Investment Q&A

Q: My question has to do with personal estate taxes or the tax grab by the us tax authorities on a individuals estate holding personal US property (US stocks). Can one avoid this problem by just simply holding Canadian ETF's (trading only in Canada) that hold US equities. For example BMO ZQQ, or Vanguard VSP. Any guidance or help from 5i or it's members would be much appreciated.

Q: Hi Peter...More of a comment than a question...RBC Direct shows the book cost of our new TOI shares as $0.01 even though they also acknowledge that the stock opened at $66 per share. A book cost of $0.01 suggests a sizeable capital gain. I have spoken to RBC Direct but so far the book cost has not changed. I was thinking of transferring my TOI Margin account shares to my TFSA account where I also hold TOI shares as a contribution in-kind. However I don't want to trigger a big capital gain and then fight with RBC to get it corrected later. It's early days so I will monitor the share status and hopefully RBC will get it corrected. I suppose CRA will have the final say on wether the TOI shares are a dividend or not.
Jim

Q: Now that TOI has started trading and I own it in my non-registered account, would it be best to sell and repurchase 30 days later? Would I now be taxed on any and all cash with this stock when I sell?

Q: Are my Topicus sharea considered to be a dividend for tax purposes, or do they have a cost base of zero for tax purposes ?

Q: For ACB calculations:
Must include all non registered accounts ?
Must also include registered and TFSA accounts ??
Must also include my wife’s accounts ???
I am not sure about the last 2 scenarios.

Many thanks.

Q: Janet Yellen - Federal Reserve - talking about taxing unrealized capital gains - year after year even if you have not sold. Your opinion on this. Now that everyone including young people I know are getting information through Reddit and buying all these risky plays, i.e. Koss, and Gamestop are making a lot of money for new people in the market. Will there be enough to go around for people who just want to buy safe stocks and hold on to them for a period of time? Most of my stocks in this area have gone a fair amount over the past while, whereas these highly promoted risky and shorted stocks - seemed to be skyrocketing and more money will gravitate to them. Your opinion on that?

Q: Hello -
I have a concern about the grossing up of Canadian dividends (non registered account) affecting my OAS when I reach 71. By that time I will be forced to RRIF, I'll have my CPP, and I also have a company pension that I will be drawing from prior to that.

I know you are not tax experts, but wondered if you see anything wrong with my thinking here. I am leaning more towards lower paying dividend paying blue chips in that non-registered account. I already have ATD.B and CNR. Are there any other quality Canadian companies that you are comfortable with in this "lower dividend" category?

Alternatively I was thinking I could "swap" some investments. i.e. have more Canadian dividend payers in my RRSP and have my emerging market ETF's - ZID and VEE - in my non-registered account. Do you think this is worth considering?
At least those dividends would not be grossed up. Although the trade-off is that you lose the dividend credit.......sigh.

Q: Up until now I've only invested in canadian dividend stocks and ETFS in my non registered to take advantage of the favourable taxes on dividends. My RRSP and TFSA are balanced across all asset classes. But now that my non-registered account is growing, I'm thinking about adding the other asset classes in. Are there any kind of bond etfs that are more tax favourable for a non-registered? And what about US and Intl etfs... any that are more tax favourable?

Q: I bought several inter-listed Canadian companies in the USD side of a tax-deferred account (RSP). I am thinking of selling some of these holdings and buy them back in a taxable account in order to have the benefit of the dividend tax credit. Is the dividend tax credit worth doing this? If yes, after selling on the US$ side of the RSP account , would you buy the same securities on the US$ side of the taxable account, or do you prefer to buy them back on the C$ side of the account?

Please excuse my smuggling in a question asking for your opinion on what the two currencies are likely to do in the next year or so.

Q: Hi,
If a ticker symbol ends in dot un (.un) such as BEP.UN, it will NOT be eligible for the Canadian dividend tax credit, regardless of where it is domiciled, correct? Because it only applies to corporations and not partnerships or trusts?

Thanks

Q: I have $60,000 in an RDSP that I am transferring to a self directed account. At least $6000 of new money per year will be available for new investments. I have a 20 year investment horizon with a balanced to growth focus. Luckily I subscribed to 5i in September and have been closely following the Questions and Answers, your posts and updates, and company reports.

I will use the sector allocations you provided to Tom on Jan 6th for 2021. I need your guidance on how much of the portfolio to invest in the Canadian and US markets, and other geographic regions / countries. For the Canadian market I plan to invest in individual stocks. For the rest of the portfolio I will use ETFs.

Q: Re the question of withdrawals from RIF's rather than RSP's it is my understanding that RSP withdrawals are not considered pension income by CRA and thus do not qualify to be income split. Also I believe the $2000.00 dollar tax credit does not apply.
Am I correct in this belief?
Thanks

Q: "WIR's historical tax allocation has been 40% foreign non business income and 60% return of capital (ROC). ROC is included in the distribution and is not a separate payout. There certainly is no Canadian dividend tax credit. We would be fine with this in a cash account".
One more question on this CDN Cie !
I keep WIR.UN in my non registered account, since 1) the dividend is excellent and 2) The Cie is well positioned ,are those 2 arguments are enough to justify keeping WIR,UN in my non registered account and to pay the 15% US withholding tax + CDN tax ? any other argument ? since the dividend is 4.8% -15% US tax - CDN tax on 40% foreign non business income ? Thanks again !

Q: Re: Grant's Friday question about reducing the tax liability for his CCPC.

Instead of changing the investments, another option to consider would be to purchase corporate life insurance which can be the vehicle to pay that tax bill. And the life insurance premiums can be paid with corporate dollars, not personal after-tax dollars.
Just looking at it through a different lens here.

Q: Good morning,
I currently hold some US stocks (AMZN, CRWD, U, etc) in my non-registered Canadian dollar investment account because it allows me to use both currencies. I'm aware that you far prefer US stocks in a US dollar investment account for reasons that make good sense.
My question is: If I were to open a non-registered US dollar investment account and then transfer my American stocks into it, would they be subject to capital gains during the process?
Thank you to every one at 5i, and stay safe!

Q: A question was asked by Nick on Jan 19, 2021 to which you answered you prefer to delay RRSP withdrawals until an RRSP is converted into a RRIF, Why

Q: You answered Nick's question by saying it would be better to wait until the RRSP turned into a RRIF. So what's the tax rate for removing a stock from a RRIF? I am about to take some SHOP from my RRIF for annual withdrawal. The stock is up 394 per cent.

Q: I think its in my interest to increase amount my RIF annual withdrawal and transfer the unneeded portion into my available space in my TFSA for investment. Do you agree? Art

Q: Hi Peter/Ryan I hold 200 shares of LSPD in my RRSP and was thinking of transferring it in kind to my TFSA how bad would the tax implication be for me and Is it worth it. Thanks

Q: Does this ETF require the T1135 report form for income tax?