Investment Q&A

Q: The beginning of January I plan to put $6000 in my wife’s TFSA and $ 6000 in my TFSA. The contribution will come from our joint savings account. I plan to buy for each of us 300 shs of VET. In the meantime I will be selling 600 shs of VET in my non registered account. Following this I will put the proceeds from the sale into our savings account. Is this any different from directly contributing the shares in our TFSA ?
My interpretation of this is that it would be a deemed disposition, and I won’t be able to claim a capital loss, but I would be able to claim a capital loss in the first instance above.
I know this is an accounting question, but if you prefer not to answer , maybe one of your subscribers is knowable enough to give an answer.

Q: If one has a capital gain for 2019. To reduce taxes to be paid on this capital gain, if I sell a portion of StockA with a capital loss to negate any capital gain taxes to be paid. Would I be able buy back this portion of Stock A after 30 days without triggering superficial loss rule? Or do I need to sell the full position of StockA to avoid superficial loss rule? Thank you.

Q: Hello 5i team,.
I have MX and TFII in my margin account that I'm thinking of selling to claim the capital loss.
Do you expect these two stock prices to go up significantly in the next 30 days?
Would you advise to buy them back after the 30 days?
Thanks

Q: It appears that this ETF has changed recently as required by the Liberals. Is this a taxable conversion or is there an option to treat this otherwise?

Q: When reporting capital gains/losses on schedule 3 of the income tax return, would you know whether one must report DLR/DLR.U transactions? There would be no gains or losses, after all, when the two are carried out together.

Q: I purchased some GOOS December calls, for now the call are profitable (46 Dec 20) if I let the call expire then I take it the calls are assigned to my margin acct automatically, yes or no. Second question , For tax purposes is my new ACB the cost of the shares plus the premium and
I declare no profit till I sell them OR do I have to pay taxes on the profit now on whatever gain or if a loss take that amount as a deduction for this years taxes. Thanks , Jean

Q: Hi Team,
Can you suggest similar sector/quality stocks to replace the following stocks which I like to do the tax loss selling and would like to stay with the sector !
PD - loss 39%
MX - loss 32%
TCL.a - loss 25%
VET - loss 30%
WFT - loss 15%
Please deduct my credits as needed.
Thank you as always !
Tak

Q: After checking with a CRA employee I understand they rec. only info on non-registered a/c's. In past years & more than once I have taken a small loss & quickly repurchased in a Registered or TFSA a/c. No problems. Worst that can happen they will deny loss.
If it's a huge loss I would not take that chance.

Q: If I own US equities (eg. AAPL) and/or US-based ETFs (eg. VIG), but no other US-based property/assets and do not have any other connection to the US otherwise (eg. real property, employment, Green card, etc.), would I be liable for US estate taxes if my total estate is over $5 million US at my passing, or only if my US-based assets exceed $5 million US? If so, would the tax only apply to my US-based assets, or my entire estate?

If I am liable, is it advisable to try to exit all US positions prior to my passing? How do others handle this situation?

Does the answer change if I have a balance outstanding in an old US retirement account [eg. 403(b) and/or 457(b)] and/or chequing account?

Thank you.

Q: Is there any grief with buying an etf like "bme". I know Canadians can not own US mutual funds , just etf's. What scares me it is called a "trust". What are the implications or possible tax reporting problems.As well do you consider this a decent investment.

Q: Re your answer to Terence that he will not be able to claim his loss on LSPD because he bought them back in ANOTHER account within the 30 day period. The capital loss can be added to the Adjusted Cost Base of the new shares so that he eventually will get the benefit of the loss PROVIDED he bought the new shares in a taxable account. I have at times ignored the 30 day rule when it was beneficial to rebuy shares within the 30 days.

Q: I have invested in all the Brookfield companies, most recently with a purchase of BBU.UN in my TFSA account. I have read that there may be tax withholdings for this investment that I cannot recover. Should I sell BBU.UN that I currently own in my TFSA account and purchase it in my open account?

Q: See previous question below - obliviously bad advise + poor judgment on my part Anyway in order to salvage something I bought 200 shares LSPD back today in another account. Am right in assuming that the loss in the first account still stands and that as long as I do not buy any thru that account I will still be able to claim the loss?. Thanks PS do you see LSPD going back to test the $49 high in the next short time ? Appreciate you guidance (win some lose some )


I recently sold LSPD to crystalize a tax loss I sold it on Nov 22 for $29:72 presently its at $31 and change. I sold it after getting your opinion on tax loss selling. When I asked the question I was specific about LSPD and pointed out the risk of the stock increasing beyond the $4599 loss in the 30 day window. (always planned on buying it back. Anyway in the last 2 days the stock has gone up over 2 dollars (I had 800 shares so that approx. $1600) I am getting nervous about the stock rallying. Can I have your thoughts should I buy it back now before it takes off and goes back up to previous high of $49 ? or?

Q: I recently sold LSPD to crystalize a tax loss I sold it on Nov 22 for $29:72 presently its at $31 and change. I sold it after getting your opinion on tax loss selling. When I asked the question I was specific about LSPD and pointed out the risk of the stock increasing beyond the $4599 loss in the 30 day window. (always planned on buying it back. Anyway in the last 2 days the stock has gone up over 2 dollars (I had 800 shares so that approx. $1600) I am getting nervous about the stock rallying. Can I have your thoughts should I buy it back now before it takes off and goes back up to previous high of $49 ? or?

Q: Hello 5i Group
When calculating exchange rates on US $ stocks for tax perposes, do I use the exchange rate on the order date or the settlement date.
Thanks
Ken

Q: Hi the great 5i team, when is the start and end of tax loss season in general? Any indicators? Thanks.

Q: I have the following loss that I can claim as a tax loss- wef = 44% - usa=31% - shop=18% - meg=14% - lspd=16% - Kel=40% gud 30%. My question is there any of these stocks that have any chance they will recover before the 30 buy back period expires? I would hate to sell them and then watch them recover more that the loss that is claimable?- appreciate your thoughts

Q: Hello,

I am down on this one (MX) as it seems tied to the oil prices..I am considering a tax loss sale and getting back after the 30 day period. What are your thoughts?

Q: I understand there are tax benefits to donating stock (that has appreciated) to charity. Can you tell me, is the actual ownership of the stock transferred (which I assume means the charity would need a brokerage account) or can the brokerage sell the stock and send the proceeds to the charity? I'm considering a small charity, which likely does not have a brokerage account. Thanks.

Q: I found your answer to yesterday's question from Wes of interest. You indicated that "This strategy also assumes there will be no change in the capital gains inclusion rate in the next Canadian budget."

Do you recommend that investors take action now to avoid possible capital gains tax changes in the next budget? If yes, what actions would you recommend?

I have read in the news that "rich" people use family trusts and offshore accounts to avoid taxes. Are these appropriate for individual investors? At what asset levels?

Are there any other mechanisms which you can recommend aside from RRSPs and TFSAs to help reduce taxes for individual investors, and to avoid any possible future capital gains tax increases?

Your advice is greatly appreciated. Thank you for this excellent service.