Couch Potato investors hear a lot about asset allocation, but asset location is also an important consideration. Asset location refers to the type of account you use to hold the stocks, bonds, cash and real estate in your portfolio. It’s important because the growth and income from your investments are treated in different ways by the taxman:
Interest from bond funds and bond ETFs (as well as individual bonds, GICs and money market funds) are taxed at your marginal tax rate, just like employment income.
Dividends from Canadian stocks are eligible for a generous dividend tax credit from the federal government. For the 2009 tax year, eligible dividends are first grossed up (increased) by 45% and declared as income; the investor then receives a tax credit of 19% on the grossed-up amount. Some provinces offer an additional dividend tax credit.
Foreign dividends are taxed at your marginal rate. In addition, many countries (including the US) levy a withholding tax on dividends, often between 10% and 15% (this may be recoverable in non-registered accounts).
Capital gains are profits earned from selling a security for more than you paid for it. You report 50% of your capital gains as income and pay tax on that amount. Mutual funds and ETFs must also pass along their capital gains to unitholders, although index funds are usually more tax-efficient.
Here’s a table highlighting the dramatic differences in how each type of investment income is taxed, assuming a marginal rate of 22%:
Interest | Canadian Dividend | Capital Gain | |
Amount received | $1,000 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
Taxable income | $1,000 | $1,450 | $500 |
Federal tax (at 22%) | $220 | $319 | $110 |
Dividend tax credit (19%) | – | -$275.50 | – |
Total federal tax owing | $220 | $43.50 | $110 |
The tax rates above apply to securities held in non-registered investment accounts. Registered accounts offer several opportunities to defer or avoid paying tax on investment growth and income:
- If your retirement savings are in an RRSP or RRIF, you pay no tax on interest, dividends or capital gains until you withdraw the funds. At that time, you pay tax on the entire withdrawal at your marginal rate. (You can’t claim the dividend tax credit or enjoy the lower tax on capital gains.)
- With a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP), you pay no tax until you withdraw the funds. At that time, all the growth is reported as income in your child’s hands. You pay no tax on the amount you put into the account, since contributions were made with after-tax dollars.
- In a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), all the growth is tax-free, and no tax is payable when the funds are withdrawn.
So, what’s a Couch Potato to do with all this information? If you’re able to hold all your investments in an RRSP or other tax-deferred accounts, you don’t need to worry much about this at all. However, if you also hold ETFs or index funds in a taxable account, review your asset location to make sure you’re not paying more tax than you need to:
Canadian equities deliver their returns from lightly taxed dividends and capital gains. So if you need to hold some of your investments in a taxable account, start with Canadian stocks.
REITs pay generous distributions, but these are not considered dividends. The bulk of the payouts are classified as income and taxed at your full marginal rate. (The rest is usually return of capital.) REITs are therefore best held in a tax-sheltered account.
Bonds (as well as GICs and money market funds) are best held in a tax-sheltered account, since their interest is fully taxable at your marginal rate.
Preferred shares are sometimes considered fixed-income investments, but they pay dividends, not interest. For income-oriented investors who have no more RRSP or TFSA room, Canadian preferred shares may be a good choice in a taxable account because they’re taxed more favourably than bonds.
Canadian-listed ETFs that hold international stocks include the popular iShares XSP and XIN. Although these are traded on the TSX, their underlying holdings are foreign stocks, so the dividends are not eligible for the tax credit. These ETFs are best held in a tax-sheltered account. However, as Canadian Capitalist has pointed out, XSP and XIN (which simply hold US-listed ETFs in a Canadian wrapper) are still subject to the US withholding tax even if they’re held in an RRSP.
Dividends from US-listed ETFs are fully taxable in Canada and get dinged by the additional withholding tax unless you hold the funds in an RRSP. Note that you still pay the withholding tax if the fund is held in an RESP or a TFSA. The good news is that you may be able to recover the withholding tax if you hold them outside an RRSP. A taxable account also allows you to buy and sell ETFs in US dollars and avoid currency exchange fees—most discount brokers do not allow you to hold US dollars in an RRSP. (Questrade and QTrade are the exceptions.)
Pulling all this together, here’s an example of how you might divvy up an ETF portfolio across different accounts with an eye toward keep taxes to a minimum:
RRSP
Vanguard Total Stock Market (VTI)
Vanguard FTSE Developed Markets (VEA)
Vanguard FTSE Emerging Markets (VWO)
iShares Canadian Universe Bond (XBB)
TFSA
iShares S&P/TSX Capped REIT (XRE)
Taxable account (assuming no more RRSP or TFSA room)
iShares S&P/TSX Capped Composite (XIC)
iShares S&P/TSX Canadian Preferred Share (CPD)
As you can see, tax planning is complicated, so if you have a large portfolio, consider seeking help from a financial or tax advisor.
Hi @CCP
Just opened my account and I.m about to allocate to my certain accounts. I will not be maxed out in tfsa or rrsp.
Im confused to what account to put my Canadian etf in. This is what I have so far
10% cash (TFSA)
40% Bonds XBB (LIRA from previous job)
25% Canadian XIU ?? ( do i do taxable if not maxed out)
10% USA SPY in US$ (RRSP)
15% International in US$ (RRSP)
Thanks for your help
Phil
@Phil H: I can’t be too specific without knowing the details of your situation, but this looks generally good. I can’t think of any reason to put Canadian equities in a non-registered account as long as you have TFSA and RRSP room.
@CCP: Would it not be a reasonable strategy to put Canadian Equities in a taxable account on a long term basis? My reasoning would be that any positive return would be 1) Increase in value, which is non-taxable until sold, and then only at half marginal rate and 2) Dividends which would be taxed favourably for most Canadians. That would save RRSP and TFSA room for asset classes that are more in need of Canadian tax protection. Actually, I thought that was your underlying reasoning in your advice above to John regarding not shifting VCN from non-registered to TFSA.
@Oldie – but in this case Phil mentioned that the TFSA and RRSP are both not maxed out; no point in using a taxable account until they are.
@Nathan: Right, I was forgetting that for myself the reason I was positioning a significant Canadian Equity investment in my taxable account was that I was actually needing some income now. So extracting some income as Canadian dividends was to me a painless decision. I suppose this might also work for some people in the accumulation phase whose income was low enough that the Canadian dividend was taxed negligibly so that it could be ploughed back into investments. That dollar amount has been taxed already, and will not be taxed when these secondary investments are eventually taken sold, (taxation being only on the eventual capital gain amount on the dividend, and this would be half the marginal rate). That would seem to me to beat keeping it in an RRSP, where dividends are not taxed now, but taxed at the full marginal rate at the time it leaves the RRSP, not to mention that the original investment’s capital gain will also eventually be taxed at the full marginal rate. But of course, I have not taken into account that the RRSP investments are all made with pre-tax dollars; my argument might be more appropriate for one’s TFSA.
@Oldie: if you need the income, then I could see it for sure. If you’re just plowing distributions back into investments though, a TFSA is always going to be better than taxable. (Unless you end up with a capital loss, but it doesn’t really make sense to optimize for that!) Better to be taxed nothing than even a small amount. Plus, if you eventually run out of TFSA space and decide to move the Canadian equities out, nothing is lost. Your ACB will be whatever amount they’re worth when you move them out, so you only pay taxes on future gains. Plus, any gains earned while in the TFSA have effectively created more TFSA room for other investments.
The RRSP argument is similar; the fact that you’re effectively investing pre-tax dollars cancels out the fact that funds are taxable on withdrawal.
Oldie: Using my Excel workbook, you can find the optimal way to distribute your money between your accounts. It does as you said. RRSP should hold international equity and US equity before Canadian Equity. If there is room left, then you can put Canadian equity in your RRSP. But before any kind of equity, you have to optimize the distribution of fixed income between RRSP and TSFA. The good news is that my Workbook does all the calculation for you. The best split between RRSP and TFSA is calculated so there is the maximum tax-free money in the RRSP.
Here is the link for my Workbook: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6x4qQK9cyjheDNXY29SeEtSS3M/edit?usp=sharing
The sample datas are based on the post found at: http://www.moneysense.ca/taxes/making-smarter-asset-location-decisions
You have to download the file to be able to use it. Google Docs misses lot of the new Office 2010+ functions. Please make sure you use Office 2010 or later to open this file. Using Office 2007 or older would cause issue with formulas using specific functions.
* Check with your advisor to make sure it is right for your situation. I am not responsible for any loss that can happen by using this Workbook.
Young investor here – I have maxed out my TFSA, but I’m wondering if I should even bother contributing to my RRSP? As many are pointing out these days, it seems like a good bet that tax rates will be higher at my retirement, and that I may be better off taking the tax hit now.
@B: If you’re a long way from retirement, do you really want to bet about what tax rates will be decades in the future? Unless you’re in a very low tax bracket now an RRSP will likely offer you valuable some valuable tax deferral. There’s also an important behavioral benefit to keeping your long-term savings in an RRSP: you’re far less likely to dip into it before retirement.
Hi. I’m trying to move from mutual funds to some TD e-series and follow the couch potato portfolio approach. My main concern is how to distribute our monies within TDB900, TDB902, TDB911 and TDB909 and be tax efficient. So, which funds are recommended for our TFSA and which for our non-register account?
Thanks,
@Paola: In general, if you need to hold investments in non-registered accounts, Canadian equities are the best choice, followed by US equities, and then international equities. A bond fund like the TD Canadian Bond Index will be very tax-inefficient and is not a good choice in a non-registered account.
Hi there,
I recently tried using your asset allocations spreadsheet. The calculator placed TD e-series Canadian Equity and Bonds as well as the International Index in registered accounts but US Equity was split amongst the TFSA and my non-registered account. I was under the impression that order of preference for index funds in taxable accounts is Canadian equities first, then US equities, then International equities? My TFSA contribution room is 43000, RRSP is only 5300 and I am looking to invest 55000 into these accounts.
@Ross: In fact, RRSP and TFSA should be filed first in this order: Fixed income, Real Estate, Canadian Equity, Emerging markets Equity, International Equity, US Equity. Then any remaining money should be put in a taxable account. The order will be like this: US Equity (because you can recover a part of foreign taxes in some cases), International Equity (US foreign taxes could be recovered in some cases), Emerging markets Equity, Canadian Equity. Fixed income should be avoided in a taxable account. GIC should be your preference if you need fixed income in your taxable account. Real estate should not be part of a taxable account at all.
There is a way to optimize the distribution between RRSP and TSFA for tax efficiency. You better hold the maximum International and US Equity in RRSP as you can recover foreign taxes you could not recover in a TFSA account.
I am not an expert, but that is what I understood after lot of reading on this site.
@Sebastien: Why exactly should you place Canadian equity in a registered account before international and U.S. equity? Doesn’t that go against what was mentioned in the above article (i.e. Canadian equities deliver their returns from lightly taxed dividends and capital gains. So if you need to hold some of your investments in a taxable account, start with Canadian stocks.)?
@Ross: If you invest only in your taxable account, then sure you should invest in Canadian equity first , then US, then International. But if you want to optimize your tax efficiency between RRPS, TFSA and taxable accounts, you should start with non-taxable accounts then put the remaining money for each asset class in your taxable account. You just need to do a simple math to find out how to put in each asset in your taxable account: Money allowance for this asset – Money invested in RRSP – Money invested in TFSA
If you want to find out how your spreadsheet work, here is the link: http://www.moneysense.ca/taxes/making-smarter-asset-location-decisions
I made a much more advanced workbook that have all the useful informations I found on this site, MoneySense and some other websites. The hard part is to find out how to split Fixed incomes between RRSP and TFSA to be able to get the most tax efficiency in other assets. My workbook does that work for you! You need a desktop version of Office 2010 or later to use that file. If you try to use it with Google Docs/Drive, Microsoft Office Online or anything else than Microsoft Office 2010, 2011 for Mac or 2013, you’ll have many non-working formulas and functions. Microsoft release some new functions with each desktop versions and even their online version can’t handle all the functionalities. Here is the link, click on the download link when you see the preview: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B6x4qQK9cyjheDNXY29SeEtSS3M/view?usp=sharing
@Ross: I’m not sure which asset allocation spreadsheet you’re referring to. Are you sure it was one of mine, or was it Sebastien’s?
@Sebastien: RE: “If you invest only in your taxable account, then sure you should invest in Canadian equity first , then US, then International. But if you want to optimize your tax efficiency between RRSP, TFSA and taxable accounts, you should start with non-taxable accounts then put the remaining money for each asset class in your taxable account.” Like Ross, I don’t understand this distinction. If you are only investing in a taxable account then your asset location decision is made for you. If you have registered accounts also, then once you run out of room it’s usually best to put Canadian equities in the taxable account first.
Your spreadsheet is an interesting tool, but I think it’s important to acknowledge that asset location can’t be determined with an algorithm. A lot depends on the individual’s situation, such as where the investor is directing most of their savings and how that might be expected to evolve over time. Your choice of products also matters a lot. I appreciate that many people want to automate these decisions, but believe me, if this were possible then portfolio managers would have already created such a tool to make their lives easier.
@Ross: Sorry, I made a big mistake, the order of priority in my workbook (and the one from CCP) for RRSP and TSFA is Fixed Income, International Equity, US Equity then Canadian Equity. So you’re right, in the taxable account, you’ll put money in this order: Canadian Equity, US Equity, International Equity then Fixed Income. I worked on calculations some time ago and noticed my mistake after reading CCP’s reply.
@CCP: I acknowledge that we can’t find a perfect algorithm for everybody, but my workbook works well for self-investors that use one of your model portfolios or a mix of them. It’s better to have a tool like this when doing investment ourself than none at all. As always, It’s recommended to see with a financial planner or advisor to make sure the decisions are right.
I have recently rejigged my finances, and as a recent retiree, I have found it convenient to roll my RRSP into a RRIF which is conservatively invested (I won’t get into this distribution here) and will generate a regular income for the rest of my life that I can split with my wife for taxation purposes, and also qualify me for $2000 annually of pension income tax relief.
This spares me from requiring ongoing day to day income from my non-registered account (I have additional CPP and OAS income). My TFSA is maxed. I realise I am in a rather unique and fortunate position, but I thought I would share my thinking regarding allocation for those in a similar position, or as a thought experiment for those whose situation is similar enough that that might tweak it to their own purposes.
I have a taxable portfolio whose funds I don’t need for the foreseeable future. How best to invest? I decided that I could live with a 40/60 Bond/Equities ratio, with the equities split equally to Canadian, US and International. The only complicating issues are with taxation in a taxable portfolio, which admittedly should not be the driving force behind allocation decisions, but which must be considered in context.
I Initially had invested the bond portion in BXF, whose index held laddered 1-5 year Government strip bonds, to minimise my tax. It was reasonable but not perfect; so when HBB became available this year, after some observation to see how it would track, and to make sure I understood the pricing mechanism, I switched all my bond holding to HBB.
For the Canadian Equity portion I have left the majority in straight TSE index funds (a mixture of VCE and VCN,(the mixture being a result of tax loss harvesting). I have a small percentage in FXM which represents an attempt to diversify in the direction of splitting into some small cap-value. I am guilty here of deviating from the plain vanilla Couch Potato Plan, but my reasoning was that from a tax viewpoint, at least, the favourable dividend and capital gains effect was the same as the rest of the Canadian Equity.
For my US Equity, not wanting to have to deal with any foreign dividend income which would be taxed as full income, I bought HXS, which transforms any dividend income into share price increase by using a “total return swap.” The increased management fee was offset, I felt by the Canadian tax savings I would realise in the years to come, and the fact that no US dividends and thus no US withholding tax would be generated. I also had a small percentage invested directly in US dollars in a small cap value ETF VBR — I figured I could live with the small absolute amount of dividend that would be subjected to Canadian tax, and the US withholding tax would be credited by the CRA to me, I hope.
The remaining one third of Equity allocated to international markets I further split into 2 thirds ZEA and 1 third XEC. No fancy tax avoidance here — I will just pay full tax on any foreign dividend that I get.
The one remaining tweak that I have been considering for a while is whether or not to convert some or all of my Canadian equities to HXT. The cost is as low as with the current allocation, but all return now represented by dividend would be transformed into price appreciation. I am struggling with the math here, but currently it seems to me that the low tax I am currently paying on Canadian dividend is worth it compared to the capital gain tax I would otherwise pay, admittedly deferred for many years.
I should note that all these funds have been fully described and discussed in the Couch Potato pages over the years (except for VBR which has been mentioned as a component of the Uber-Tuber portfolio). I must warn all reading this that I consider myself a novice, and may not necessarily have exercised the best judgement in coming to these choices. My disclosure is meant to generate thought and discussion, not to be construed as advice. I accept any responsibility in advance for possibly misinterpreting or misunderstanding what might have been properly explained by the Canadian Couch Potato.
So, with the Uber Tuber portfolio, the first two stocks that should be in a non-registered account are PXC and XCS (Canadian equity and Canadian small cap)? Any others after that?
Thanks!
@gocanada: Yes, Canadian equities first. US equities would likely be next based on their lower yield compared with international equities. You may choose to hold fixed income in the taxable account, but if you do, bond ETFs are generally a poor choice.
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/03/06/why-gics-beat-bond-etfs-in-taxable-accounts/
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2014/11/19/ask-the-spud-bond-etfs-in-taxable-accounts/
@Canadian Couch Potato,
Thanks a lot for your answer. Very interesting. So at some point when the non-registered portfolio becomes substantially large, the registered accounts will end up just holding bonds? And then at some point, there won’t even be enough room in the registered accounts to hold enough bonds to maintain the desired allocation (ie. 40%)? I guess that will be the time to start looking at the bonds you wrote about that are designed for taxable accounts (https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2014/11/19/ask-the-spud-bond-etfs-in-taxable-accounts/).
@gocanada: Yes, asset location can evolve over time, with some asset classes starting out in registered accounts and then moving into taxable accounts contribution room gets filled up. When holding fixed income in a taxable account the key is to avoid premium bonds, i.e. those with coupons higher than the yield to maturity. The tax-friendly bond ETFs are one option; GICs are another.
I’m just starting to invest in ETFs. I have a question regarding maintaining target allocations. Since RRSP dollars are essentially pre-tax income, and everything else is post-tax income, does this mean that investments in RRSPs should be rebalanced differently (i.e., do investments in RRSPs count for less?)
So let’s assume this is my target allocation:
25% ETF A (RRSP)
25% ETF B (RRSP)
25% ETF C (TFSA)
25% ETF D (TFSA)
Let’s say I have $42k to invest. Does that mean the target amount of money I want invested in each should be example 1 or something like example 2 below?
Example 1: Target Value
25% ETF A (RRSP) $10,500
25% ETF B (RRSP) $10,500
25% ETF C (TFSA) $10,500
25% ETF D (TFSA) $10,500
Example 2: Target Value
25% ETF A (RRSP) $12,000 (assumption: this will get taxed ~30% upon withdrawal)
25% ETF B (RRSP) $12,000 (assumption: this will get taxed ~30% upon withdrawal)
25% ETF C (TFSA) $9,000
25% ETF D (TFSA) $9,000
@Sarah: This is a great question, and there is no doubt that RRSP and TFSA assets cannot be considered equal, since only the former will be taxed on withdrawal. Some people believe this future tax liability should be factored into the asset allocation strategy, as you’ve proposed. This website discusses the idea in great detail:
http://www.retailinvestor.org/rrsp.html#aa
If investors feel they should manage they should manage their portfolio this way, there’s nothing wrong with that. However, I don’t specifically recommend it for several reasons:
– Most importantly, if you have a financial plan, this issue is already addressed in a different (and more intuitive) way. With our clients, for example, we create detailed retirement income projections that factor in the tax on RRSP/RRIF withdrawals.
– It’s extremely complicated, and well beyond the ability of most DIY investors to manage.
– Asset location is likely to change over the years if you’re contributing different amounts to registered and non-registered accounts, making things even more complicated to manage.
– The math doesn’t correspond with human behaviour: if equities in your RRSP fall by $100,000, does anyone say, “That’s OK, 30% of that belonged to the government, so I only lost $70,000.”
@CCP
I’m trying to figure out the best location for ETF’s. I won’t be maxed out of TFSA or RRSP so plan to hold all for now in both. Do you think this looks ok:
40% Canadian equity – (VCN): TFSA? (because it has the more favourable tax treatments and RRSP treats all the same at withdrawal?)
10% Canadian Listed US stocks – (VFV): RRSP
10% International equity – (VDU): RRSP
30% Canadian Bond – (VAB): TFSA or RRSP? (Would an RRSP be better because of the low yield long term aspect?)
10% Canadian REIT – (VRE): TFSA
Thanks for your help!
@Mike: First off, if you haven’t maxed out either your TFSA or RRSP you should determine which one is best for your situation and put all of your assets there. In the broadest terms, if you’re in a low tax bracket, the TFSA is preferable, and if you’re a high-income earner the RRSP is better.
If you are using both, however, it is usually best to keep the low-growth assets (bonds) in the RRSP and the high-growth assets (equities) in the TFSA.
Hi Dan,
I have a couple questions about Emerging Market ETF’s. First, are they worth holding in a taxable account, if that is the only place you can put them, and you are/will be in the lowest tax bracket?
Second, can you comment on the differences between VWO, and EMCG. I ask about VWO (rather than VEE) because I have some USD cash in my account.
Thanks again, and again, for all your help,
Ros
@Ros: Nothing wrong with emerging markets in a taxable account. The dividends are fully taxable, but that’s true of US and developed markets, too. And if you’re in the lowest tax bracket it’s a pretty small tax bill.
I’m not familiar with ECMG. Do you mean iShares IEMG? If so, it’s very similar to VWO: they just track indexes from different providers.
Hey Dan,
I can’t believe how many times I have read this article…
From a tax perspective, it is better to have REITs in RRSPs and US equities in TFSAs or vice versa.
On a different note, do you know if your book guide to the perfect portfolio will be available in print edition again? and are you planning to issue an updated version?
Many thanks
@Karim: Since both TFSAs and RRSPs are tax sheltered it makes very little difference which one you choose for REITs or US equities. The only issue is that if you use a US-listed ETF for your US equities you would be exempt from withholding taxes in an RRSP. If you use a Canadian-listed ETF then it doesn’t matter whether you hold it in an RRSP or TFSA.
Unfortunately there are currently no plans to bring out a new edition of Perfect Portfolio.
Hi Dan,
Sorry – Got that wrong – it’s EMCG (Emerging Markets Consumer Growth)
Thx
@Ros: I prefer broad-based traditional index funds like VWO rather than ETFs that use embedded strategies.
Hi Dan,
I’ve just read up on “embedded strategies,” in order to understand your concerns, and it seems that there are a variety of potential, additional, risks involved with ETF’s of this type. Do you prefer not to use these products because it’s not possible to identify the particular risks involved in a given ETF of this sort, or is there some other reason. I know that you’ve probably covered this issue elsewhere, and if so, could you let me know where, or where else I can read up on this. Thanks again,
Ros
@Ros: The problem is not really additional risk. It has more to do with paying more for a benefit that may or not turn to be a benefit. These alternative strategies are not necessarily a bad thing, but for a a new DIY investor I just think they are big distraction:
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/07/15/does-smart-beta-really-beat-cap-weighting/
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/07/18/why-your-problem-is-not-your-funds/
Thanks Dan – I can’t believe how much help you provide for people like myself, who mostly haven’t a clue!!
…so very much appreciated
Ros
Hi Dan,
Just one more question about Emerging Markets. I am wondering why the returns for VEE are higher than those for VWO. Can you clarify?
Thanks
Ros
@Ros: VWO reports its returns in US dollars, while VEE reports in Canadian dollars. If you convert VWO’s returns to Canadian dollars the two funds would perform very similarly (though not exactly the same due to MERs and withholding taxes).
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2014/12/05/decoding-international-equity-etf-returns/
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/01/07/calculating-foreign-returns-in-canadian-dollars/
Thanks Dan
Mr. Couch Potato
I love your blog in general. Thanks.
Based on my own calculations, I believe that some of the advice given in this blog (Put Your Assets in Their Place) is possibly wrong in that it mostly only considers “Tax Rates” instead of “Tax Rates, Asset Class Returns, & Total Tax Dollars” [but I could be wrong, which is why I’m writing to you.]
For example, let’s look at the following situation:
PROBLEM
An investor with a 25 year timeline has $10,000 to invest in Canadian Equities (regular/low dividends) and $10,000 to invest in Canadian Fixed Income, but only has $10,000 of room left in RRSP/TFSA space. Should the investor put the $10,000 of Equities or $10,000 of Fixed Income in his non-registered account?
ASSUMPTIONS
– Annual Income of $150,000 in Ontario which makes the total combined marginal tax rate for interest 46.41%, the marginal tax rate for capital gains 23.2%, and the marginal tax rate for eligible dividends 29.52%. (Source: http://www.ey.com/CA/en/Services/Tax/Tax-Calculators-2014-Personal-Tax)
– Long-term average expected annual returns of 5% for Fixed Income and 8.0% for Large Cap Equity (5.5% Capital from Capital Growth and 2.5% from Eligible Dividends). (Source: http://www.blackrock.com/investing/literature/investor-education/asset-class-returns-one-pager-va-us.pdf)
– 25 year timeline for investments with no major income needed until after year 25 (Retirement savings).
– Interest and Dividend Tax will be paid annually whereas Capital Gains Tax will be paid at the end of 25 years.
– 4% Discount Rate for Net Present Value calculations
ASSESSMENT
If the $10,000 of Fixed Income is put in the non-registered account, then the investor will pay $8,113 of interest tax over 25 years, with a net present value of $4,805.
If the $10,000 of Equities is put in the non-registered account, then the investor will pay $13,288 in dividend and capital gains tax over 25 years, with a net present value of $5,778.
Thus, the investor is better off putting the $10,000 of Fixed Income into his non-registered account because he will pay less tax.
————————–
This conclusion obviously contradicts your blog’s advice [and that of a few other blogs I found] that the Canadian Equities should go into the non-registered account before the Fixed Income…
Am I missing something here or are my assumptions way off?
Thanks
Josh
@Josh: This is a subject that has long been open to debate. The short answer is that your assumptions are reasonable, but they are 100% certain to be wrong over the course of any real 25-year period. The same is true of any other set of assumptions. And therefore the optimal asset location strategy for any individual can only be known in hindsight. For any individual one would also have to know the difference between marginal tax rates when contributing to an RRSP and when withdrawing from it. One would also have know when deferred capital gains would be realized and whether any of these gains can be offset by tax-loss harvesting. None of this can be known in advance.
You may be interested in this white paper:
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2014/04/24/do-bonds-still-belong-in-an-rrsp/
See also the discussion in the comments section under this blog post:
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2014/11/19/ask-the-spud-bond-etfs-in-taxable-accounts/
Finally, while holding fixed income in non-registered accounts in this era of ultra-low interest rates is certainly reasonable, doing so with traditional bond ETFs is not a good idea:
https://canadiancouchpotato.com/2013/03/06/why-gics-beat-bond-etfs-in-taxable-accounts/
@Josh – I expect you’re probably right, especially given the very low interest rates these days. One nice thing is, if you start by putting equities in the tax-sheltered account and rising interest rates do end up changing the landscape, there is no tax consequence to swapping them. In fact, you might even get to use a capital loss from your bonds. (Moving in the opposite direction wouldn’t be so easy, as you would have to realize a capital gain on the equities.)
That said, one thing I’ve considered is that it may be preferable to optimize the worst-case result, rather than the expected result. Most likely the worst-case occurs when equities under-perform (since performance on the equities side is more volatile). It doesn’t take much lower performance on the equities side to switch the numbers back in the other direction.
hello
i have a TFSA and non registered account
no rrsp
i will buy
VSP -us hedged s and p
VCN- can market
VDY- can dividends
VDU- ex north america
which should be put in TFSA preferentially?
thanks!
@dan: In general it makes sense to use the TFSA for the foreign equities, particularly the fund or funds with the highest yield. The Canadian equities are likely to be more tax-efficient in the non-registered account.
Hello,
Does following the recommended asset location strategies here still apply if my investing time frame is 6-8 years with a plan to withdraw most funds to put towards a down payment (in general bonds in the tax free accounts and equities in the taxable accounts)? I.e. is it worth the tax savings on the bonds vs the capital gains that I may expect to have to pay taxes on when selling the equities/funds in the taxable accounts when ready to withdraw the money?
Thanks,
Jordan
Great post which made me re-think my allocation between RRSP, TFSA, and non-registered.
I am planning to do some rebalancing now. If I switch investments within my RRSP, what is my tax exposure? Will I need to pay capital gains if I switch investments? What about for a TFSA or non-registered account? Worried that if I do a big rebalance, I’ll get stuck with a hefty tax bill!
@John: You should avoid selling your investments in your non-registered account as you’ll get capital gain or loss to declare. That doesn’t apply to registered accounts.
Be careful when you sell any investment as there may be a fee if you sell it prior to a specific period. Check the fund’s informations to make sure you can avoid the fees.
Hi, I’ve read over the 2010 post a few times, not sure I still know how to allocate to maximize tax efficiency. How would you allocate, given the following?
RRSP $77,000 (maxed out) and every year I am only allowed to contribute about $1200 due to DB pension plan. Currently have a mishmash: ZEM, XIC, XSB, XBB, XRB, XSP, XGD
TFSA: $49,500 (maxed out): currently have XDV, GICs & cash
non-Reg: $54,000 (I’m adding $197,000). currently have ZEM, XIC, XSP, cash
My ultimate goal is 40% bond/GIC; 50% (Cdn/US & Int’l) equity; 10% REIT (following one of your old model portfolios)
No matter which way I slice the pie – given that RRSP & TFSA are maxed – still end up with non-optimal investments in the trading account. I am planning to sell some of the above in order to simplify the number of etf. Because I’m too much of a newbie in understanding the nuances of hedged vs non-hedged funds, I have been sticking with hedged.
I am planning to retire in 2 years. Any surplus cash will most likely go to max out TFSA.
Looking at the simple couch potato portfolio with Vanguard ETFs I need some help with “location”.
Your answer to Mike (feb 7) above is probably the most similar, except I hope to max out my TFSA and RRSP soon so I am planning what is best in non-registered.
Let’s assume you are using up all your TFSA and RSP and then NEED to locate some investments in unregistered. Also, assume tax rate is higher today than when withdrawing RSP.
This is what I have figured out. Please help if my logic is wrong.
VAB: Focus on this in your RSP, (Why? Because bonds have lower growth and future tax expected)
VXC: Focus on TFSA (Why? Because foreign equities are better in the TFSA)
VCN: First top-up either RSP or TFSA but only if you have ample room. Put overflow in unregistered. (Why? Can be good in either TFSA or RSP but, there is a Canadian dividend tax credit if unregistered, so it is best to focus on the above two first.)
What about some of the other Vanguard funds one may want to add to their portfolio?
https://www.vanguardcanada.ca/advisors/etfs/etfs.htm
VCE: Locate with the same philosophy as VCN?
VDY: Keep unregistered. (Why? Because there is a Canadian dividend tax credit)
VRE: I don’t know where this is best or how to prioritise it.
There are about 10 more but it gets complicated… If someone else has figured out where it is best to put all of these I would be interested in seeing your preferred “location”.
Thanks
@Kelly: There aren’t many hard and fast rules for asset allocation: a lot depends on your specific situation. But in general, Canadian equities are generally the most tax-efficient asset class, so they would likely by your first choice in a non-registered account, not your last. VCE and VCN are largely redundant: no need to hold both. REIT ETFs such as VRE are very tax-inefficient and should generally be held in a registered account or not at all.
Similar to Kelly, I plan to use VAB VCN and VXC across RRSP, TFSA, and unregistered accounts.
Is it basically VAB in RRSPs, VXC in RRSPs (to avoid US div withholding),and the fill rest of RRSP with VCN with overflow going into TFSA and then unregistered?
I am still unclear on the US div withholding taxes. If VXC is inside the RRSP can I just forget the withholding and be unaffected and “safe”? The “may be able to recover” outside of rrsp sounds like too much work/hassle if I can avoid it.
Also, I have never really though about what “short-term” meant since retirement is far away for me. Is 10 yrs too short to be thinking about a etf aggressive portfolio? This would be for the RESP account which is now itself past 50k, but my daughter graduates from high school in 10 yrs and it’s sitting in cash now.