Pay close attention to your foreign assets to avoid tax troubles

Source: The Globe and Mail
Author: Jonathan Chevreau

Most high-net-worth investors have accumulated a good chunk of their wealth in non-registered investments. Once they max out RRSPs and TFSAs, there’s little choice but to add investments to non-registered, taxable accounts.

If you opt to hold the most tax-inefficient assets – fixed income – in registered accounts, odds are you’re holding a lot of stocks outside them. If they’re considered foreign property, you need to pay close attention to their cost base.

Registered retirement savings plans (RRSP) and tax-free savings accounts (TFSA) shield us from a lot of tax, at least in the short term, but what’s less appreciated is that registered plans also shield us from a lot of tax-related, form-filling paperwork.

Read the full article here.