Investment Q&A

Q: Alexandra has been asking about crystallizing capital gains to apply against capital losses (which are presumably already realized).

If my understanding of her question is correct, she should be advised that there is no need to wait 30-days to repurchase stocks sold at a gain.

Further, there really isn't a need to sell a stock just to offset a capital loss carry-over, as that capital loss carry-over carries forward indefinitely.

You can never say never, but the risk of the government undoing the capital loss carry-over benefit is minimal. There has been talk about increasing capital gains inclusion rates, but that's not going to matter to Alexandra if she capital loss carry-overs.

Hopefully this is helpful to Alexandra.

Q: Further to my recent question about crystallizing gains to apply against capital losses, how would you implement this ? There will be 5 stocks that I will sell but will re-buy after 30 days, i.e. syz, engh, kxs, wsp, cjt.
In this market,
1) what strategy would you use for selling in terms of timing ,
2) would you temporarily replace with something else and if so, what would that be, and
3) would you do all 5 or just one at a time ?
Thanks again.

Q: I have found that for some ADRs, the home country (eg., the Netherlands, Spain) withholds a portion of dividends, even when the shares are in registered accounts, and of course such tax can't be written off against Canadian taxes. Company websites don't seem to make this information available. Is there some way of identifying in advance when such withholding will occur, or can you offer more general advice regarding how best to invest in individual, non-US companies, while receiving the full value of dividends paid?

Q: I received a nice payment yesterday from the Amaya litigation. In a non-registered account, would this be regarded as a capital gain?

Q: Comment on US RIF withdrawal. TD uses the exchange rate at time of withdrawal to calculate the amount.

Q: I have positions in each of these ETF's inside my RRSP. Am I paying witholding taxes on any of them? If so - What is the tax treatment if I held them in my TFSA? Also what would the tax treatment be for each if held in my non-registered account?

Q: You mentioned in one of your answers "rebuying later (after 30 days in a taxable account)". Does this 30 day rule [is it 30 calendar days or 30 business days] NOT apply to TFSA's or RIF's?
Thank you.

Q: Hi everyone,
Since BEP, BIP are based in Bermuda and declare foreign income, is there any witholding tax in a RRSP on the income received from their stocks or preferred shares? You mentioned this link before: https://bep.brookfield.com/stock-and-distribution/tax-information , but it does not mention RRSP specifically. Same question for TFSA …

Will it change with the creation of BEP & BIP canadian corp.?
Thanks

Q: Hi 5i
A question about reporting to CRA and Form T1135. I believe that If the "specified foreign property" is over $100,000 and is held inside a RRIF, RRSP or TFSA you do not have to report it on the form, is this correct...?

Q: Could you please explain where the best place for a global or US mutual fund or etf is to be held and why?
Thanks

Q: I have a non-registered account, with 8-10 years before the funds are needed. To minimize tax, we would like focus on 100% capital gains, if possible. Can you recommend some ETFs or individual stocks? We have been looking at Horizon's corporate class ETFs. Thanks for your continued excellent non-biased reports!! Grant

Q: Would there be withholding tax on this fund if held in a non registered account since it is sold in Canadian dollars ? Joe

Q: With respect to the differences between the year end value of BYD.UN and what some brokerage firms have used, I received word from TD that they will be using the price of the shares of BYD when they received the shares not the date when the transaction occurred. TD received the shares on January 8, 2020 and they used the closing price of BYD on January 7, 2020, which was $215.77 vs. the closing price of BYD.UN of $202.00 on December 31, 2019.

Q: Let's suppose Ottawa increases the capital gains inclusion rate, say jan2,2021.
Would that increased rate apply to capital gains prior to Jan 2,2021 or to capital gains from jan2,2021 ?

Q: Hi- what taxes (both American and Canadian) do you encounter for US equities regarding capital gains in a TFSA and Canadian non-registered account?

Q: I have owned Boyd for the past year in a non registered account and have realized capital gains due to the conversion this month. I also own GIL in the same account. Just wondering for tax loss selling if I should sell GIL now to offset the Boyd gain a bit. I intend to buy back GIL after the 30 days. Do you think I should wait a bit or is now a good time to do this?

Q: I bought TCL.A for my TFSA. For arguments sake I bought $8000 worth and now, 1 year later, it is worth $4000. If I bought a further $8000 of TCL.A outside of a TFSA today. For whatever reason I have to sell these shares tomorrow and realize a flat trade. Would I be able to claim a $2000 loss?

Q: My 82 year old mother in law has $300,000 in a RRIF and $800,000 in non registered accounts. There are 3 children who are equal equal beneficiaries in her will. From a tax perspective would she be better off withdrawing more than the required minimum from the RRIF before she dies or withdrawing more from the non registered accounts? Which scheme would result in less tax paid by her heirs ? The non registered accounts are 80% GICs and 20% equity funds. Thanks, Joe

Q: I have recently decided to invest in us securities and am concerned about us withholding tax and how it is applied to canadian investors as I saw a comment re the treatment in tfsa accounts .What tax implications apply to me as a Canadian investor when buying us stocks?
cheers, Doug

Q: Please explain tax implications if held in cash and RRSP accounts.
Thank you