This information applies to investments owned in a Canadian brokerage or financial institution that are not held in RRSPs or other registered accounts.
ETFs are mutual funds that aim to match the performance of a stock index.
ETFs have a lower MER (management expense ratio) than mutual funds, and they have no front end or back end loads (fees).
They are traded in the same way as stocks are, with brokerage commissions paid on purchases and sales.
SPDRs (Standard & Poor Depository Receipts, often known as Spiders), iShares (Canadian and US), Diamonds, and others are examples of exchange traded funds.
For tax purposes, your Canadian brokerage will send you a T5 slip for distributions from a foreign ETF housed in your account.
For payouts from a Canadian ETF, you’ll get a T3 slip. T5s must be provided by the end of February, while T3s must be submitted by March 31st.
Foreign ETF distributions to Canadian taxpayers (those filing a Canadian tax return) are normally treated as foreign dividends, which are fully taxed. This will show up on the T5 form you obtain from your Canadianbrokerage. While dividends from US ETFs are classified as capital gains or returns of capital for US taxpayers (those who file a US tax return), they are nevertheless fully taxable to Canadian taxpayers. Schmidt v. The Queen, a 2012 Tax Court case, is a good example. In this case, however, the decision was predicated on the taxpayer’s failure to provide documentation to support his argument. The amount of a dividend received from a non-resident corporation is included in income under Section 90(1) of the Income Tax Act (ITA). To be regarded a return of capital for Canadian tax reasons and thus lower ACB under s. 53(2)(b)(ii) of the ITA, a distribution from a non-resident corporation must be considered a return of capital under corporate tax law rather than US tax law. See 1997 TaxInterpretation 9711965.
Shareholders may not receive the payouts that have been declared.
The dividend may be re-invested in whole or in part, rather than being paid in cash.
The shareholder adds the amount of the reinvested payout to the adjusted cost base of the ETF shares.
Exchange-traded fund distribution and tax information may normally be obtained on the websites of the businesses that provide the ETFs.
Tax information, on the other hand, is normally not available until after the end of the year.
When ETF shares are sold, the profit or loss is a capital gain or loss.
If you, your spouse, or certain other people associated with you sell shares at a loss and then repurchase them within 30 days, this is regarded a superficial loss and cannot be deducted from your income.
On US assets owned at the time of death, including shares in US firms, Canadian persons may be subject to USestate tax.
We were unable to determine if investments in international ETFs trading on US stock exchanges are liable to the US estate tax.
Are bond fund payouts considered qualifying dividends?
Dividends from U.S. and international firms qualify for lower income tax rates for investors who earn the dividends, according to IRS guidelines. Dividends earned from stock ownership are known as qualified dividends. The type of securities held by an ETF determines the tax status of dividends paid by the fund. An ETF must possess stock that pays eligible dividends in order to pay qualified dividends. Bond funds do not pay eligible dividends since bonds pay interest.
How can I know if the dividends from my ETFs are qualified?
Let’s start with the fact that ETFs that carry stocks typically pay dividends once a year, while ETFs that hold bonds often pay interest monthly. If you’re going to invest in an ETF that contains equities, make sure it pays eligible dividends.
An American corporation or a qualifying foreign company must pay qualified dividends. They must not have been reported to the IRS as a qualifying dividend, and the holding period must have been met.
To be eligible for a qualified dividend, you must own an ETF for at least 60 days prior to the dividend being paid. Qualified dividends are currently taxed at 0%, 15%, or 20%, depending on your filing status and tax bracket.
Bond ETFs provide dividends, right?
Individual bonds, on the other hand, are sold over the counter by bond brokers and trade on a controlled exchange throughout the day. Traditional bond structures make it difficult for investors to find a bond with a reasonable pricing. Bond exchange-traded funds (ETFs) sidestep this problem by trading on large indices like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).
As a result, they can give investors access to the bond market while maintaining the convenience and transparency of stock trading. Individual bonds and mutual funds, which trade at one price each day after the market closes, are less liquid than bond ETFs. Investors can also trade a bond portfolio during difficult circumstances, even if the underlying bond market is not performing well.
Bond ETFs pay out interest in the form of a monthly dividend and capital gains in the form of an annual payout. These dividends are classified as either income or capital gains for tax purposes. Bond ETFs’ tax efficiency, on the other hand, isn’t a large concern because capital gains aren’t as important in bond returns as they are in stock returns. Bond ETFs are also available on a worldwide scale.
Why aren’t my ETF dividends tax deductible?
- Qualified dividends: These are dividends that the ETF has designated as qualified, which means they are eligible to be taxed at the capital gains rate, which is based on the investor’s MAGI and taxable income rate (0 percent , 15 percent or 20 percent ). These dividends are paid on stock held by the ETF for more than 60 days during the 121-day period that begins 60 days before the ex-dividend date and ends 60 days after the ex-dividend date. Furthermore, throughout the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date, the investor must own the shares in the ETF paying the dividend for more than 60 days. If you actively trade ETFs, you will almost certainly be unable to achieve this holding requirement.
- Nonqualified dividends: These dividends were not designated as qualified by the ETF because they were paid on stocks held by the ETF for less than 60 days. As a result, they are subject to ordinary income tax rates. Nonqualified dividends are calculated by subtracting the total dividends from any component of the total dividends that are classified as qualified dividends.
Note that while qualifying dividends are taxed at the same rate as capital gains, they cannot be used to offset losses in the stock market.
What is a qualified dividend, exactly?
Dividends from domestic firms and certain eligible foreign corporations that you have held for at least a defined minimum amount of time, known as a holding period, are considered qualified dividends. Another requirement is that the shares be unhedged, which means that during the holding period, no puts, calls, or short sales were associated with them.
The capital gains rate applies to these dividends, which is determined by the investor’s modified adjusted gross income (AGI) and taxable income (the rates are 0 percent , 15 percent , and 20 percent ). The 3.8 percent net investment income tax (NIIT) stipulated in the Affordable Care Act also affects higher earnings. On long-term capital gains and dividends, many people pay an effective rate of 18.8 percent (15 percent + 3.8 percent for the NIIT) or 23.8 percent (20 percent +3.8 percent).
Payments in lieu of dividends may be made in specific circumstances, such as when shares are lent to a third party. Learn more about Annual Credit for Substitute Payments if this applies to you.
Qualified dividends on your tax reporting statement
Qualified dividends are reported in line 1b or column 1b of Form 1099-DIV. However, it’s possible that not all of the dividends reported on those lines met the holding period requirement. Non-qualified dividends, like all ordinary dividends, may be taxed at your regular income tax rate, which can be as high as 37%.
Unless you hedged the assets, the potential eligible dividends reported on your Form 1099-DIV should fulfill the holding period requirement and qualify for the reduced tax rate if you did not buy or sell securities throughout the tax year.
Holding periods
Although the holding period requirement is the same whether you received a dividend for shares you own directly or through a mutual fund during the tax year, the method you use to calculate the holding period may differ, as shown below.
Note: When calculating the number of days the fund was held, include both the day it was obtained and the day it was sold.
Mutual funds
- The fund had to have held the security unhedged for at least 61 days out of the 121 days that started 60 days before the ex-dividend date. (The ex-dividend date is when the dividend is paid and processed, and any new buyers are eligible for future payments.)
- The security must be held for 91 days out of the 181-day period, beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date, for specific preferred stock. The money obtained by the fund from that dividend-paying investment has to be delivered to you later.
- You must have held the fund’s applicable share for at least 61 days out of the 121-day period that began 60 days before the fund’s ex-dividend date.
Stock
- You must have held those shares of stock unhedged for at least 61 days out of the 121-day period beginning 60 days prior to the ex-dividend date.
- The securities must be held for 91 days out of the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the ex-dividend date for certain preferred stock.
Example of determining holding period
Consider the following scenario: you have dividends on Form 1099-DIV that are qualifying from shares in the XYZ fund. On April 27 of the tax year, you purchased 10,000 shares of the XYZ fund. You sold 2,000 of those shares on June 15, but you continue to own the remaining 8,000 shares (unhedged at all times). The XYZ fund’s ex-dividend date was May 2.
As a result, you held 2,000 shares for 49 days (from April 28 to June 15) and 8,000 shares for at least 61 days over the 121-day window (from April 28 through July 1).
Dividend income from 2,000 shares held for 49 days would not be considered qualifying dividend income. Dividend income from the 8,000 shares that have been held for at least 61 days should be considered qualifying dividend income.
Calculating the amount of qualified dividends
Find the portion per share of any qualified dividends once you’ve determined the number of shares that meet the holding period requirement. Multiply the two sums for each qualified dividend to get the actual qualified dividend amount.
To continue with the previous example, a $0.18 per share dividend was paid, but only half of it ($0.09 per share) was recorded as a qualifying dividend. Because you only held 8,000 of your total 10,000 shares for the requisite holding time, the amount of eligible qualified dividends is calculated as follows:
Only $900 of the $1,800 reported as ordinary dividends for the XYZ fund in line or column 1a of Form 1099-DIV would be reported as a Qualified Dividend in line or column 1b. Only $720 of that $900 should be taxable at one of the lower rates. The remaining $1,080 in dividends would be taxed at your regular rate of income tax.
Are dividends from Vanguard ETFs tax deductible?
What are qualified dividends, and how do you get them? Dividends might be “qualified” for special tax treatment if they meet certain criteria. (Those who aren’t are referred to as “unqualified.”) Most payments from U.S. corporations’ common stock are eligible if you hold the shares for longer than 60 days.
Are REIT distributions considered qualified?
REIT dividends are almost usually considered regular income. There are two portions to Box 1 of the 1099-DIV, where a REIT discloses such dividends:
- Your “ordinary dividends,” or total dividends, are shown in Box 1a. Unless a portion or all of them are “qualified dividends,” they will be taxed at your usual income tax rate, just like wages from a job.
- “Qualified dividends” are shown in box 1b. These eligible dividends are not added to the amount given in Box 1a, but rather are included in it. Qualified dividends are taxed at a lower capital gains rate for this portion. REIT dividends are generally exempt from being considered qualifying dividends. The type of the investment that earned the money that is being passed along to shareholders determines whether dividends are qualified.
Is there a distinction between qualified and nonqualified dividends?
*Editor’s Note: This blog has been updated for correctness and comprehensiveness as of November 12, 2020.
Every investor desires a high return on investment from their stock portfolio, but dividends given out by corporations are not all created equal. The tax treatment of dividends has a significant impact on an investor’s return on investment, thus it’s critical for potential and current investors to understand the various forms of dividends and their tax implications.
Ordinary dividends are divided into two categories: qualified and nonqualified. The most notable distinction between the two is that nonqualified dividends are taxed at ordinary income rates, but qualified dividends are taxed at capital gains rates, resulting in a more favorable tax status.
Ordinary dividends, which are paid out of earnings and profits, are the most prevalent sort of payout from a firm or mutual fund. Ordinary dividends, for example, do not qualify for preferential tax treatment:
- Dividends handed out by real estate investment trusts (there are few exceptions where dividends might be considered qualified if certain conditions are met – – see IRC 857(c)) are generally taxable.
- In general, master limited partnerships pay out dividends (However, if the MLP is invested in qualifying corporations and it receives qualified dividends from those investments, it would pass out qualified dividends to the partners)
- Mutual savings banks, mutual insurance companies, credit unions, and other loan groups provide dividends on savings or money market accounts.
Other dividends paid by US firms are subject to qualification. The following requirements must be met in order to meet Internal Revenue Service standards:
- A U.S. corporation or a qualifying foreign corporation must have paid the dividends.
When contemplating these two criteria, there are a few things to keep in mind. A foreign corporation is first considered “If it has some ties to the United States, such as living in a country having a tax treaty with the IRS and Treasury Department, it is “qualified.” Because additional factors may cause a foreign firm to be categorized as “qualifying,” tax-planning investors should seek advice from a tax or accounting professional to understand how dividends paid out by a foreign corporation will be classified for tax reasons.
In order for a dividend to receive favorable tax treatment, special holding rule conditions must be met. During the 121-day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date, a share of common stock must be held for more than 60 days. The ex-dividend date is the date after the dividend has been paid and processed, and any new buyers will be eligible for future payments, according to IRS criteria. During the 181-day period beginning 90 days before the stock’s ex-dividend date, preferred shares must be held for more than 90 days.
The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act didn’t make any significant changes to the taxation of dividends and capital gains. The 0% rate on dividends and capital gains no longer aligns with the new standard tax bands under the TCJA. But, in general, if you’re in the new 10% or 12% tax bands, you’ll be eligible for the 0% dividend tax rate. People who qualify for the 15% rate will be taxed in the 22 percent to 35 percent bracket for the balance of their income under the TCJA.
This may change as a result of the current election outcomes. The top long-term capital gains tax rate would be reduced to 15%, according to Trump’s proposal. Individuals with incomes exceeding $1 million would be subject to a 39.6% tax on net long-term profits under Biden’s plan. Long and short-term capital gains taxes, according to Biden, should be subject to the 3.8 percent net investment income tax.
Pros of bond ETFs
- A bond ETF distributes the interest it earns on the bonds it owns. As a result, a bond ETF can be an excellent method to build up an income stream without having to worry about individual bonds maturing or being redeemed.
- Dividends paid on a monthly basis. Some of the most popular bond ETFs pay monthly dividends, providing investors with consistent income over a short period of time. This means that investors can use the regular dividends from bond ETFs to create a monthly budget.
- Immediate diversification is required. A bond ETF can provide rapid diversification throughout your entire portfolio as well as inside the bond segment. As a result, if you add a bond ETF to your portfolio, your returns will be more resilient and consistent than if you simply had equities in your portfolio. Diversification reduces risk in most cases.
- Bond exposure that is tailored to your needs. You can have multiple types of bond ETFs in your bond portfolio, such as a short-term bond fund, an intermediate-term bond fund, and a long-term bond fund. When added to a stock-heavy portfolio, each will react differently to fluctuations in interest rates, resulting in a less volatile portfolio. This is advantageous to investors because they may pick and choose which market segments they want to acquire. Do you only want a small portion of intermediate-term investment-grade bonds or a large portion of high-yield bonds? Check and double-check.
- There’s no need to look at individual bonds. Rather than researching a range of individual bonds, investors can choose the types of bonds they want in their portfolio and then “plug and play” with the appropriate ETF. Bond ETFs are also a great option for financial advisers, particularly robo-advisors, who are looking to round out a client’s diverse portfolio with the correct mix of risk and return.
- It’s less expensive than buying bonds directly. Bond markets are generally less liquid than stock markets, with substantially greater bid-ask spreads that cost investors money. By purchasing a bond ETF, you are leveraging the fund company’s capacity to obtain better bond pricing, lowering your own expenses.
- You don’t require as much cash. If you want to buy a bond ETF, you’ll have to pay the price of a share (or even less if you choose a broker that permits fractional shares). And that’s a lot better than the customary $1,000 minimum for buying a single bond.
- Bond ETFs also make bond investment more accessible to individual investors, which is a fantastic feature. In comparison to the stock market, the bond market can be opaque and lack liquidity. Bond ETFs, on the other hand, are traded on the stock exchange like stocks and allow investors to quickly enter and exit positions. Although it may not appear so, liquidity may be the single most important benefit of a bond ETF for individual investors.
- Tax-efficiency. The ETF structure is tax-efficient, with minimal, if any, capital gains passed on to investors.
Cons of bond ETFs
- Expense ratios could be quite high. If there’s one flaw with bond ETFs, it’s their expense ratios — the fees that investors pay to the fund management to administer the fund. Because interest rates are so low, a bond fund’s expenses may eat up a significant percentage of the money provided by its holdings, turning a small yield into a negligible one.
- Returns are low. Another potential disadvantage of bond ETFs has less to do with the ETFs themselves and more to do with interest rates. Rates are expected to remain low for some time, particularly for shorter-term bonds, and the situation will be aggravated by bond expense ratios. If you buy a bond ETF, the bonds are normally chosen by passively mirroring an index, thus the yields will most likely represent the larger market. An actively managed mutual fund, on the other hand, may provide some extra juice, but you’ll almost certainly have to pay a higher cost ratio to get into it. However, in terms of increased returns, the extra cost may be justified.
- There are no promises about the principal. There are no assurances on your principal while investing in the stock market. If interest rates rise against you, the wrong bond fund might lose a lot of money. Long-term funds, for example, will be harmed more than short-term funds as interest rates rise. If you have to sell a bond ETF while it is down, no one will compensate you for the loss. As a result, for some savers, a CD may be a preferable option because the FDIC guarantees the principal up to a limit of $250,000 per person, per account type, at each bank.