Investment Q&A

Q: If you would have to start new position today what would be your preference LSPD or SHOP and why?

Second question:I have unregistered joint account what is the value of USD holdings in joint account that requires filing T 1135 ,is it market value or book cost at time of purchase.
Andrew.

Q: It is possible that next year we may have a minority's govt. in Ottawa between the liberals and ndp. As there is too much govt debt and the ndp will want to increase social spending and perhaps block any pipeline expansion they will need to increase tax revenue.one way would be to increase the capital tax from 50%.We are in our early 80s and were long term investors ,have large capital gains. Does it make sense for us to sell our equities with a view to repurchase them back using the net after tax proceeds? After all eventually we or our estate will have to pay the tax.

Q: One of the BNN guests stated that ZDI dividends do not qualify for the dividend tax credit. Would this be the same in a TFSA as well? I assume there is no issue in an RRSP.

Q: As I need more US exposure, I am thinking of purchasing VUN, in my TFSA . Will this be subject to US withholding taxes?

Thanks
Helen

Q: here's a PSA for the gang

the brookfield group of companies are generally solid businesses and good stocks

yet, the tax reporting is generally late and mostly very convoluted

PSA - if at all possible, place brookfield assets in registered accounts

you, or your accountant will be happier

bob

Q: Is an investment in this fund better in a taxable or non taxable account, and does return of capital reduce its adjusted cost base? Thanks. Bill

Q: Hi,
Is there a strategy to transfer stocks with nice capital gains (SHOP approx 250%) from my Margin act to TFSA. My understanding is that such a transfer is considered a deemed disposition. Thanks.

Shyam

Q: Hi 5i,

My question is in regards to tax loss harvesting. I am down, in our non-registered accounts, anywhere from 10-30% on Magna, Methanex, NFI, Vermilion, and Great Canadian Gaming.

I like all of these companies and would like to have them in my portfolio as long term holds. My time horizon is years, if not decades. I don't mind the volatility of these stocks at all, nor do I mind being down (on paper) significantly at any point in time with them - I understand these are cyclical names. Dividends, and dividend growth, from most of them ease any short term frustration.

All of that said, would you recommend crystalizing a loss on any of the above? Do you see any catalyst for short term price jumps (earnings?) that may cause me to get caught buying back in at a higher price in 30 days? And if harvesting a loss is the way to go, would I be better off keeping the proceeds in cash to buy back in after waiting? Or park it in comparable securities? If so, any suggestions?

Dollar-wise, the amounts are significant enough that trading costs aren't really material. The only other variable I should mention is that I don't have any capital gains (realized) to use the losses against, so it would just go "in the bank" to be carried forward to the future.

Lots of parts to that question so deduct credits as necessary.

Thanks, enjoy the long weekend!

Q: Hi 5i,
Can you recommend a good time to complete a tax loss sell on the following securities: TSGI, TV, TOY, GC. Will be buying back in either TFSA or RRSP in 30 days (If one security does not need to be rebought please feel free to comment).

Thanks.

Q: I am sure your recent article regarding foreign content was aimed specifically at me...haha. You nailed it! My method (illustrated in your article) resulted in 35% foreign content. The Domiciled method was 10% It sparked a fair bit of inflection on how I determine my asset allocation and I am still working through some scenarios. Probably another question for another time.

Q#1 = I am a retired, conservative, dividend-income investor. If I wanted a one-stop shop USA ETF that pays a good dividend, I was thinking of ZWH-ZWS. I already own ZWC and ZWE. I like the covered call strategy, especially at this point in the market cycle. Are there others I should consider?

Q#2 = Would you go unhedged...I am guessing yes, based on your previous "hedging" answers?

Q#3 = I understand that if I wanted to buy a USA ETF, like ZWH or ZWS, that the preferred placement would be in my RRSP...due to the withholding tax issue and the "distribution" tax benefits. That, however, would require a major overhaul on a reasonably successful asset allocation already in place.

What about purchasing ZWH-ZWS in my Cash account? I understand the distribution would be comprised of Capital Gains, Interest Income, Dividends and ROC and each would be taxed accordingly....no problem. What about the withholding tax? I thought Canada had an agreement with the USA that there would essentially be no double taxation. So, if the USA withheld tax, then this would become a tax credit against Canadian tax owing...with this being reflected in the T3-T5 issued annually. Please help me to understand.

Thanks for your help...again, great article...Steve

Q: I have a question about the tax treatment of Canadian stocks that are listed on the American exchange. I own a number of Canadian stocks listed in the TSX that pay Canadian dividends and allow me to apply dividend tax credit in my non-registered account. Ex. AQN, BNS, BIP.un
I'm considering exchanging some of these stocks to the American exchange so that I can collect dividends in US dollars.
Will the dividend tax credit remain in tact in the non-registered account?Would there be any tax with held impact if I made to same switch in my TFSA?

Q: Could you confirm that if I buy bonds in an ETF, they pay dividends rather than interest and are therefore taxed at a preferential rate. If I buy bonds, they pay interest which is taxed at a higher rate.
Are all management fees for investments held with a financial advisor tax deductible or only those held in non registered accounts (margin accounts).
Would management fees for RRIFs, RRSPs and TFSAs qualify for a tax deduction?

Could you confirm that if I hold securities in foreign securities such as Berkshire and have bank deposits in foreign currencies one is required to declare any amounts exceeding $100,000. Is this amount at cost or retail value of the security. Is this calculated in Canadian currency? Are foreign investments held in registered accounts (RRIFs, RRSPs and TFSAs exempt of this declaration. Could this be avoided by holding Canadian securities that have foreign investments such as TD, Brookfield (BEP.UN, BPY.UN, BIP.UN, BAM.A)? How does one calculate the value considering the volatility of the exchange rate if it is to be converted to Canadian currency?
I assume it is calculated on the cost of the security to avoid the volatility of the security.

Q: Hi Peter/Ryan can you tell me if there is benefit or a drawback in holding a trust in a TFSA more specifically BAM or BEP.UN. I was thinking of adding one of these. Which would be a better addition to a TFSA to reap the greater reward. Thanks, Nick

Q: My question has to do with investment allocation in accounts in order to minimize tax burden. Bellow is what I have been able to piece together. Could you please comment on my list? Also, what would you say is best in a CCPC to minimize taxes?

Thanks!

RRSP:
Interest bearing (GIC, Bonds)
US dividend stocks
US ETFs of underlieing US stocks

TFSA:
Interest bearing (GIC, Bonds)
Growth stocks (ie capital appreciation stocks)

Taxable account:
Non US foreign stocks
ETFs of underlieing foreign stocks
Preferred shares

CCPC (Canadian Controlled Private Corporation):
Interest bearing (GIC, Bonds)
Growth stocks

Q: The tax treatment of these ETFs (and typical of others) is difficult to determine. Dividends are withheld from these ETFs but are applied to the book value of the stock. We still pay for the dividend as income (with tax credits) but when the stock is sold, the capital gains are reduced by the amount added to the book value. Capital gains are taxed at 50%. Does it matter if we hold these in a RRIF or personal account? I'm retired and total dividend income is below $50k.

Q: I understand that you are not tax experts but this is regarding reporting a superficial loss on the tax return. I understand that a loss cannot be claimed if it’s a superficial loss. How does this get reported on Schedule 3? Do I set the ACB the same as the proceeds of disposition resulting in $0 gain/loss or is there a more appropriate method? I also started a thread on the Forums section. Thanks

Q: Further to Fred's question about where to put Trust Units; my experience is never in a Family Trust (or other Trust) as the reporting deadline for BEP.UN is the same as when the the Family Trust return is due, ie. March 31. If you hold BEP.UN in a private corporation you also cannot finalize your corporate tax return until the tax information is received. This goes for all Trust Units (.UN) as well as investments similar to ZQQ.

Q: Thanks for all your help.

It is tax season, and trusts are giving me issues with their reporting being complex and late, generally. Being late, I’ve have to update my taxes that were already done by my accountant.

I am trying to figure out where best to put trusts, like BEP.UN, for tax and reporting purposes. Are they best in a Corporate account, personal, RRSP, or TFSA?

Thanks again,

Fed

Q: I own several Canadian stocks in my TFSA that pay dividends in USD. Are the dividends eligible for the Canadian dividend tax credit?

Q: I have a non-registered a/c, a RRIF and a TFSA and would like to add fixed income investments to each using ETFs. I am looking at the above mentioned ETFs. Is there a general rule of thumb as to which type of income should go in to various accounts and would XHY and XPF be subject to withholding tax?