Serbinski Accounting Firms

Hi ethanpurdy, I just re-read your message. If you hold the fund for 10 years, you will not pay any US tax on unrealized gains with a QEF election. You might get phantom income with the QEF election because, there might be realize gains from the fund's own internal trading of securities, and these g...

Hi ethanpurdy, The QEF income from a Canadian ETF/mutual fund is all considered to be Canadian sourced, so you wouldn't claim, on your Canadian tax return, a foreign tax credit for taxes paid to the US. Even if you held "XUS", a Canadian domiciled ETF of US securities. The QEF "ordina...

Hi ethanpurdy, You're correct - the QEF election ensures that any realized long term capital gains resulting from trading assets within the fund (ie. by the fund manager) will be given the long term treatment by US tax principles. The dividends, interest, and any short term realized gains would come...

Hi There, Here are my two cents: 1. I can't guarantee there would be no penalties, but there really shouldn't be. Just amend your FBAR and if asked, just tell the truth that you didn't know that you had to report zero balance accounts. It's your decision, an accountant told me that he as seen more t...

$200 to fill out form 8965 - sounds like you got one of those "compliance condors" I keep hearing about on the Isaac Brock Society!

I think you're safer with taking exemption C. I've done that every year and I live in Canada.
OHIP should probably be consider more than adequate, but I think that since it isn't specifically qualified by the ACA, you might have trouble taking the position that you're covered.
Cheers!

You don't need to file a 3520A separately. Since you're already past the March 15th deadline - you could take the position that you are filing a 3520, and the 3520A is simply an attachment filled out to the best of your ability. I think it could be argued that the March 15th deadline only applies to...

Hi Mrsjack, Ah thanks! I don't understand your question though. What do you mean by doing a purge. Are you talking about election D (deemed sale for first year as a QEF?). Or are you going to sell all of your mutual funds so that you don't have to deal with form 8621 anymore... Either way, you never...

Hi nabstar, I have the same question. You'll have to report the May - July income on next year's return. The only 2 options I can think of are: 1. amend your 2016 return with the new basis adjustment, or 2. simply add an additional loss (or gain) on schedule D for the adjustment on your 2017 return....

Hello Xiaoice, (1) as long as you are sure it is a bank TFSA, then 3520/3520A shouldn't be necessary. Look in the documentation, does anything say "declaration of trust"? (2) The IRS doesn't recognize the income attribution rules that the CRA does. Since you are married, what matters is if...

Hi puzon,

It sounds like I might be missing something. I've reread the thread - so you are planning on using Jan 1-Dec 31 for the 3520A reporting. Just to make sure I understand - Is 2016 the first year you are making a QEF election?
When did you acquire the funds - was it before Oct 1, 2015?

Hi puzon23, This is a tricky one - the interaction with QEF statements and 3520s. If you look at the internal revenue code section 1293 - from a tax liability perspective, you are completely off the hook for declaring the "actual" distributions from a PFIC with a QEF election in place. Sim...

Hello, You can use the QEF statements - the tax year does not need to line up. You need to make your ordinary income and net gain calculations based on the units of the fund you owned during the fund's tax year. In your case, the fund's tax year is from Oct 1- sept 30. If you bought 100 units on Jan...

Thanks Mrs Jack - but that would be a lot of beer and chocolate :) The cost basis, is the amount you invested in that particular fund in USD. The QEF election makes things more complicated though. Since you don't have to report the actual distribution from the fund, this amount is subtracted from th...

Hi Tony, Officially, yes the account needs to be reported. On form 8938 (FATCA form) there is a box to check "account closed during the year". The $0.01 interest won't even register because of rounding. If you closed your TFSA and have in the past, been reporting it on 3520/3520A, then I w...