the withholding taxes can be claimed back against my Canadian taxes. The MDT withholding taxes are reported on the T5 as foreign dividend income. In the past, I learned the hard way that taxes are deducted from dividends received from non-US foreign companies held inside an RRSP. I don’t have any knowledge of tax treaties, but that's my experience.

Q: Now that BAM has moved its headquarters to the US, does it make its shares a foreign asset for the point of view of the CRA? To your knowledge does it need to be reported on the T1135 if the holding exceeds 100 000CAD ? What if the BAM position that exceeds 100 000CAD is held in a RRSP or TFSA, would there still be a requirement for the T1135?

Q: Hello 5i,
With regards to MDT & other Irish Domoniced companies that trade on the USA markets such as TT, CAN, ETN, AON, etc.… My broker withheld 25% on all dividend payments in 2024 even though the shares were held in a RRSP. I did well with MDT (Option Premium+Div-Net of Tax, Capital Appreciation) and at some point, I would like to own for dividends MDT or any of the other Irish Domoniced companies that trade on the USA markets. I reached out to my broker since there is a tax treaty with Canada / Irland and completed all recommended documents; the broker continued to deduced 25% of all dividends paid. My question is before I pay the $500 global tax collection or pay a 3rd party for advice would you happen to know or perhaps a reader might know should the Dividend Taxes 25% be taken even in RRSP’s on all Irish Domoniced companies? The net tax so far was ~$3.5K USD so it’s probably enough to seek other avenues to collect the Dividend Tax funds. The simple answer is to seek accounting advice which I certainly will be as an accountant my self this will be a very specialize question that will need an opinion issued.
investorrelations.medtronic.com/opportunities-obtain-irish-dividend-withholding-tax-dwt-exemption
stockanalysis.com/list/irish-stocks-us/

Q: Hello 5i,
Is there an exceptional amount of ROC for NXF.B and if so is it meaningfully detrimental to an investment in this. I enjoy the distribution but I do not want it to bite me in the butt when I finally sell. I have nine such cover call ETF's ( HDIV, HHLE, HMAX, HYLD, NXF.B, QMAX, SMAX, UMAX, ZWH.U) out of 48 positions making up 11% of the portfolio of mostly blue chip solid dividend payers. Am I heading for a disaster when I sell in a 5 to 8 year time frame? 79 year old value investor enjoying dividends.
Stanley

Q: After reading Peter's May 29th question on withholding taxes on Limited Partnerships [LPs] I worry a lot about the Brookfield companies, in particular about BEP.UN = Brookfield Renewable Partners LP. and BIP.UN = Brookfield Infrastructure Partners LP. Are these not limited partnerships?

You say they are "domiciled" in Bermuda I believe, and BAM is moving it's head office to the US so it is all most confusing. Are these companies safe to own now or should I just sell them and move on to other less worrisome companies? They are in my cash account. Trouble is I have very large unrealized capital gains in BIP.UN and BEP.UN and nice dividend income so really don't want to trigger the taxes.
Thank you......... Paul K.

Q: The Moneysaver magazine has a list of high dividend US companies some are limited partnerships.What are the Canada and US tax obligations for dividends received in Canada from a US limited partnership?

Q: Hello 5i,

Sorry to add another question on Withholding tax. If the proposal goes through, is there an advantage to hold CDR's instead of US stocks directly?

Thank you for your help.

D&J

Q: Hi group what the suggested strategy to deal with proposed increase in withholding tax . I am hesitant to buy any more us stocks in my non registered +TSFA accounts ...maybe even sell some? i know we should wait until the prosed increase happens ...looking at US verses Canada stocks in general. Presently CAD are doing better so selling and replacing with CAD stocks may just work out just fine ...thoughts

Q: Hello 5i,
I have read the Q&A around the proposed u.s. tax changes and am unclear as to whether or not holdings within registered plans (LIFs, RRIF's, RRSP's, RESP's(?)) are impacted, or if they retain their current, somewhat protected, status. I am assuming - perhaps completely incorrectly - that the questions asked have been referring to non-registered investments, but that - knowing Trump, registered plans will take the hit as well?
One thought would be - upon finalization of the bill, in whatever end form it finally takes - for 5i to write a report on the impact to Canadian investors once the dust has settled and the ramifications are known.
Many thanks, as always!!!
Cheers,
Mike

Q: The impending big ugly Republican bill is supposed to increase the witholding taxes for Canadians, on certain companies.

According to the Globe ("Trump’s new bill threatens major tax increases for Canadian companies", by Clare O’Hara and Rudy Mezzetta, May 22, 2025), this would include, "Canadian corporations that receive dividends from U.S. subsidiaries" and "Canadian individuals who own U.S. securities directly". This tax would rise to 50 percent from 5% and 15% respectively.
Though I do not depend on dividend income, I do own a couple of securities which I am wondering about:

Brookfield Corp: A company based in Canada but which is trying to become based in the US. Though this has a small USD yield, would it be affected?

Purpose US Cash High Interest ETF: This pays interest in USD on USD but is a Canadian company. Would this interest be affected by this bill?

Can you name some companies in particular that would be hit hard by this?

Lastly, I wonder if our pension plans, like CPP, HOOPP, etc would be affected significantly and how would they respond? Any insight on that?

Thanks as always.

Q: Hello Peter,
With the recent announcement of the tax bill in the US where the withholding tax could increase to 50 percent from the current 15 percent, is this only for non registered and TFSA accounts? I am assuming the RRSPs are exempt as there is currently no withholding tax on RRSPs from US domiciled companies.. Thanks for your service.

Q: Here is a part of the Globe and Mail article

"On Thursday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Republican legislation, titled the One, Big, Beautiful Bill, with a narrow vote of 215-214. If it becomes law, it will override the Canadian-U.S. tax treaty that has been in place since 1942.
The 1,100-page document includes section 899, a tax proposal created as a retaliatory measure against what the U.S calls “discriminatory or unfair taxes” of foreign countries, including Canada’s digital services tax (DST), which was introduced in 2024.

The U.S legislation is still required to be passed by the Senate and receive presidential approval before it can become law. The White House expects the President to sign the final bill by July 4.
Canadian corporations that receive dividends from U.S. subsidiaries are currently subject to a 5-per-cent withholding rate under the tax treaty between the U.S. and Canada, much lower than the statutory rate of 30 per cent.
But under section 899, Canadian companies would see their tax rate increase by five percentage points each year until it reaches 20 percentage points above the statutory rate, or 50 per cent. It would remain in place until the “unfair tax” is removed.
Similarly, Canadian individuals who own U.S. securities directly are subject to a 15-per-cent withholding tax rate under the current treaty, reduced from the statutory rate of 30 per cent. Under section 899, the withholding rate could ultimately rise to 50 per cent."

July 04 is not far from today. If US government impose such taxes and the Mark Carney Government failed to address it, it will impact my portfolio which is heavily dominated by shares of US corporations. Such bill may also tank US market as Candian have the largest share of foreign investment in USA. What would advise in such situation, wait to see whether Senate approved it and then President signs it or take action and encash a part of the portfolio?

Q: There is an article in today's G&M "trump's new bill threatens major tax increases for Canadian companies". Could you comment generally on how this may play out in various ways and sectors. And specifically to PRL, SLF, BAM, CSU, CLS and ENB.
Thank You and please deduct accordingly.
Tim

Q: Just read this in Globe and Mail - Canadian individuals who own U.S. securities directly are subject to a 15 per cent withholding tax rate under the current treaty. Under the new bill the withholding rate could ultimately rise to 50 per cent.
If you were me, what would you do???......tom