Search found 313 matches

by MGeorge
Tue Apr 16, 2019 11:00 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Penalty for Form 3520 for TFSA
Replies: 13
Views: 9983

Re: Penalty for Form 3520 for TFSA

Hi aed11, I'm very sorry to hear about what is happening to you. I too have received letter after letter about my 3520/3520A filings and I'm getting so sick of it. I agree with CdnAmerican - just get a hold of someone at the IRS office and see if you can get the penalties fully wiped out. The legal ...
by MGeorge
Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:10 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Reporting PFIC income when not required to file Form 8621
Replies: 8
Views: 7613

Re: Reporting PFIC income when not required to file Form 8621

By the way, if one doesn't file form 8621, and the annual dividends are consistent enough not to trigger an "excess distribution", then the fund is sold for a loss, then form 8621 never needs to be filed for that specific fund. This happened to me once.
by MGeorge
Mon Mar 11, 2019 4:09 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Reporting PFIC income when not required to file Form 8621
Replies: 8
Views: 7613

Re: Reporting PFIC income when not required to file Form 8621

I agree with nelsona- one still needs to do the calculation so avoiding the form doesn't save much. If one takes advantage of the exemption from filing form 8621, then the default tax treatment applies. Dividends are reported as ordinary dividends (not qualified). Unrealized gains do not need to be ...
by MGeorge
Mon Mar 11, 2019 3:42 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: PFIC with a loss
Replies: 14
Views: 11527

Re: PFIC with a loss

Did you have a mark-to-market election in effect when you reported the $1,350 gain? If so, then you can report the $850 as a mark-to-market loss reported on line 20 (or 21?) "other income". It would just be a negative number on that line. If the loss was from a sale with no mark-to-market ...
by MGeorge
Tue Feb 19, 2019 1:49 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: How to report Canadian Maternity Benefits
Replies: 7
Views: 3297

Re: How to report Canadian Maternity Benefits

My understanding is that these types of benefits fall under the category of "unemployment compensation" line 19.
by MGeorge
Fri Feb 15, 2019 12:08 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: 3520-A Penalty
Replies: 23
Views: 18246

Re: 3520-A Penalty

Hello Caninus, One position you can take is that the instructions on the due date for filing a substitute 3520A attached to a 3520 are confusing. The trustee is responsible for filing 3520A by March 15 in order to relieve you of the obligation of completing a substitute 3520A and attaching it to the...
by MGeorge
Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:42 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Taking stab at 3520, -A for TFSA
Replies: 157
Views: 209036

Re: Taking stab at 3520, -A for TFSA

Hello, I've been wondering about this as well. I want to stop reporting my RESP and TFSA based on the arguments presented by Max Reed, but I don't know how to tell the IRS why I'm stopping. And, I'm worried that this could imply that I should have been reporting them elsewhere. Disregarded entity?, ...
by MGeorge
Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:30 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: PFIC with loss, doesn't matter?
Replies: 1
Views: 1857

Re: PFIC with loss, doesn't matter?

Yes - don't declare the loss on the 8621 - it won't go on your tax return from form 8621.
However, losses in a PFIC under any election can be reported on Schedule D on your 1040.
by MGeorge
Wed Apr 18, 2018 12:59 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: QEF Net Gains - Do I need Schedule D ?
Replies: 3
Views: 2605

I use TaxACT and found that it didn't automatically add the capital gain part to schedule D. I had to add my own entry on schedule D (long term) called "gain from form 8621"
by MGeorge
Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:49 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Software suggestions for 1040, form 2555 & possible 1116
Replies: 18
Views: 12236

My 2 cents. I think TaxACT is the best option for US citizens in Canada. It supports form 8621 (now up to 20 copies) and it allows efiling with a NRA spouse with no ITIN number. However, the recent price hike to $64 has made me reconsider. Next year, I'm going to manually fill the IRS forms from the...
by MGeorge
Thu Mar 29, 2018 7:43 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: PFIC excess distribution triggered when vested?
Replies: 3
Views: 2260

Hi Lori, The withdrawal in 2016 would not have made the reinvested dividends to be deemed paid. From all prior years, it sounds like you reported the dividends correctly. The withdrawal in 2016 may have resulted in "gain treated as an excess distribution" Did you have a capital gain - in U...
by MGeorge
Thu Nov 30, 2017 12:15 pm
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Which type of Canadian investments would not be PFIC?
Replies: 6
Views: 6318

Hi speer, To my knowledge Canadian mutual funds, ETF are PFICs. REIT are very likely PFICs, but I've noticed that Vanguard Canada's REIT ETF "VRE" takes the position that the underlying REITs are not PFICs (VRE is thought). A holding company is likely not a PFIC, provided that the underlyi...
by MGeorge
Wed May 31, 2017 11:00 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Preparation of 8621 for PFIC & Other QEF Questions
Replies: 12
Views: 7520

The income from a PFIC would be considered purely Canadian sourced for US tax purposes, and for Canadian purposes, the source of any dividends would be determined by the fund and reported on T3. None of the US taxes arising from QEF income could be creditable on the Canadian return. On the US return...
by MGeorge
Wed May 31, 2017 8:52 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Preparation of 8621 for PFIC & Other QEF Questions
Replies: 12
Views: 7520

Hi nelsona, That's a good question - in the cases that I've seen, the QEF income inclusion has been higher than the actual distributions from the fund - but it could go both ways. The QEFs I've had to deal with have been mostly index ETFs and mutual funds with very low fund turnover. I imagine activ...
by MGeorge
Wed May 24, 2017 8:06 am
Forum: Canada / United States Tax & Accounting
Topic: Preparation of 8621 for PFIC & Other QEF Questions
Replies: 12
Views: 7520

Hi ethanpurdy, Based on your example below, I think you are pretty close to having this correct. Check the RBC PFIC statements though, I think they use July 1 to June 30 as their reporting period. As you purchased the fund in late Jan, you would only have to report for the 148 days during the PFIC's...