231 – Carrying charges and interest expenses
If you are deducting carrying charges and interest expenses incurred to earn investment income, you may be required to adjust your investment expenses. See the instructions for line 260 and complete Schedule N.
Carrying charges
The expenses you can deduct include:
- investment management or administration fees, except fees paid with respect to a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), a pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) (including a voluntary retirement savings plan [VRSP]), a registered retirement income fund (RRIF) (including a life income fund [LIF]), a tax-free savings account (TFSA) or a first home savings account (FHSA);
- amounts paid for the safekeeping of your shares and securities;
- fees, other than commissions, paid to certain investment counsellors, except fees paid with respect to an RRSP, a PRPP/VRSP, a RRIF, a TFSA or an FHSA; and
- the amount shown in box L-4 of your RL-1 slip.
Interest expenses
You can deduct the interest paid on loans you took out in order to earn investment income if the loans were used to acquire, for example:
- bonds, including interest paid through payroll deductions to acquire them;
- shares, up to the time the shares were transferred to an RRSP, a TFSA or an FHSA;
- preferred shares in a cooperative authorized to issue securities that qualify for the Cooperative Investment Plan (CIP), up to the time the shares were transferred to an RRSP, a TFSA or an FHSA;
- an interest in a partnership of which you were a specified member;
- mutual fund units, up to the time the units were transferred to an RRSP, a TFSA or an FHSA.
Subject to certain rules, you can also deduct all or part of the interest paid, after the disposition (sale, transfer, exchange, gift, etc.) of investments, on loans you took out in order to acquire the investments. To determine the deduction you can claim, contact us.
Life insurance policy loan
You can deduct the interest you paid on a loan taken out on a life insurance policy in order to acquire an investment from which you derived income. Have your insurer complete form TP-163.1-V, Interest Paid on a Loan Taken Out on a Life Insurance Policy. Enclose the form with your return.
Non-deductible expenses
The following expenses are not deductible:
- the rental charge for a safety deposit box;
- commissions paid to a broker on the acquisition or disposition of shares or mutual fund units (commissions paid on the acquisition of securities are included in the cost of the securities, whereas commissions paid on the disposition of securities must be reported as expenses in Schedule G);
- interest paid on loans taken out in order to make contributions to a registered pension plan (RPP), a deferred profit-sharing plan (DPSP), a registered retirement savings plan (RRSP), a pooled registered pension plan (PRPP) (including a voluntary retirement savings plan [VRSP]), a registered education savings plan (RESP), a registered disability savings plan (RDSP), a tax-free savings account (TFSA) or a first home savings account (FHSA);
- interest paid on loans taken out in order to acquire Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins shares, shares in the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ), or shares in Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l'emploi;
- interest paid on loans taken out in order to acquire property that was transferred to an RPP, an RRSP, an RDSP, a TFSA or an FHSA (the interest is non-deductible as of the date of the transfer);
- interest paid on loans taken out in order to repay amounts withdrawn from an RRSP under the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP) or the Lifelong Learning Plan (LLP);
- management and administration fees, as well as fees paid to investment counsellors, if the fees were paid with respect to an RRSP, a PRPP/VRSP, a RRIF, a TFSA or an FHSA;
- administration fees incurred in respect of Capital régional et coopératif Desjardins shares, shares in the Fonds de solidarité des travailleurs du Québec (FTQ) or shares in Fondaction, le Fonds de développement de la Confédération des syndicats nationaux pour la coopération et l'emploi; and
- the cost of acquiring specialized publications and journals.
You cannot deduct trailing commissions or the management expense ratio (MER) for your mutual funds because they are taken directly out of the funds' net performance.