Canadian preferred shares also pay dividends that are taxed
as eligible dividends in the hands of Canadian investors.
As most investors know,
eligible dividends from Canadian companies are taxed at a much lower rate than interest and foreign dividends.
When it first began publishing the document for the 2012 tax year, the maximum amount of tax - free income
on eligible dividends was $ 47,888 in Ontario and eight other provinces.
Aitken works with accountants to enable senior clients to live on tax - free TFSA income, whatever pensions they may have, and up to $ 60,000 a year of non-registered
eligible dividend income.
Also note that the amounts in the BMO table reflect the actual amounts
of eligible dividends received, before applying the 1.38 «gross - up» factor.
Corporate Class Dividends paid on February 22, 2017Bridgehouse Corporate Class Inc.
paid eligible dividends for the Greystone Canadian Equity Income & Growth Class and Sionna Canadian Equity Private Pool to shareholders of record at the close of business on Tuesday February 21, 2017.
For those not in these special circumstances,
non-registered eligible dividend income will be taxed at the usual rate (combined federal / provincial): In Ontario, roughly 25 per cent or more for those making more than $ 90,000 a year, rising to a whopping combined rate of 39.34 per cent for those earning more than $ 220,000.
For higher - income Canadians, however, the difference in tax rates
between eligible dividends and capital gains is much less significant.
While eligible dividends from Canadian companies are tax - favoured (especially if you're in a low tax bracket), not all high - yield ETFs have that advantage.
From there, the combined tax rate on
eligible dividends steadily rises, reaching as high as 39.34 per cent for those making $ 220,000 or more in Ontario.
It's tax time again; remember that non-registered and non-TFSA savings interest and GICs are taxed as income,
whereas eligible dividends and capital gains receive some tax breaks.
In between that time the TFSA came out, and my new strategy was going to be to keep interest in a TFSA, interest and foreign dividends in my RRSP, and canadian
eligible dividends with shareowner.
All quarterly and special dividends are designated as
eligible dividends under the Income Tax Act (Canada) unless otherwise indicated.
Norm responds: Generally speaking, preferred shares issued by Canadian corporations that
pay eligible dividends are tax advantaged.
Plus, says Vancouver - based portfolio manager Adrian Mastracci of Lycos Asset Management, you'd have to amass roughly $ 1 million in a non-registered stock portfolio to generate $ 40,000 a year
in eligible dividend income (assuming 4 % yield), a figure that is then «grossed up» by 38 % in accordance with Ottawa's bizarrely complex tax rules.
The top tax bracket in Ontario (over $ 509,000) is 49.53 % in 2013; interest on bonds is taxed at that rate while
eligible dividend income is taxed at just 33.85 %.
Assuming the TFSA investor faces a 15 percent tax on
eligible dividends from Canadian corporations, she is on track to save approx.
An Ontario resident with $ 65,000 in taxable income would pay only about 10 % tax
on eligible dividends, compared with more than 30 % on interest income.
In 2012 the federal dividend tax credit was 15.1098 percent of the taxable amount
of eligible dividends and 13.3333 percent of the taxable amount of ineligible dividends.
Taxable dividends from Canadian resident corporations that are not designated
as eligible dividends are ineligible (or regular) dividends.
DIVIDENDS All dividends paid by the company are «
eligible dividends» for Canadian income tax purposes unless indicated otherwise.
CWB, for the purposes of the Income Tax Act, Canada and any similar provincial legislation, advises that its dividends declared in August 2016 will be
eligible dividends, unless indicated otherwise.
Caledonia advises shareholders that following the re-domicile of the company from Canada to Jersey, Channel Islands with effect from 19 March 2016, dividends paid after this date will no longer be designated «
Eligible Dividends» for Canadian income tax purposes.
This low - tax phenomenon happens through a combination of the Basic Personal Amounts (which in 2016 made the first $ 11,474 tax - free federally) and the 15.02 per cent federal dividend tax credit on eligible Canadian dividends: once you «gross up»
your eligible dividend income by 38 per cent (required when you file your annual taxes), the non-refundable dividend tax credit kicks in, reducing taxes owing.
According to a BMO Financial Group report from last May titled
Eligible Dividend Income, at least eight provinces or territories make it possible to receive $ 51,474 in «tax - free» eligible dividend income, again provided there are no other major sources of income, and notwithstanding any provincial health levies.
Waters agrees that for most people, it's somewhat unrealistic to have zero income other than dividends, although it can come up if children are the beneficiaries of a trust that flows out
eligible dividends, for example (being mindful of income attribution rules).
In Ontario, for example, with an income of $ 81,000,
eligible dividends are taxed at 19.9 %, while the rate on capital gains is actually a bit lower at 19.7 %.
You may have seen stories elsewhere about the fact citizens of a number of Canadian provinces, including Ontario and most of the western provinces, can earn up to $ 50,000 a year in
eligible dividend income and pay almost no tax.
Between $ 41,536 and $ 45,282 (in 2016, it will be $ 42,201 to $ 45,916 in 2017) the tax rate on
eligible dividends is minus 1.2 %, then rises to a modest 6.39 % between taxable income of $ 45,282 and $ 73,145 ($ 45,916 to $ 74,313 in 2017).
Your non-registered account holds $ 1,000 in Canadian equities that return 8 %, of which 3 % is from
eligible dividends and 5 % is a realized capital gain.
The introduction of
the eligible dividend regime has further added to the factors that must be considered in making this decision.
The eligible dividend regime also means that it's no longer a rule of thumb to bonus down to the small business limit.
In taxable accounts,
eligible dividends paid by Canadian stocks receive favourable tax treatment.
If you happen to be in the lowest tax bracket on retirement, under approx. 45,000 (depending on province), your tax on
eligible dividends will be NEGATIVE, as low as -11.89 in the Yukon.
To meet Morningstar's criteria for index membership, companies must have a Morningstar Economic Moat rating of narrow or wide and have a Morningstar Distance to Default score in the top 50 % of
eligible dividend - paying companies.
Note, however, that alternative minimum tax (see topic 157) may apply — in particular, on the receipt of
eligible dividends.