canadian investments

[hoyeshi]

hello, I would like to ask those people who are Canadian citizenships who moved to the US either temporarily and permanent. How do you handle your Canadian investments. like RRSP/TFSA and any properties here (rental, etc) .?

 

[harirajmohan]

hello, I would like to ask those people who are Canadian citizenships who moved to the US either temporarily and permanent. How do you handle your Canadian investments. like RRSP/TFSA and any properties here (rental, etc) .?

rrsp, rfs - non taxable hence keep investing and trading.
Rental - i think its 25% tax on rental income(after deducting expenses) as a non resident. Keep the property if its getting rented easily and covering the expenses of mortgage+tax.

 

[scylla]

hello, I would like to ask those people who are Canadian citizenships who moved to the US either temporarily and permanent. How do you handle your Canadian investments. like RRSP/TFSA and any properties here (rental, etc) .?

RRSP is fine.

You'll want to get rid of your TFSA. The U.S. regards this as a tax shelter and filing U.S. taxes when you have a TFSA is very complex. It's also fully taxable so pretty much removes any benefit in having a TFSA to start with. Any decent financial advisor will tell you that you shouldn't have a TFSA if you are American or are living in the U.S.

For rental properties in Canada, you'll need to declare the income in your U.S. tax return.

 

[scylla]

rrsp, rfs - non taxable hence keep investing and trading.
Rental - i think its 25% tax on rental income(after deducting expenses) as a non resident. Keep the property if its getting rented easily and covering the expenses of mortgage+tax.

That's unfortunately not the right answer for the TFSA. The U.S. does not recognize this as a tax-free account. Here's a good article that provides an overview:

https://www.moneysense.ca/columns/ask-moneysense/what-canadians-living-in-the-u-s-need-to-know-about-tfsas/

 

[harirajmohan]

That's unfortunately not the right answer for the TFSA. The U.S. does not recognize this as a tax-free account. Here's a good article that provides an overview:

https://www.moneysense.ca/columns/ask-moneysense/what-canadians-living-in-the-u-s-need-to-know-about-tfsas/

Ok, looks like taxable even every year. Do we get any form from the financial institution on the yearly income?
This is my first year in tfsa hence i dont know how one know if there is income generated.

 

[scylla]

Ok, looks like taxable even every year.
"More importantly, the income generated by the TFSA is taxable each year on your U.S. tax return. "

Yes - it is a massive pain in the a**. My American husband immigrated to Canada a while back and is not allowed to have a TFSA for this reason. Sucks.

 

[harirajmohan]

Yes - it is a massive pain in the a**. My American husband immigrated to Canada a while back and is not allowed to have a TFSA for this reason. Sucks.

But they should be allowing to open one because they were asking too many questions for opening a tfsa account online with IB few months ago and then asking clarification on why i have ssn and sin etc. So i explained that i live in windsor and daily commuting to work in US hence i have ssn too. Later they approved my account few months ago.

Not sure if this was the case earlier but now they are allowing if we are resident(at least interactive brokers are now allowing after some additional documents - forgot if i sent some proof of having ssn) but its doable now if he is still resident of Canada. Try with IB.

 

[scylla]

But they should be allowing to open one because they were asking too many questions for opening a tfsa account online with IB few months ago and then asking clarification on why i have ssn and sin etc. So i explained that i live in windsor and daily commuting to work in US hence i have ssn too. Later they approved my account few months ago.

Not sure if this was the case earlier but now they are allowing if we are resident(at least interactive brokers are now allowing after some additional documents - forgot if i sent some proof of having ssn) but its doable now if he is still resident of Canada. Try with IB.

There's no issue with being able to open an account. Any financial institution will open a TFSA in this situation. You just get completely screwed when it comes to U.S. taxes. So it's not worth having a TFSA if you have to file U.S. taxes. You don't get any of the benefits and it complicates the tax filing process. Basically lots of trouble for no financial gain.

If you speak with any Canadian financial or tax advisor who is familiar with U.S. tax law, they will advise you against having one.

 

[hoyeshi]

I appreciate all your answers. Is it better to open an RRSP instead for longterm investments? Ive read one feedback here that you can still keep it open and continue investing while being a non resident. I am not sure how long will I stay and work in the US if ever I go back gain. I just moved back from canada after working 1 yr in New York, I did not renew my contract at the moment. Is it better to be still resident and have ties in Canada , so one can continue to invest?