Investment Q&A

Q: Peter and His wonder Team
My RIF Account please. As you know every year there is a Mandatory Withdrawal from this account. My withdrawal date is April 30th. Can I move the money now into my cash account or do I have to wait until April 30th and it automatically happens? Also I have a stock in my RIF Account that went bankrupt...to zero. Can I declare that as a Tax Loss or is that not possible because it is in a RIF Account? Thank you for your help.

Q: I thinking of adding QQQ.US to my TFSA. I know there is a withholding tax for US dividends however the annual Dividend/Yield is only $1.74 or .055%. It appears the tax consequence would be minor in terms of dollars and cents. Is this reasonable . Thanks

Q: To further clarify your answer on swapping BEPC and BEP.UN, assuming there are no tax implications, what premium do you think is reasonable?

Q: I hold A&W and CSH in my non registered trading account at a small gain. From a tax point of view would it make sense to move to my RRSP so the distribution(dividends) are not taxed as interest? I have contribution room in my RRSP.

Thanks Greg

Q: The put I sold for REAL will expire below the strike price. Was wondering, when I'm assigned shares at $25 per unit, can I claim a tax loss if I transfer them to my TFSA in kind at the current price.

Q: Hi team,
What do you think of the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (F.T.Q.) as an investment ? What would you compare it to ? Is it really more advantageous than other investments in a RRSP, in term of income tax ?

Grateful for your views.

Jacques, IDS

Q: Hello 5i. Could you advise if there are US and/or international tax implications for Canadian residents from owning a well-diversified international ETF such as XEQT or VEQT, in a non-registered Canadian account? For example, roughly 47% of XEQT is made up from, in part, an ETF that's traded on the NYSE: ITOT.

Thanks as always for your help and advice.

Q: I have been trading US stocks in a taxable account for some time. I understand that upon selling a stock, we have to calculate the capital gain/loss, then convert that value back into CDN dollars. However, I recently learned that CRA also requires you to report capital gains on the foreign currency itself. When one sells a foreign stock, a deemed disposition of the foreign funds is considered to have occurred, even though they may not have been converted into CDN dollars. Therefore, we have to track the cost basis on the stock and on the foreign funds. So potentially one could have a capital gain on the stock AND a capital gain on the currency. Do I have this correct? If so, I don't think many investors know about this.

Q: I recently purchased NTR:US within my USA TFSA. With a 15% withholding tax applicable, I thought it still remained beneficial though with accruing the USD within the account.
Not sure this is the most beneficial strategy long term, and I am thinking of transferring the security to CAD TFSA instead. What you recommend?

Q: In response to Dennis question on Jan 9 I use my watchlist the Globe and Mail to get company info.
Of the 40 companies in my list there were 24 announcements between Jan 4 to 9th
Can I claim the cost of my Globe and Mail subscription as a tax write off?

Q: If I sell the A shares of a company at a loss can I immediataly buy the B shares and claim the loss on the sale of the A shares? (FN.PR.A and FN.PR.B)

Q: If the government decides to change the inclusion rate for capital gains, say to 75%, do you predict that this change will be retroactive to January 1st---- or instead be effective at the time of such an announcement ?

Q: Hi Peter...I am 69 years old. My thoughts on my RIF withdrawal strategy are to first take out any cash collected from the dividend paying companies which get me to about 50% of the minimum withdrawal. The next step would be to transfer out Canadian or US capital appreciation companies into our margin accounts. I realize it could be argued it is best to shelter capital appreciation companies inside the RIF as long as possible so an alternative approach would be to take out Canadian dividend paying companies (like BNS or TD) first. However in the end it might be preferable to work down the RIF size to reduce a sizeable tax hit upon death. In spite of 2020 withdrawals and market gyrations my RIF grew by 11% over the year.
I suppose if the RIF is to go to charity upon my or my spouse's death it is best to maximize the RIF. Only take out enough money to keep CRA happy and suit one's lifestyle.
I know you are just a youngster (!) but any thoughts you have on this "ageing" topic would be appreciated.
Regards,
Jim

Q: Hi Peter
Am looking for candidates for my tfsa
Could you please rank these based on potential upside, debt and balance sheet.
Also, am trying to transfer USD from my TD Bank account or my TD non-reg USD account to my tfsa USD acct. It is not working -- am I not able to transfer my own USD into the tfsa USD account? ie. must I convert from the tfsa CAD acct? It is bizzare.
Thank you for your great support, very unique indeed.

Q: Happy New Year to all at 5i!!
In answer to John on Jan5 you said you would be reluctant to transfer LSPD to a TFSA because it would trigger a capital gain. I’m faced with the same situation and would like to understand your reasoning. My thinking is to transfer to the TFSA, pay some tax and get years of tax free gains in the future. Love to hear your thoughts.
Dave

Q: Hi, I am looking at topping up my TFSA with a transfer in kind from a cash account. I realize that doing so with a profitable holding will trigger a capital gain, so am wondering about transferring stock that I currently show a loss on. Granted it is a paper loss and I do not wish to sell the stock outright as it is NVDA. Would the same be true here in that I will trigger a capital loss, because technically the holdings are sold in the cash account and bought again in the TFSA? If so, then it seems like an interesting option - would you agree? Or is there an alternative you would suggest that is better? As always, your thoughts and input are greatly appreciated.
Happy New Year!
Dawn

Q: If I open an TFSA in my Wife's name and borrow from bank $75,000.00 (LOC)n my name to buy stocks ,, can the banks interest be deducted from my Annual salary or Cash account dividends as an expense.? I have my own TFSA. Is their such a thing as a "spousal" TFSA.
HNY...CEC

Q: In a taxable account, for a US ETF(ex: IEMG) with no US stock in it ,(bought alone or even included in a canadian ETF like XAW ) : is it considered as a US equity, and submbitted to the US withholding tax on dividends ?

Q: Feel free not to publish if I’m mistaken, but I would want to caution Keith (Dec 29) who said he might contribute his Nutrien shares to his registered account and would realize a capital loss in doing so. I do not believe that one can claim any capital loss when the disposition results from a contribution to one’s RRSP or TFSA. He would need to sell the shares in his non-reg’d account (and realize the loss) and then contribute the money if he chose, but should not then repurchase the NTR shares until 30 days has passed.

Q: A comment. The problem with dividends in a taxable account is that, depending on your other retirement income, the grossed up amount added to your taxable income can cause you to lose your oas. Maybe not an issue if your income is that high but still, something to think about. My rif has a lot of dividend stocks and enough growth stocks that I can make my annual rif payment in cash, generated by dividends, and a transfer in kind of growth securities with no dividend. I also deferred my oas to 70. Also, I believe capital losses are applied to net income so do not help reduce your income for oas eligibility.