Investment Q&A

Q: Thanks very much for your answe on my question about the previous covered call question. I understand in the situation described there would be a capital gain and thus the superficial loss rule doesn’t apply. I was interested, though, what would happen if the case did involve a capital loss. Would writing a put right away trigger a superficial loss? I wouldn’t think so, because you haven’t really bought the stock and won’t do so for thirty days or more. Would that be the right interpretation?
Thanks for all the help

Q: Good morning 5i
Just a clarification on your covered call strategy that you mentioned today. You said that if called away, say, at $45 you would immediately sell a put for $45 for about a month out. One of the reasons for this i imagine is that you think the stock has the wind in its sails. Right? Also, how would this strategy affect the superficial loss rule. I don’t imagine you would be seen as buying the stock within 30 days?
Thanks

Q: So here is an interesting one for you. Recent (early) retiree at age 55. Let's assume I have 2 bond funds - one domiciled offshore and set up as a Trust, and the other a traditional mutual fund domiciled in Canada. Assume both have a similar return and distribution profile, as well as holdings. The offshore one only pays nominal monthly distributions, meaning they essentially go towards increasing one's adjusted cost base ("ACB"). It is not an actual cash distribution. This is good in the sense that, in theory, this reduces your capital gains when one sells. The other one pays the same monthly distribution, but it is cash, and not just nominal. As a retiree looking for cash yield, am I being short-sighted in wanting to stick with the fund that pays the monthly cash distribution, or is there something besides what is noted here that I should be more focused on with the fund that pays the nominal distribution? At this stage, all other things being equal, I am inclined to sell the offshore one and just own the one fund that is domiciled in Canada and take the monthly cash income.

And sorry about the long question. I really did try to keep this short :)

Q: Re : Special dividend.
A 25 % withholding tax is indicated. Would this still apply if the shares are held in a TFSA?
Thank you,
Philip

Q: iTrade has notified me that I must apply for a TIN Number from USA if I trade PTB's or own them. Problem is I have no way of identifying if the stock is a PTP or not. The way I read it that would be all US stocks and the site they send me to (https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayer-identificaion-numbers-tin) basically says you need to become a US citizen. I run 3 accounts in in USD, Cash, RIIF ant TFSA. Do I have to abandon US investing??

Q: I have received below email from Scotiaitrade since I have EPD shares in my RRSP account. My understanding was that in registered accounts I don't have to file a US tax return for PTPs disposition or distributions. I called Scotiaitrade and they did not provide any additional details for registered accounts and asked me to apply for US Tax Identification Number and consult my accountant for filing US tax return. Any details you may have would be appreciated.



In December 2022, Scotia iTRADE sent you an email advising of industry-wide changes that came into effect on January 1, 2023 and that impact your previous and/or current holdings of certain publicly traded partnership units (PTPs).

As part of these changes, a 10% withholding tax may be applied to certain distributions in addition to the usual 37% withholding tax on U.S. business income for non-U.S. persons. In the event of a disposition or transfer of the impacted PTPs a 10% withholding tax will also be applied to the gross proceeds in addition to the withholding tax on distributions.

Since you hold or have held impacted PTPs after January 1st, 2023, you must obtain a U.S. Tax Identification Number (TIN) and provide it to Scotia iTRADE by August 1, 2023. Scotia iTRADE is required to provide the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) with your name and address as part of our obligation to report beneficial ownership of impacted PTPs and thereby assist the IRS with reconciliation of US tax filings on an annual basis.

We ask that you apply for a U.S. TIN as soon as possible and call Customer Service at 1 -888-872-3388, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET, to provide this information once you have received it.

If you have already obtained a U.S. TIN from the IRS though have not yet provided it to Scotia iTRADE, then please call Customer Service by August 1, 2023.

For help with requesting a U.S. TIN please refer to the following IRS website which outlines the application process: https://www.irs.gov/individuals/international-taxpayers/taxpayer-identification-numbers-tin and speak with your accountant and/or tax advisor should you have further questions.

Scotia iTRADE does not provide tax advice. If you have questions about the tax implications related to the PTPs held in your account, please consult with a tax advisor. If you have any questions about the transactions associated with the PTPs held in your account, please contact Customer Service at 1 -888-872-3388, Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET.

Q: I am wondering why when Topicus was spun out in January 2021 the book value was ~ $ 61 determined by my brokerage firm, yet when Lumine was spun out the value was determined to be .01?
Also when does Lumine report their next quarter? Thanks
Jeff

Q: I have 400 BN with an ave cost of $39.24 and current price $42.16
I also have 2 BNRE-ave cost $56.18 and current price $42.56

What happens if I transfer the 2 BNRE into BN with the different average cost and current prices?
Would it be better to keep them separated?

thanks,

Paul

Q: If JEPI is held in a RRIF, would US withholding taxes be applicable or would the be exempt?

Thank you for your guidance.

Q: I wanted to gain some clarity on your answer to Terry indicating that the high dividend returns with these etf's are almost entirely return of capital. So if an investor holds these their yields would not be taxed as dividend income in a cash account but the cost base would diminish accordingly so that when sold the capital gain would be greater. But if a long term hold and if the yield continues to be return of capital then does the investor collect these yields effectively free of tax? Any other similar etf's with high yields that are largely return of capital? Am I missing something? Thank you for providing certainty on this.

Q: I owned epd in canadian rsp acc sold and ended ep tax can I get it back

Q: Do you have any insight as to how this BDC’s distribution is taxed in a Canadian taxable account? And is any of it ROC? Thanks!

Q: If I were to use DLR and DLR.U to convert currency then would this trade need to be reported when filing taxes? I'm not sure as there would not be any capital gain or loss (am I right?) If I do need to report the trade then I assume that I could claim the commission as expenses? Please clarify. Thanks in advance.

Q: Good evening,

Due to an oversight I have three dividend paying US equities in my cash account. These dividends are subject to withholding taxes.

I’m not sure if this is up your alley but can these stocks be switched with Canadian dividend stocks (of equal value) in my RRIF?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Q: I owned shares in Arena Minerals, which was bought out by lithium Americas. What is my cost base for my LAC shares based on a purchase price of .276 per Arena share. How do I determine that? On my new statement showing the LAC shares the cost base shows as zero. I’ve never been involved in a buyout before. Thanks for the help as always.

Q: I'm wondering if the management fees on ETFs and Mutual funds are tax deductible? My tax software ask for "Management and safe custody fees" and it tweaked my interest and this question. Sorry it is so late. If possible can you answer this weekend? Thanks for the great service.

Q: Hi I after reading Jason Heath's article in the March/April issue of Canadian Money Saver I became very confused about US withholding Taxes on US companies held in my RRSP.

Mr Heath stated:
"That said, in some cases, U.S. and foreign dividends can be subject to tax annually in an RRSP.
U.S. dividends paid to a Canadian resident’s RRSP can be tax-free if there is an up-to-date Form W8-BEN Certificate of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding and Reporting on file with the brokerage. However, this tax exemption only applies to U.S. stocks owned directly or U.S.-listed ETFs that own U.S. stocks."

For many years I have held a lot of US dividend paying stocks in my self directed RRSP in US dollars. I was always under the impression that there is no US withholding tax on these dividends in a self directed RRSP and that the W8-BEN form was not required .

I know these are Mr Heath's comments and not your own, but can you please clarify.

Q: I have recently come into some US cash. I would like to put some of it into a US TFSA account but am not sure if this would be prudent as, the US doesn't recognize the TFSA in the same manner as our RRSPs. If this is a good idea, what types of equities should be put into it: any type of US equity or Canadian stocks that pay dividends in USD?

As always, Thank you in advance for your advice

Q: Confused about collecting US companies dividends in my RRSP

Q: Hello 5i
I am a Canadian citizen and resident. I want to avoid US Estate tax on US stocks.
Which are the Canadian ETF providers that have ETFs containing US stocks?
Should I assume that Canadian branches of US ETF providers would still be vulnerable?
Do you have specific recommendations?
Many thanks for your ongoing great service !