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Saltin posted:FX is complex, but in this case it is about the US economy bouncing back and Canada's commitment to a low interest rate environment for the foreseeable future. Don't underestimate the power of the latter. Well I guess I might as well claim my pension then. It took a huge hit in value as interest rates fell and I was waiting for it to bounce back since I don't have to claim it until August 2014 when I'll be switches to a deferred annuitant.
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Dec 5, 2013 13:40
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tuyop posted:Well I guess I might as well claim my pension then. Inflation has basically disappeared, which is a bad thing. If they touch rates to the upside they'll likely trigger a recession. On the flip side, Canadian's are gorging on debt (especially the mortgage variety) due to all the cheap money. I've actually read a few suggestions they might lower rates, but that'd be madness too. The Canadian Fed is really in a tough place. The ideal situation, as far as I can see it, is to leave things status quo, weaken the dollar versus USD as a deliberate strategy (keeping rates low will do this well), keep introducing other methods to control mortgage debt and the housing bubble (like killing the 40 year mortgage and needing a traditional 20% mortgage for homes over 1mil) and hope the rising markets in the US float our boat too. If there is a bright side to all of this it is that a strong US economy is generally good for business in Canada. Saltin fucked around with this message at 16:03 on Dec 5, 2013 |
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Dec 5, 2013 15:58
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Isn't keeping the dollar low against the USD a good thing for export anyway, since it makes us more attractive to them as suppliers? Or am I misremembering 11th grade econ?
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Dec 5, 2013 16:01
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FrozenVent posted:Isn't keeping the dollar low against the USD a good thing for export anyway, since it makes us more attractive to them as suppliers? Or am I misremembering 11th grade econ? There are definite advantages. I'm not suggesting it is a "bad thing" at all. A lot of Canadian businesses that sell into the US enjoy the disparity. It also makes Canada a cheaper place to do business in for the US - so things like the film industry in Vancouver and Toronto benefit. There are downsides to it as well.
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Dec 5, 2013 16:05
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Saltin posted:There are downsides to it as well. Consumer prices, for one. Currency chat tends to focus on producers... but every Canadian is poorer when CAD drops.
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Dec 5, 2013 16:20
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I get paid in USD so woo free pay rise!
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Dec 5, 2013 18:07
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HookShot posted:I get paid in USD so woo free pay rise! Same 
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Dec 5, 2013 19:00
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Some of you might enjoy this  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2AvU2cfXRk One of my all time favs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5QwKEwo4Bc
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Dec 5, 2013 22:14
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So, everything I've read suggests this, but just to be clear, the Canada home buyers' plan is in fact tax savings, as you are essentially able to take $25,000 pre-tax money from your RRSP and use it for a home without it being taxed ever, right? And you can also replace it in your RRSP specifically on years where you may earn more money, to reduce your overall taxes paid, during the duration? I'm nowhere near buying a house (probably 5+ years to even start thinking of it, more if the Vancouver housing market is still a mess), but this seems right? Also, is there any recommendations on the best VISAs/MasterCards/AmExs that don't have an annual fee, for those who are super spend-thrift? Finally fixing my banking and card situation, migrating from the crap that is VanCity's ridiculous fees (credit union or not, their chequing account fees are highway robbery) and my $500 student VanCity Enviro Visa. I will be making $64k/yr with pretty much zero benefits but take transit, have no car/car insurance, have a $10 monthly pay as you go phone, and don't pay for utilities/food (yay for well-off parents), just $300 a month. Any kind of cash-back cards with fees would likely be out of the question since my bills are nonexistent and my hobbies are also very cheap. Air Miles type benefits are okay, as I have previously traveled extensively and probably will continue to do so in the future. I previously had my TFSA at INGDirect, but have moved it all to Questrade where it is fully invested, so I opened up a THRIVE account there and setup payroll with the newest bonus promo, so I'm pretty happy with the now-Scotia Bank owned ING/Tangerine.
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Dec 8, 2013 03:34
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rhazes posted:So, everything I've read suggests this, but just to be clear, the Canada home buyers' plan is in fact tax savings, as you are essentially able to take $25,000 pre-tax money from your RRSP and use it for a home without it being taxed ever, right? And you can also replace it in your RRSP specifically on years where you may earn more money, to reduce your overall taxes paid, during the duration? I'm nowhere near buying a house (probably 5+ years to even start thinking of it, more if the Vancouver housing market is still a mess), but this seems right? I'm not sure I understand your first question but the HBP is basically an interest-free loan that has to be repaid within ten years. It does not free up new RRSP room for future contributions and your repayment does not count as new contributions for tax benefits. As for the second one: I use PC Financial for no-fee chequing and their MasterCard and world MasterCard offer fairly good returns that can be used for groceries at PC stores (1% on every dollar spent for both, 2% for groceries on the world card). But one of the best cash back cards is the MBNA Smartcash Platinum Plus. No fees and it has good returns for everyday spending. I spend <2k per month on it and we get a nice 50 dollar cheque every 90 days or so.
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Dec 8, 2013 03:48
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The MBNA Smart Cash card got neutered about a year ago, from 3% on first $600 of gas/groceries/1% everything else to 2% of first $400 on gas/groceries/1% everything else up to $1250 monthly. If rhazes doesn't pay for groceries or gas, it's not very attractive. The MBNA Rewards World Elite seems to be the one to get now, or the Rewards Travel Platinum, both of which are straight 2% cashback without any caps. Avoid the version with an annual fee. Barring those, there are lots of no-fee 1% cashback cards you could get. Honestly though, with that little going on the card, it doesn't make a huge difference.
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Dec 8, 2013 14:15
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The HBP should not be viewed as an interest free loan. When you withdraw $25k from your RRSP, the opportunity cost is the gains it could have made while invested. Depending on prevailing mortgage rates at the time, it is a really bad thing to use the HBP. Also a house is not an investment, so I discount that argument.
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Dec 8, 2013 17:43
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Tapping your HBP is a good sign that you can't afford a house or are over extending yourself. Almost always a bad idea in practice.
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Dec 8, 2013 18:36
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spoof posted:The MBNA Smart Cash card got neutered about a year ago, from 3% on first $600 of gas/groceries/1% everything else to 2% of first $400 on gas/groceries/1% everything else up to $1250 monthly. If rhazes doesn't pay for groceries or gas, it's not very attractive. The MBNA Rewards World Elite seems to be the one to get now, or the Rewards Travel Platinum, both of which are straight 2% cashback without any caps. Avoid the version with an annual fee. Barring those, there are lots of no-fee 1% cashback cards you could get. Honestly though, with that little going on the card, it doesn't make a huge difference. I go between using my PC Black mastercard and Costco Amex cash back card myself. Before I got a company gas card, I always filled up at Superstore to get the points and superbux, and they really did add up. Now? Meh. Better than nothing I suppose.
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Dec 9, 2013 17:52
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Man I never even considered using the PC Card for gas. I usually just go to Esso and use my MBNA and Aeroplan card for extreme double dipping. Though I think the aeroplan points can be better had through some other card and splitting rewards like that shoots yourself in the foot. I just have no idea how to calculate % return on travel cards and ones with fees and stuff.
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Dec 9, 2013 19:07
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I use my Amex gold business card for everything at large businesses, or my Aerogold visa at small businesses and gas stations. I use my TD infinite visa randomly as well (or for anything recurring), and use those points to buy hotel rooms at the places I fly to. My TD card has no annual fee because I have their account that includes a the waived fee, the Amex and Aerogold I cancel and reapply for every year so I pay no annual fee plus I get the bonus points again. Keep in mind if you're getting cash back that the cash is technically taxable. That's one reason why I exclusively use points based credit cards. As for figuring out how much the points are worth, I get we'll say 1 point per dollar spent (it's more than that on groceries and gas with the Aeroplan, but whatever). I buy my groceries at a small business since Whistler has no big box stores so I always use my Aerogold there as well. a trip to Europe from Vancouver costs 60,000 points in economy return. Usually tickets are around $1000. I know, sometimes more, sometimes less, but we're averaging things here. $60,0000 spent = $1,000 plane ticket = 1.67% return. Of course this changes depending on where you go. If I spent the points to go to South America where plane tickets are more expensive I'd probably get more mileage, or if I went to Hawaii where plane tickets are cheaper I'd be losing out. Still, that's my baseline for returns. But also between the two credit cards bonuses I got a free trip to anywhere in NA or to northern South America for basically free. The thing with Aeoplan points is you just need to find an airline with no fuel surcharge and the fees and taxes for international trips come out to like $200.
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Dec 9, 2013 19:39
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HookShot posted:Keep in mind if you're getting cash back that the cash is technically taxable. That's one reason why I exclusively use points based credit cards. Do you have a source on this? I was under the impression it was considered a discount and therefore, not taxable. If the CRA has another interpretation, I have never seen it.
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Dec 9, 2013 20:18
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Kal Torak posted:Do you have a source on this? I was under the impression it was considered a discount and therefore, not taxable. If the CRA has another interpretation, I have never seen it. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/bnfts/lylty/ That's the best I could find with a quick Google search, I originally learned about it in university a few years ago (business school). I might ask my accountant to confirm when I see him next.
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Dec 9, 2013 21:19
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HookShot posted:My TD card has no annual fee because I have their account that includes a the waived fee, the Amex and Aerogold I cancel and reapply for every year so I pay no annual fee plus I get the bonus points again. I wondered about this manoeuvre. I would've thought the bank would eventually tire of paying out customer acquisition costs on an annual, rather than one-time basis, not to mention the loss of the yearly fee.
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Dec 9, 2013 21:40
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HookShot posted:http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/tx/bsnss/tpcs/pyrll/bnfts/lylty/ But that's different. That's if you get a benefit from your employment. That has nothing to do with getting cash back on a personal credit card. I'm pretty sure it's not taxable and is treated as a discount. edit: The only way it would affect your tax position, is if you were paying for deductible expenses with the credit card. You would then have to back out the cashback (i.e. discount) from the amount you deduct. Kal Torak fucked around with this message at 22:15 on Dec 9, 2013 |
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Dec 9, 2013 22:12
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Lexicon posted:I wondered about this manoeuvre. I would've thought the bank would eventually tire of paying out customer acquisition costs on an annual, rather than one-time basis, not to mention the loss of the yearly fee. I guess they usually make enough of a profit that they don't care. I honestly don't know enough about how much they make to tell you why they allow it, but they do. I know there is a limit though: Amex will only let you have two credit cards at once (although you can have as many of their charge cards as they'll approve you for AFAIK) and I believe CIBC's system will only allow you to have one of each of their cards at once. I'm going to be cancelling my CIBC card at the end of this month so I don't end up in the 50% of people whose accounts are sold to TD Bank, since they get half the Aeroplan cards starting Jan 1, that way I'll get another TD card with a nice points bonus when they launch their line in early 2014.
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Dec 9, 2013 22:31
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HookShot posted:I guess they usually make enough of a profit that they don't care. I honestly don't know enough about how much they make to tell you why they allow it, but they do. I'm sure the percentage of people who take advantage of switching cards every year or whatever for the benefit is very small. It reminds me of the time that BC Lotteries had a promotion where they gave you $100 or something if you signed up to their online gambling site. You had to gamble it all at least once then you could withdraw however much you had left back into your bank account. The deals sites came up with a great trick where you bet on bakarat and are guaranteed to get all your money back minus maybe a couple of dollars then you could withdraw and collect your free money from the site. People were sure they would cut the deal off because of all the people taking advantage of that loophole but apparently BCLC released some numbers and it was something like over 95% of people that took advantage of the deal just gambled it all until it was gone (and probably put in more of their own money too). Oh, also on credit cards, I use the capital one aspire world card because it gives a 2% return and you pay for travel directly by getting them to knock charges off your bill so you don't have to worry about taxes/fuel fees and stuff like the flight points cards I guess. Plus you can use it for whatever flight/airline/travel expense you want as long as it's over $600 to get the full value for your points and you aren't restricted by carriers, etc.
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Dec 9, 2013 22:38
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Squibbles posted:It reminds me of the time that BC Lotteries had a promotion where they gave you $100 or something if you signed up to their online gambling site. You had to gamble it all at least once then you could withdraw however much you had left back into your bank account. The deals sites came up with a great trick where you bet on bakarat and are guaranteed to get all your money back minus maybe a couple of dollars then you could withdraw and collect your free money from the site. People were sure they would cut the deal off because of all the people taking advantage of that loophole but apparently BCLC released some numbers and it was something like over 95% of people that took advantage of the deal just gambled it all until it was gone (and probably put in more of their own money too). I'm personally responsible for at least 10 people getting their free $100 out of that deal. And while most people who signed up for the bonus may have gambled it away - I dispute that the loophole was not a complete-fuckup on their part - the only conceivable reason to not shut it down was the possible expense of fixing it, or more likely, the BCLC's desire to save face. As I recall, their baccarat implementation had a way to place a bet with 0% risk - so you could 'launder' your bonus into withdrawable cash. No other real casino or gambling site on the earth would permit this move
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Dec 9, 2013 22:49
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Lexicon posted:I'm personally responsible for at least 10 people getting their free $100 out of that deal. And while most people who signed up for the bonus may have gambled it away - I dispute that the loophole was not a complete-fuckup on their part - the only conceivable reason to not shut it down was the possible expense of fixing it, or more likely, the BCLC's desire to save face. As I recall, their baccarat implementation had a way to place a bet with 0% risk - so you could 'launder' your bonus into withdrawable cash. No other real casino or gambling site on the earth would permit this move Also I'm pretty sure they no longer offer baccarat on their site afaik.
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Dec 9, 2013 22:51
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Squibbles posted:Also I'm pretty sure they no longer offer baccarat on their site afaik. I'm quite surprised the site is still running, to be honest. It had the distinct feeling of an expensive, failed experiment last I heard it mentioned.
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Dec 9, 2013 22:54
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Squibbles posted:Oh, also on credit cards, I use the capital one aspire world card because it gives a 2% return and you pay for travel directly by getting them to knock charges off your bill so you don't have to worry about taxes/fuel fees and stuff like the flight points cards I guess. Plus you can use it for whatever flight/airline/travel expense you want as long as it's over $600 to get the full value for your points and you aren't restricted by carriers, etc. I use this card too, though it can be annoying to claim because of the tiers sometimes. With the recurring annual points bonus it works out to $20/yr, gives you 2% back and has a bunch of insurance and other stuff on it.
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Dec 9, 2013 23:37
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Lexicon posted:I'm quite surprised the site is still running, to be honest. It had the distinct feeling of an expensive, failed experiment last I heard it mentioned. I only knew it was running still because they did another (smaller) giveaway earlier this year that I was somehow able to make a new account to take advantage of. This time the best option was some kind of pachinko game or something where I pretty much broke even or even made a bit before taking my winnings.
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Dec 9, 2013 23:39
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I have a question. The way my employer does pensions, they just send our bank an RRSP check for 6% of our gross income (Four times a year I think, I'm new.) Long story short, my wonderful credit union hosed up and deposited the check in my checking account instead of the RRSP saving account I'd told them to use. Obviously I can transfer the money from Operations to Saving - RRSP, but I'm just wondering if there's anyway this could gently caress me over come tax time; do I have to declare the retirement contribution or whatever you call it as income?
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Dec 11, 2013 00:31
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^ I'd phone the CRA on that one. Then, once it's sorted, you may wish to consult the rest of the thread for a more productive use of your RRSP funds
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Dec 11, 2013 00:38
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The saving account is just a logistical thing so I don't have to phone the bank every time I want to set money aside; it makes it simpler to move it into the actual investment vehicle when it's a sizeable amount. I'm waiting to hear back from the financial person at the credit union, I really hope I don't have to try and talk with the CRA.
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Dec 11, 2013 06:13
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Honestly I've found the CRA really helpful every time I've had to talk to them (never been audited or I might have a different story), and I would actually not take the word of the person whose financial qualifications are a three day course on selling people mortgages or whatever.
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Dec 11, 2013 16:24
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Anyone have any thoughts on a somewhat weird situation? I was a dumbass and didn't open a brokerage account in Canada before becoming a US resident and now it seems impossible to (which kind of takes Norbert's Gambit off the table). Anyways, I have about 250k CAD that I want to move over to USD and invest in the US (rationale: better investing options, potential CAD deflation, tax implications to leaving money in Canada). What are the alternatives, from best to worst? I assume they basically are to call up large banks (I have accounts with BMO and TD) and ask how brutally they will shaft me on a currency conversion of that size, or talk to forex companies (who presumably would shaft me slightly less but tie up my money for a much longer period of time).
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Dec 11, 2013 22:40
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My take on this whole issue you're experiencing- as long as you haven't been issued a tax slip for the RRSP contributions that never happened, it shouldn't be a big deal. It sounds like a credit union employee fell asleep at the helm, and neglected to set up the automatic RRSP contribution process. I don't think it's going to have any tax consequences. It just sucks that you've missed out on the benefits of dollar-cost averaging for your regular contributions. But still- talk to the folks at the CRA to be sure.
melon cat fucked around with this message at 21:57 on Feb 4, 2024 |
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Dec 12, 2013 07:19
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melon cat posted:My take on this whole issue you're experiencing- as long as you haven't been issued a tax slip for the RRSP contributions that never happened, it shouldn't be a big deal. It sounds like a credit union employee fell asleep at the helm, and neglected to set up the automatic RRSP contribution process. I don't think it's going to have any tax consequences. It just sucks that you've missed out on the benefits of dollar-cost averaging for your regular contributions. But still- talk to the folks at the CRA to be sure. Well it's not automated at all, that's the thing - my employer literally mails them a check. They just ditched it in the wrong account, and if I transfer it I'm going to get a contribution slip. I'm just wondering how I need to report it and how it affects my taxable income and so on; I'll talk to "HR" when she comes in and have her talk to the benefit people and so on. I'll try to give the CRA a call when I have a chance, is there an easy way to contact them? Beside 1-800-O-Canada, I mean.
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Dec 12, 2013 15:22
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Is it a portion of your income that you volunteered to go toward your RRSP or an employer match or what? If it's just post- or pre-tax income earned and you have it transferred for convenience, then it shouldn't matter at all. You could put it in your RRSP now or at any point before the deadline (March?) and it would have the same tax implications. My understanding is that this is more problematic if it's a misplaced RPP contribution. You should still check but you shouldn't worry too much.
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Dec 12, 2013 15:27
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It's on top of my income, the employer cuts my I'm not sure if it qualifies as a RPP or what, I haven't gotten around to reading the benefit handbook. It's on my to-do list.
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Dec 12, 2013 15:35
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FrozenVent posted:It's on top of my income, the employer cuts my In that case, if you don't deposit it by the deadline you'll have to pay tax on that income at your marginal rate.
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Dec 12, 2013 15:38
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tuyop posted:In that case, if you don't deposit it by the deadline you'll have to pay tax on that income at your marginal rate. Makes sense. Basically the way I can figure it right now: 1. Money is in my checking account. 2. Transfer money to RRSP. 3. Get RRSP contribution slip. 4. Declare money as income. 5. Declare money as contributed to RRSP. It seems a little counter-intuitive, but then that's taxes I guess? I really need to check how the retirement is reflected on the T-4. Edit: Checked with HR, turns out it is added to the gross income on the T4, they just send the check straight to the bank so that they don't have to withhold. Transferred it to the RRSP, everything's good now I guess. FrozenVent fucked around with this message at 21:08 on Dec 12, 2013 |
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Dec 12, 2013 15:43
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Does anyone know how USD contributions to a TFSA work? What exchange rate is used?
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Dec 19, 2013 20:27
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Lexicon posted:Does anyone know how USD contributions to a TFSA work? What exchange rate is used? But yeah don't actually take that as advice.
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Dec 19, 2013 21:45
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