Ought to Canadian non-residents preserve their TFSAs?

Tax-free financial savings accounts (TFSAs) can stay tax-free for a non-resident of Canada—at the very least from a Canadian perspective.

If a international nation taxes worldwide revenue, that may typically embrace TFSA curiosity, dividends or capital positive factors. So, a non-resident might haven’t any tax benefit to conserving a TFSA. These accounts usually tend to be withdrawn and the funds taken overseas.

That mentioned, if the particular person expects to return to Canada, leaving their TFSA to develop tax-free could possibly be advantageous. If a $50,000 account grows to $150,000 they usually re-immigrate to Canada, they might have a $150,000 tax-free account to leverage. In the event that they as a substitute withdrew their TFSA financial savings, their TFSA room would improve by that quantity however their contribution room wouldn’t in any other case develop whereas they have been overseas.

What to do with non-registered accounts

Taxable non-registered accounts are typically topic to a deemed disposition when an individual leaves Canada. It’s handled as if all of the investments have been offered on the date of the account holder’s departure, triggering any accrued capital positive factors and ensuing revenue tax.

If the federal tax owing is greater than $16,500 on the particular person’s ultimate tax return, they’ll select to defer fee of the tax. That is achieved by finishing Kind T1244, Election, beneath Subsection 220(4.5) of the Earnings Tax Act, to Defer the Cost of Tax on Earnings Referring to the Deemed Disposition of Property.

Since there’s typically no tax benefit to leaving non-registered investments in Canada, it’s widespread to see non-residents liquidate and reopen accounts overseas. Some traders want to go away them in Canada as a result of they produce other accounts, like RRSPs, that they can’t liquidate. Others preserve their investments in place as a result of they belief the regulatory atmosphere in Canada greater than the one of their new nation.

Withholding tax on non-registered accounts

Should you depart non-registered accounts in Canada, they are going to be topic to withholding tax on the monetary establishment. Curiosity, dividends, and mutual fund or exchange-traded fund (ETF) distributions are typically topic to fifteen% to 25% tax at supply. The speed varies primarily based on the tax treaty between the nation of residence and Canada.

This withholding tax represents your ultimate tax obligation to Canada, so you don’t want to file a Canadian tax return for this revenue.

Capital positive factors on securities aren’t topic to withholding tax for non-residents. Capital positive factors on actual property and another property are topic to Canadian withholding tax and even require the non-resident to file a tax return.