Investment Q&A

Q: tell scott he absolutely has to file u.s. tax returns and this will go back at least 8 years now, so 8 years of tax returns.
and my wife was a u.s. citizen , but she renounced her u.s. citizenship 3 years ago, it costs about 2500. but it it worth it.we are never moving there she is a cdn citizen and the expenses for tax returns and fbars were onerous.
tell scott the u.s. government will come after him guaranteed. dave

Q: With regard to Scott’s question on citizenship and filing US tax returns I can say this is a very complex question to answer. This website (not an endorsement) has lots of information about the subject. It might be wise to consult a lawyer. http://www.citizenshipsolutions.ca/

Q: I was hoping that you or one of your subscribers might be able to assist me. My understanding is that the IRS requires all US citizens to file US tax returns even if they do not reside in the US or have ever worked in the US and recent laws make the failure to do so extremely punitive. My question is - I was born in the US to Canadian parents who were in the US 60 years ago for a brief work term. When I was born they applied for and received a "certificate of Registration of Birth Abroad" from The Canadian Department of Citizenship and Immigration to certify that I am a Canadian citizen. Am I still required to file yearly IRS tax returns even though I have never worked in the US and am legally a Canadian citizen?

Many Thanks

Q: Ancient person would like your insight on whether or not best to make transfer out of mandatory RRIF deduction early in year or late?

Q: Just an addition to your answer to Saeed question this morning. Although there is a US withholding tax on dividends from US stocks, in most cases this is claimed against payable Canadian taxes, using a complex formula of the ratio of US income and Canadian Income.

Q: What is CRA's position on short term trading of a security in a TFSA while it is also being held in a non- registered cash account or a corporate holdco account?
For example if I have a long term position in ENB.to in my core dividend growth portfolio am I allowed to swing trade ENB.to in my TFSA account? Additionally, would it make a difference if the long term position was in the black or red?
Thanks,

Q: Good Morning Team,

Just wanted to confirm the following:

- Capital gains on a US or Canadian stock held in an RRSP and TFSA are not taxed either by Canada or the US
- Capital gains on a US or Canadian stock held in a non-registered (RRSP) account are taxed
by Canada only.
- Dividends on a US stock held in a non-registered (RRSP) account are taxed both by Canada and the US.

Thank you for your confirmation or corrections!

Q: at&t are paying 6 pct dividends .do I get dividend tax credit on US companies. thank you. mike miller

Q: hi there,
I am not sure how MLPs are treated from a Tax perspective. Are they better held in an RRSP versus a TFSA or does it matter? What are the downsides of owning these?

Cheers

Q: Greetings :)
TAX LOSS SELLING: I have two separate investment accounts held with two different brokers. I want to sell my loss-making investment from account #1 and buy again in account #2. I understand that tax loss will only be allowed if I don't buy the same stock again within 30 days of the sale. Can I circumvent the 30 day rule by buying that stock in advance in account #2 BEFORE selling from account #1? Does the 30 day countdown commence only from the minute the sale is closed?

I hope that make sense.
Many thanks!
Arzoo

Q: On BNN this morning Larry Berman made a comment about ETFs that are sold in Canada and are essentially repackaged ETFs from the US. He stated that there is some double taxation going on. I believe related to withholding taxes although he didn't explain in detail.
I hold VGG and VEE which are repackaged holdings of VIG and VWO, respectively.
Is this in fact true and how much of an impact would this mean to the rate of return?

Q: I would like to purchase BSV for my non-registered, US-dollar denominated account. Will there be foreign tax withholding on the distributed interest? Multiple sources give conflicting answers, but most suggest that there would be no withholding tax. Thanks in advance.

Q: Regarding the question on transferring rrifs between carriers

The relinquishing institution MUST make the total annual payment prior to transfer

Assets can be transferred in kind or cash or combo

Q: Hi,
Borrowing to invest, Maybe this article will be of interest to some investors, Thx
https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/taxes/article-recent-court-ruling-offers-tax-guidance-on-borrowing-to-invest/

Q: Hello Peter/Ryan,
I listed many names on the list in one question in order for other members benefiting from your advises as well. Feel free to deduct as many credits if it needs to be.

4-part questions:
1) Market rotation: Many solid consumer staples and industrial stocks went down significantly, what do you think of their directions in the next two years (I will get pay to wait if buy now) and what causing this downturn?
2) I list them in pair for long term hold over 5 years (pleas suggest a name that you like better)
FLR (Fluor-US) Industrials versus VEOEY/VEOEF (Veolia Env. ADR French) Environment-Water Treatment
DANONE ADR (French) versus Saputo
MDLZ (Mondelez -US) versus HSY (Hershey-US)/NSRGY (Nestle-CH Swiss co.)
KHC (Kraft Heinz-US) versus UL (unilever- UK)
PEP (Pepsi) versus KO (Coca cola)
3) Large international companies listed on US-OTC (over the counter) market instead of NYSE or NASDAQ to lower the listing cost and regulatory complexity of a stock exchange listing.
What to choose and ADR stock ticker ending with a Y (sponsored by a US Bank) or with a F (unsponsored) ? Why such a large price difference between them? In case of unsponsored ADR, how safe will it be time to sell the stock and time to get for the dividend declared.
In this case 52 weeks Low-High Veolia -VEOEY= 20.22 to 26.40 versus VEOEF = 19.50 to 26 (almost same dividend 1.03 versus 1.04)
4) Tax withholding:
Inside RRSP: none on US-UK co. shares and mostly 15% on European co. shares (anyway to get this back?)
Inside: TFSA: 15% in most cases (anyway to get this back)
Outside in investment account.

Thank you!

Q: Hi Peter, Ryan, and Team,

Perhaps you could shed some some light on this ETF, as I believe there's a serious pitfall with the product. I sent First Asset an email yesterday, wondering about the so-called "reinvestment" that was "paid" on Dec. 28, 2017. I refer to it as 'so-called' because this $1.63 per share "reinvestment" does not give you cash, nor does it increase your number of shares! In other words, it appears to do nothing for me.

Here's the email I sent First Asset:

Hello,

I purchased 1395 shares of TXF on July 21, 2017. I see that on Dec. 28, 2017, the fund "reinvested" $1.63 per share. This would, in my case, be an amount of 1395 X 1.63 = $2273.85.

My broker, Scotia iTrade, increased the adjusted cost base (book value) of this fund, so I now show a slight loss when not considering the cash distributions received on Oct. 4, 2017, Jan. 4, 2018, and Mar. 29, 2018.

Here are my questions:

Should I see the amount of $2273.85 on the statement from my broker?
If I were to sell my shares of TXF today ($16.69 at this moment), would I receive 1395 X 16.69 = $23282.55?
What happened to the "reinvested" amount of $2273.85?

I look forward to an explanation of the above questions.

Here's the response from First Asset:

Hi Jerry,

The $1.63/unit amount is a non-cash distribution that was reinvested in the fund, which is why you see an increase in the Adjusted Cost Base. To answer your questions:

The amount of the distribution should be reflected on your statement but only as an increase to your Adjusted Cost Base. It wouldn’t increase the amount of units or the market value of your position in TXF.
If you were to sell your shares based on a unit price of $16.69 you would receive approximatively (1,395 x 16.69) – Adjusted Cost Base (including the $2,273.85) minus any other fees your broker my charge you.
The amount of $2,273.85 has been added to your Adjusted Cost Base.

I realize that 5i doesn't really care much for the covered-call aspect of TXF, but I was prepared to live with that. However, I certainly didn't expect the ACB (book value) to increase by the amount of this non-cash distribution! How does this help the investor? Am I correct in my assessment of TXF?

What would you replace TXF with to stay in the same sector, and one where the "reinvestment"is actually paid to the investor?

Thanks in advance for your guidance. I realize that this is a long and detailed question and your answer would be helpful to others. Please deduct as many question credits as you deem necessary.

Q: Hello team,

A quick question regarding tax losses: I sell a stock at a gain and then buy the same stock say the next day. At the end of the year, I pay taxes on the gain. Then I sell the same stock in the next year at a loss. Can I claim a tax loss on the stock? I am not sure if there would be a problem with the 30 day rule in this case, right?

Thanks a lot for your assistance!

Q: I am down 60% on SGY but would like to keep it because in a recovery, I think it would be a good one to have. However, I need some capital losses to offset some capital gains. I don't want to sell it and wait 30 days to buy it back because it may move up during that time. To avoid the 30 day waiting period and still get some capital loss, could I buy more share now and then sell half in a few days? The loss would not be as high because of the adjusted ACB but it would work okay for me. Would this action attract the 'superficial loss' rule or is this a way around it?

Q: I have a question about portfolio composition. Am 3 years away from converting RSP to RRIF. Live comfortably from dividends, CPP etc.. RSP and cash accounts are equal size , concentrated,and hold banks, REITS, pipelines, utilities ( whose decline does not worry me as long as dividends remain, actually good buying opportunity). My TFSA is 3% of total portfolio and is my ' fun money" trading around many of your growth portfolio stocks.
I have cash available in both RSP and cash accounts and wish to buy smaller cap high dividend paying stocks for more return (and risk) potential. Targeting 10% allocation total cash/RSP value. So, where should I hold these stocks.....RSP or cash or both? RSP will give me 3 years tax deferral on gains ( which will be then taxed at high rate on withdrawal) or cash account with more immediate (but lower) taxes.
Any other advice would be appreciated.
DEREK

Q: Hi 5i Team,
Is it safe to assume that holding RY in US$ doesn’t make it 'foreign property' for tax reporting purposes?
Thanks as usual for your help.
Molly