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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.
Read Answer Asked by K on May 15, 2023
Q: Hi 5i team,

I am considering using DLR and DLR.U to buy USD and avoid the higher fees the bank charges to convert CAD to USD. But is it worth the hassle in a non-registered account because you might have a capital gain (or loss) to declare when you file your tax return the following year?

Here is an example. If I were to buy US$10,000 today my bank would charge me C$12,756. 1 CAD = 0.7839 USD

If I buy 1000 shares of DLR @ C$12.69 (plus $9.95 commission) that would cost me C$12,699.95. Five minutes later I sell 1000 shares of DLR.U at US$10.07 (plus US$9.95 commission). The proceeds of disposition would be US$10,060.95.

So US$10,000 using DLR/DLR.U would equate to C$12,624.14. That saves me C$131.86 [12,756 – 12,624.14] compared to buying it directly using the bank’s exchange rate. That is about a 1% savings.

But because this is done in a non-registered account I would have to declare the sale of DLR.U when I file next year’s tax return. From what I know you can use the “average” exchange rate for that year as per CRA, or the exact rate on the day of the transaction. So if I use the exact rate (I am guessing it would be 0.7839 as that is what the bank would charge me) I would have a capital gain of approximately C$131 to declare and then have to pay tax on that gain. At 50% tax bracket, the tax would be ~$33. So the net savings are now ~C$98. Final savings are 0.78% of the transaction. If I use the CRA’s “average” exchange rate for 2021 I could have a gain or a loss depending on what that rate is.

I can see this works fine if you do this in a registered account like an RRSP as you don’t have to declare the gain on the currency exchange, but in a non-registered account this seems like a lot of effort for small savings, at least for US$10K. Perhaps it is worth the hassle if you are converting a much large amount like US$50K, or US$100K.

Am I missing something in my example?

Paul
Read Answer Asked by Paul on August 25, 2021
Q: Hello 5i team, I need to assemble a large amount of U.S. dollars (~$25,000 for an investment near and dear to your hearts). I have used Norbert's Gambit for smaller conversions in the past, which works fine except that I'm sometimes tempted to 'play trader' and to time my transactions to pick up some extra dollars. But for this large transaction, I don't want to mess around. I know I can do the gambit with any interlisted stock, but I would prefer to reduce or eliminate the risk of a price move against me. Can you recommend a good investment vehicle for this purpose? Also, can the buy and sell be done the same day, or do brokers require the first buy trade to settle before I can do the sell on the US side? Thank you!
Read Answer Asked by James on January 26, 2021
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