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Tax-Free
Savings Account (TFSA)
Income Tax Act S. 146.2, 207.01 to 207.07
Tax-free savings accounts are available for Canadian residents who are 18 years
of age or older.
In a tax-free savings account:
all investment income (interest, dividends, trust
distributions and
capital gains) will accumulate tax-free
contributions are not tax-deductible
withdrawals are not taxable
capital losses are not tax-deductible
dividends will not be eligible for the dividend tax
credit
Borrowing
Interest on money borrowed to invest in a TFSA is
not tax deductible.
A TFSA can be used as security for a
loan.
According to bank representatives, a TFSA cannot be used to provide margin for linked margin
brokerage accounts, although this is not disallowed by the Income Tax
Act.
If you wish to use your TFSA to increase your
margin, you can borrow against the TFSA and put the money into your
margin account. The interest on the debt would be tax
deductible.
Proposed TFSA technical changes
On October 16, 2009 the Minister of Finance
announced proposed amendments to the Income Tax Act to strengthen the
rules applicable to Tax-Free Savings Accounts. The proposed
amendments would:
Make income from deliberate overcontributions and
prohibited investments subject to existing anti-avoidance rules in the
Income Tax Act
Make income attributable to non-qualified
investments taxable at regular income tax rates.
Ensure that withdrawals of deliberate
overcontributions, prohibited investments, non-qualified investments
or amounts attributable to swap transactions, or of related investment
income, from a TFSA do not create additional TFSA contribution room.
Prohibit asset transfer transactions (swap
transactions) between TFSAs and other accounts.
Information on the proposed changes is included in
the articles below. It is proposed that the amendments will
apply to transactions which occur after October 16, 2009. The draft
legislation and explanatory notes were released by the Department
of Finance on April 30, 2010.
The information on this site is not intended to be a
substitute for professional advice. Each person's situation differs, and
a professional advisor can assist you in using the information on this web
site to your best advantage.
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