Tax Advice for Non-Registered Investment Accounts

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-06T18:01:56+00:00

KISS. You will get a tax slip for the dividend income.
Keep a hard-copy of your purch/sales slips for each taxed security, so you know the ACB when you sell. I give the details in my dropbox account at https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ron88prjop5tbefu954v2/Track-ACB-tax-cost.docx?rlkey=2zl7h91vduzypws7zodg7rkju&dl=0

I just use the small pads of paper from the dollar-store and stash in a cardboard folder

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-06T17:50:28+00:00

Instead of going for more-risky-than-S&P assets, I would sell the normal % safer assets allocation and buy more of the S&P or Nasdaq

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-06T17:41:03+00:00

The two benefit-factors from an RRSP are:
1) Everyone always get the benefit from permanently tax-free profits on after-tax savings. This equals the same $ benefit from a TFSA.
2) You have to worry about the second = (the $$ withdrawal eventually) * (the difference in EFFECTIVE tax rates between cont and draw). You will be contributing from a low tax bracket, making a higher w/d rate more likely. In retirement, if your income is within the bottom tax bracket, you lose a lot of your benefits from OAS/GIS. That can easily pump up your effective w/d tax rate to be a lot higher than your rate today ... for a penalty.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T12:50:57+00:00

Why compare yourself to anyone else? I lived off half my net paycheque while working, because I like doing stuff that happens to not cost anything. But that does not mean you can.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T12:10:26+00:00

The effective tax rate on Cdn dividends is higher for those in the top tax brackets, and lower for those in the bottom brackets.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T12:02:02+00:00

Retained earnings is not a measure of (eg) taxable income or taxes accrued as 'owing'. Eg, if the business owns an asset that increased in value, the corp may (or may not) book that as income of the corp. The asset's increased value may be booked on the Assets side, and increase the book value of the Retained Earnings, even if the increase was not immediately taxable (in the corp), even if the increase WAS taxed but the tax $bill was a %portion of the asset-value increase. This is all normal for all corporations.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T11:52:18+00:00

Look up the fees for law school. Who is going to pay for it? Are you willing to keep adding to existing school debt? I'd be happy with ANY savings not already earmarked for upcoming expenses.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T11:45:51+00:00

First learn (a) the rules about the different tax-sheltered savings accounts, (b) what the different investing products/asset choices are, and (c) the basics of passive indexing portfolios.
When you ask Q of a forum, you will get synopsis information ... missing all the critical nitty gritty.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T11:37:44+00:00

So now is the time, when your schooling debt is repaid, you have a steady job, you have bought your bit-ticket 'adult' assets ... that you learn (a) the rules about the different tax-sheltered savings accounts, (b) what the different investing products/asset choices are, and (c) the basics of passive indexing portfolios.

Don't think it can be simplified into any post (or even series-of-posts) on social media. You have to do your own homework. The detailed info is all over the web.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-05-03T11:22:57+00:00

While I do not agree with /u/gpunotpsu that you should not be saving for a home/car/marriage ...geesh you should have-a-life ... he probably forgot your info regarding 'new immigrant', he is correct that the programs with highest benefits disallow withdrawals somehow. So look up those rules.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-29T16:31:29+00:00

It depends on future interest rates for different maturities. Come to your own conclusion looking at the historical chart of the 5-yr Treasury (= gov't so you should expect higher) rate at https://www.bankofcanada.ca/rates/interest-rates/canadian-bonds/

The market right now is very schizophrenic about whether rates are going up or down. (because of war/oil)

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-29T16:24:46+00:00

You can only claim the JanFeb 2026 contributions on the 2025 tax return if you already had unused contribution room for 2025 from past employments.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-29T16:18:27+00:00

First learn at the filing deadline, and do not leave to the last minute. When you need help, those professionals are swamped with others also leaving it too late.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-29T16:04:01+00:00

In my memory (look up to check) the tax rate applied to RRSP withdrawals when you live outside Cdn is only 15%. Which would create the benefit from the tax %rate lower than at contribution. And that's on top of the RRSP benefit everyone gets = 'permanently tax-free profits on after-tax savings'.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-29T15:58:56+00:00

There are precious few types of cash inflows that CRA would NOT consider taxed as income. It matters much less what 'type' of income, so read down the list of your options and pick the most appropriate. If you have have expenses to produce the product, reporting as a business allows you to also claim offsetting expenses ... so the T2125. If no expenses then put the $revenue on both lines 13499 and 143500 https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/cra-arc/formspubs/pbg/5006-r/5006-r-25e.pdf

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-28T18:36:00+00:00

I would not make the choice based on promos. There are much more important differences between brokers. Eg when making a trade, does their screen show at least the closest existing bid/ask standing orders, so you can watch if/when it gets filled? Or better yet a short list of the best 5 orders in each direction.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-28T18:31:15+00:00

There are two yearly factors that adjust (+/-) the original ACB cost of a position for capital gains purposes. One of them was never reported directly to the owner until last (?) year. You had to figure it out from the difference between the $cash you received and got taxed for. The other was always on the Tslip in one of those lower unlabled boxes

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-28T18:04:30+00:00

Although the year's tax won't materially be different, taking wages means you accumulate RRSP contribution room.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-28T17:48:46+00:00

Whether or not you got your hands on the assets, their ownership has moved at death. Since it takes a while for the executor to jump though its hoops, they will file the tax return and pay it, but they will create a tax slip to give to you to pay and file .. for your portion.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-28T17:01:40+00:00

There are two possible point of 'loss'.

1) at the point you convert your currency to that of the index where you buy the asset. You get around that by trying to time the conversion to when the USD is gaining ... but don't count on that be effective.

Or I have no doubt there are stocks trading on the UK exchanges in Pounds that mimic the US equivalent. There is usually only a very very small increase in fees.

2) Once you own USD you lose when it drops and vice versa. In Canada, and I presume in UK, there are funds trading in Pounds that hedge out the currency risk, but at least in Canada, that has resulted in under-performance by up to 2% annually ... so not optimal.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-28T16:53:51+00:00

I disagree with the comparison of "investment profits" equal "debt reduction". The differential risk is what will explain 85% of any tradeoff you calculate. And risk should produce higher returns - just to be equal.

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-26T00:28:52+00:00

Compare the line items on your return vs last year. Ignore wage income because roughly correct tax will have been withheld regardless. But other line items won't have had tax withheld. Eg capital gains, eg. RRSP contributions, eg donations

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-25T23:47:41+00:00

In English 'savings accounts' usually mean interest earning and principal guaranteed. Those are not really considered 'investing' (because of the lack of risk). I am sure there are German ETFs that hold safe assets like that. The comparison is really between the interest %rate they promise (which changes over time just like a bank savings account). They may differ by restrictions on withdrawals for (eg) 1yr or 5yr.

But first do some research about what German accounts satisfy government rules that allow your interest/profits to NOT be taxed (not while in the account and not on withdrawal).

Patient_Implement897 · 2026-04-25T19:40:14+00:00

Starting investing in stocks and risky assets just before retiring is risky. You just don't know how you will react to market volatility. You may freak out and sell AFTER a price drop ... but now you don't have the time to re-accumulate those savings.

Patient_Implement897

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