Search found 6337 matches

by Norbert Schlenker
15 Mar 2024 13:49
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: Linking bank accounts to software?
Replies: 18
Views: 1446

Re: Linking bank accounts to software?

progress is a good thing Is this progress? My plumber explained to me how he had had £10,000 stolen from his bank account via his mobile phone. At first it sounded familiar: the fraudster—posing as a BT engineer—gained illicit access to his mobile phone after persuading him to download an app. He thought he was getting a broadband speed tester and indeed that is what it appeared to be. This type of fraud is known as “upstreaming”, according to fintech types. The plumber had been in touch with BT about his broadband, so the call did not seem suspicious. Having got in, with the speed test dials doing their normal thing, the criminal was searching the phone for his bank account. Suddenly it came up on the screen in front of the alarmed eyes o...
by Norbert Schlenker
15 Mar 2024 13:15
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: BCE (Symbol-BCE)
Replies: 1857
Views: 285341

Re: BCE (Symbol-BCE)

SQRT wrote: 14 Mar 2024 15:24 To get the dividend you must own it on the record date (end of day). To own it on the record date you must buy it 2 days prior.

Conversely, if you sell it 2 days prior to the record date you will not get the div as you don’t own it on the record day.

When they say x dividend date (1 day before record date). This is the first day, that if you buy it, you will not get the div, and if you sell it, you will still get the div.

Hope I got that right. I still find this a little confusing.
Prepare to get more confused, and modify all those interval calculations. T+1 is coming soon.
by Norbert Schlenker
13 Mar 2024 20:10
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Real Return Bonds
Replies: 1545
Views: 242246

Re: Real Return Bonds

Use CIRO's website.

The search facility is relatively hopeless unless you have a CUSIP/ISIN. But, as long as you have that, you'll get a good and relatively recent price/yield. E.g. a search on CA135087XQ21, the Canada 3% RRB of 2036 turns up a few small trades yesterday...
Screenshot_2024-03-13_17-09-48.png
Screenshot_2024-03-13_17-09-48.png (102.33 KiB) Viewed 109 times
by Norbert Schlenker
11 Mar 2024 17:13
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Puzzles to keep the mind challenged
Replies: 11
Views: 425

Re: Puzzles to keep the mind challenged

On a computer, phone, or tablet, try Simon Tatham's puzzle collection. There are variations of most common newspaper and electronic puzzles, with varying levels of difficulty.

Open source. No ads. Free. Tiny. No internet connection required after installation.

https://newroman.net/puzzles/
https://apps.apple.com/us/app/simon-tat ... d622220631
https://play.google.com/store/apps/deta ... zles&pli=1
by Norbert Schlenker
24 Feb 2024 13:24
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Frothy Equity Markets
Replies: 1395
Views: 155256

Re: Frothy Equity Markets

Mmmmmm. I love the smell of market timing in the morning.
by Norbert Schlenker
24 Feb 2024 13:21
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: T5008 questions
Replies: 24
Views: 778

Re: T5008 questions

AFAIK, all UFile sends to CRA is total proceeds of disposition and net capital gains/losses for the year. CRA matches total proceeds against independent electronic filings from the financial institutions direct to CRA.

FWIW, I use UFile myself (since 2007) and enter no detail whatsoever. I keep track of dispositions over the course of a year in an Excel spreadsheet. The totals at the bottom of that sheet, proceeds, cost base, expenses, gain/loss get entered on a single line in UFile with the annotation "YYYY sales". I am always prepared to show CRA the details. I have never been asked.
by Norbert Schlenker
24 Feb 2024 13:13
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: Is withholding tax paid on rrsp withdrawal credited against installment payments?
Replies: 16
Views: 645

Re: Is withholding tax paid on rrsp withdrawal credited against installment payments?

It cannot affect current year because CRA has no knowledge of your RRIF witholding until you send in your tax return and get a NOA. It cannot affect CRA's view of what you should remit, but it does affect what you must remit. Having the financial institution withhold will (almost certainly) reduce your instalment obligation this year. Quarterly instalment obligations for an individual are the minimum of: what CRA demands on a mailed instalment notice, your actual tax liability last year less what was withheld by payers, divided by 4, and your actual tax liability this year less what will be withheld by payers, divided by 4. [Reference: https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/payments-cra/individual-payments/income-tax-instalments/...
by Norbert Schlenker
23 Feb 2024 10:18
Forum: Now Hear This!
Topic: Serving Canadian investors for 18 years and counting ...
Replies: 44
Views: 6423

Re: Reassurance to Members as to Financial Viability of FWF

The Management wrote: 22 Feb 2024 15:04 The biggest contributions to FWF are not money, but time. That includes the time of our moderators, administrators and management team, all volunteers.. But the biggest contribution is by the posters here, who give of their time and knowledge, to help others and to contribute to a collective learning experience. Thank you all for making FWF possible.
:thumbsup:
by Norbert Schlenker
23 Feb 2024 10:16
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: Claiming tax paid on excess TFSA contribution
Replies: 9
Views: 369

Re: Claiming tax paid on excess TFSA contribution

What we think of as "income tax" is levied under Part I of the Income Tax Act. "Penalties" on over-contributions or prohibited investments are taxes under Part X IIRC. They're apples and oranges.
by Norbert Schlenker
23 Feb 2024 10:07
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Norbert's Gambit and T5008
Replies: 24
Views: 1691

Re: Norbert's Gambit and T5008

You have to report the transaction, because the one thing that CRA is definitely going to get from the financial institution is total proceeds of disposition during the year. If the total proceeds you report on your Schedule 3 are materially different than what has been directly fed to CRA, that will set off alarms.

The follow-on is that, since you've reported proceeds on the sales, you have to report the cost base too. If you don't, your capital gains are way high, as is your tax liability.

Added: To my mind, an NG trade isn't a foreign exchange gain or loss per Bylo's link. I report them as regular trades and show the gains or losses, notwithstanding the $200 de minimis exemption.
by Norbert Schlenker
22 Feb 2024 12:27
Forum: Property: Owning, Renting, Managing, Investing and Mortgaging
Topic: State of title certificate available in three months
Replies: 9
Views: 492

Re: State of title certificate available in three months

The delay is more likely to be the previous mortgagee dawdling about removing their registered charge on the title than BC Lands being swamped.
by Norbert Schlenker
20 Feb 2024 18:04
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: 401(k) income splitting?
Replies: 7
Views: 1919

Re: 401(k) income splitting?

Yes, TIAA is a special situation. As far as I know, it's actually an insurance company, so what it pays is an annuity. Cross-border retirement annuities qualify for pension splitting under the Income Tax Act.

Good luck keeping CRA sweet, but it sounds like you're golden.

Me, not so much.
by Norbert Schlenker
20 Feb 2024 15:26
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: Moving back to Canada - Taxation of US Taxable Brokerage Account
Replies: 6
Views: 312

Re: Moving back to Canada - Taxation of US Taxable Brokerage Account

Welcome to FWF. The following presumes you don't have a green card. 1. The first thing you need to assess - this is a projection because you wrote "move back ... in a few years" - is whether you'll be a covered expatriate at that time. If so, then you will owe capital gains tax to the US. If not, you won't. In either case, there will be negligible capital gains for Canadian purposes. (If you have funds in a 401(k) or IRA, they're subject to special taxes too if you're a covered expatriate.) The expatriation tax rules change from time to time, and have gotten more onerous over the last 20 years. By the time you pack, there's no way of knowing what the rules will be, so keep your eyes open. For most people, the initial filter on the...
by Norbert Schlenker
20 Feb 2024 14:57
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: 401(k) income splitting?
Replies: 7
Views: 1919

Re: 401(k) income splitting?

Welcome to FWF. I presume you're wondering about splitting 401(k) distributions after you resume residence in Canada. Notwithstanding the assurances that formerpatriot got from CRA on the phone back in 2019, nor the Serbinski writings, it's a gray area. CRA is absolutely clear that the taxable portion of a foreign pension, US Social Security included, is splittable on a Canadian T1. CRA is also absolutely clear that a distribution out of an IRA is not splittable. So what's the argument in favour of a 401(k) distribution being "eligible pension income" if an IRA distribution isn't? There really isn't one that I can see. The law and regulations that make IRA distributions taxable income in Canada also make 401(k) distributions taxab...
by Norbert Schlenker
15 Feb 2024 21:36
Forum: Financial News, Policy and Economics
Topic: Inflation
Replies: 988
Views: 153474

Re: Inflation

Inflation is a problem everywhere.

Taken at a bus stop in southern Mexico. (The bus operators are complaining because fare increases aren't allowed; see the bottom row.)
mexico-inflation.jpg
mexico-inflation.jpg (53.16 KiB) Viewed 1477 times
From personal observation, tomatoes and juice oranges cost 3x what they did in 2018. Cheap five years ago, but not any more.

It's not obvious how the locals cope. Wages haven't doubled.
by Norbert Schlenker
30 Jan 2024 16:42
Forum: Under the Mattress: Protecting Your Money
Topic: CDIC advertising
Replies: 11
Views: 706

Re: CDIC advertising

I'm with active here, even if it amounts to peanuts. The most recent one I saw was at the halftime of last weekend's NFC championship. Does CDIC truly believe that there's much of a target audience among such viewers? To be fair, I don't often watch sports on TV, so perhaps I should give CDIC credit for identifying a demographic that needs financial help. As best I could tell, half the ads during the average football or hockey game these days are for online gambling.
by Norbert Schlenker
30 Jan 2024 16:28
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: Completing Form T2125 for Day Trading Option Spreads
Replies: 9
Views: 536

Re: Completing Form T2125 for Day Trading Option Spreads

professional tax preparer?
I wouldn't bother. The dollar amounts are large but it's a simple business.
Cash or accrual?
Tick accrual. Cash accounting is a red flag. Accrual is also more consistent with the proposed inventory accounting signaled by declaring cost of goods sold.

The other thing you should tick is Yes for last year of business in the identification section. It doesn't bind your son in any way, and it would buttress a claim of "I gave day trading a whirl and discovered I was crap at it, so I quit" if CRA happens to ask.

P.S. Tell him he needs to keep every confirm. For years.
by Norbert Schlenker
17 Jan 2024 18:20
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The Plight of the Y2K Retiree
Replies: 204
Views: 30255

Re: The Plight of the Y2K Retiree

ghariton wrote: 16 Jan 2024 20:06 Thanks, Norbert.

I guess I'll make it.
No need to be coy. You knew - and we all knew - by 2005 that your fulsome RRB bet had paid off.
by Norbert Schlenker
17 Jan 2024 18:16
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: I neglected to submit a W8-BEN. Can anything be done?
Replies: 12
Views: 842

Re: I neglected to submit a W8-BEN. Can anything be done?

It's always these queer investments that muddy the waters. A Canadian resident can't easily trade US REITs either without tax documentation, because the underlying property is real estate, and the sale of US real estate by a non-resident alien is by default subject to 30% withholding on the gross proceeds.
by Norbert Schlenker
17 Jan 2024 18:11
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The Plight of the Y2K Retiree
Replies: 204
Views: 30255

Re: The Plight of the Y2K Retiree

Everything on the chart above is in real i.e. inflation adjusted dollars. The portfolio value and the monthly withdrawal.

In nominal dollars, things are of course quite different. The withdrawal in December 2023, e.g., was $1654.13 in current dollars.
by Norbert Schlenker
16 Jan 2024 14:21
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: I neglected to submit a W8-BEN. Can anything be done?
Replies: 12
Views: 842

Re: I neglected to submit a W8-BEN. Can anything be done?

If Fidelity won't pay you, you can file a 1040NR and ask for the overwithholding from the IRS. Whether this is worth doing for, what, $50/year is a good question. And it's really not worth doing if you claimed it as a foreign tax credit on a Canadian return, because anything the IRS pays you will automatically be forfeit to Ottawa.
by Norbert Schlenker
16 Jan 2024 14:16
Forum: Taxing Situations
Topic: estate planning for the accidental death of both parents
Replies: 47
Views: 1851

Re: estate planning for the accidental death of both parents

Maybe I should be more specific: it's a topic for the late 40s/early 50s age group, with adult kids still in the university and RRSPs(7 digits) haven't been touched yet. I'd like to know if there is any good planning for the above scenario. Seriously, what's the financial risk? Say both husband and wife have $1MM RRSPs. The plane crashes or they're T-boned by a concrete mixer half a mile from home. The taxman takes half the RRSPs and the kids are left with $1MM, rather than the $1.5MM one might expect if the RRSPs could be emptied in a sane manner. They're out half a million dollars. Is that worth fussing over? If it is, then buy 10 year term life for $250k on each spouse, which would cost no more than $1000/year for two 50 year olds. If t...
by Norbert Schlenker
16 Jan 2024 14:00
Forum: Retirement, Pensions and Peace of Mind
Topic: The Plight of the Y2K Retiree
Replies: 204
Views: 30255

Re: The Plight of the Y2K Retiree

Updated through December 2023.

The equity heavy portfolios continue to struggle even with very positive calendar year returns in 2023. The drag from the inflation adjusted constant withdrawal on a principal impaired portfolio is undeniable.

Still, there's room for optimism - only 80 months of $1000 withdrawals left and the worst performer (TSX Composite) was worth $80,258 at December 31st.
y2k-plight-2023-real.png
y2k-plight-2023-real.png (105.71 KiB) Viewed 702 times
by Norbert Schlenker
16 Jan 2024 13:48
Forum: Stocks, Bonds, ETFs, Funds, REITS and More
Topic: Stock/Bond/Index/Fundamental/Asset Class/Quotes - Sources
Replies: 544
Views: 114404

Re: Stock/Bond/Index/Fundamental/Asset Class/Quotes - Sources

Norbert Schlenker wrote: 30 Dec 2023 15:24 My total return by asset class spreadsheet has been updated to include 2023 year end figures. Inflation adjusted figures on the real returns tab will be added when StatsCan releases December CPI on January 16th.

Time series spreadsheets with monthly total return index values for 3 month T-bills and real return bonds have also been updated through December 2023.

https://libra-investments.com/re01.htm
The Canadian dollar total return spreadsheet has been updated to reflect StatsCan's Dec 2023 inflation numbers as published this morning.
by Norbert Schlenker
30 Dec 2023 15:50
Forum: Community Centre
Topic: Computer problems
Replies: 2750
Views: 78683

Re: Computer problems

Quite a mystery. Let the computer sit unplugged overnight. BTW, it's a desktop. This morning unplugged peripherals ... Power supply is putting out power, but I wonder if it's putting out enough to run boot. Very odd symptoms. If you have some canned air, try blowing out the dust rather than attempting to vacuum. If you're trying to clean fans with it, best to hold them if the hub is accessible or temporarily jam the blades with something non-conducting, as high revs (possibly in reverse) won't do them any good. It's worth trying Unwise's suggestion to reseat the RAM. The risk of static discharge is pretty minor, to be honest. Put the unplugged computer on a bare table that's on a hard floor. Standing on that floor, open the case and touch ...