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Tax on transfer bonuses

432 views 34 replies 9 participants last post by  saver777  
#1 ·
There's a lot of promotions going on where institutions are competing to get clients and offer a transfer bonus which can be 1% to 2% of the value of assets transfered. Some of these offers can get you up to $20k bonus from transferring $1M.

I've seen people debating whether this was taxable.

People were arguing that gifts are non-taxable (unless it came from the employer). But others pointed out 12(1)(x):

12 (1) There shall be included in computing the income of a taxpayer for a taxation year as income from a business or property such of the following amounts as are applicable

Inducement, reimbursement, etc.

(x) any particular amount (other than a prescribed amount) received by the taxpayer in the year, in the course of earning income from a business or property, from

(i) a person or partnership (in this paragraph referred to as the “payer”) who pays the particular amount

(A) in the course of earning income from a business or property,

(B) in order to achieve a benefit or advantage for the payer or for persons with whom the payer does not deal at arm’s length, or

(C) in circumstances where it is reasonable to conclude that the payer would not have paid the amount but for the receipt by the payer of amounts from a payer, government, municipality or public authority described in this subparagraph or in subparagraph (ii), or

(ii) a government, municipality or other public authority,

where the particular amount can reasonably be considered to have been received

(iii) as an inducement, whether as a grant, subsidy, forgivable loan, deduction from tax, allowance or any other form of inducement, or

(iv) as a refund, reimbursement, contribution or allowance or as assistance, whether as a grant, subsidy, forgivable loan, deduction from tax, allowance or any other form of assistance, in respect of

(A) an amount included in, or deducted as, the cost of property, or

(B) an outlay or expense,

to the extent that the particular amount

(v) was not otherwise included in computing the taxpayer’s income, or deducted in computing, for the purposes of this Act, any balance of undeducted outlays, expenses or other amounts, for the year or a preceding taxation year,

(v.1) is not an amount received by the taxpayer in respect of a restrictive covenant, as defined by subsection 56.4(1), that was included, under subsection 56.4(2), in computing the income of a person related to the taxpayer,

(vi) except as provided by subsection 127(11.1), 127(11.5) or 127(11.6), does not reduce, for the purpose of an assessment made or that may be made under this Act, the cost or capital cost of the property or the amount of the outlay or expense, as the case may be,

(vii) does not reduce, under subsection 12(2.2) or 13(7.4) or paragraph 53(2)(s), the cost or capital cost of the property or the amount of the outlay or expense, as the case may be,

(viii) may not reasonably be considered to be a payment made in respect of the acquisition by the payer or the public authority of an interest in the taxpayer, an interest in, or for civil law a right in, the taxpayer’s business or an interest in, or for civil law a real right in, the taxpayer’s property, and

(ix) was not received by the taxpayer as an excluded loan;

Wealthsimple has a disclaimer regarding this:

Tax Implications. There are tax implications to bonuses and rebates of this nature in most instances. Please consult with an accountant or tax professional for additional guidance. Wealthsimple will not be issuing clients a tax slip to report any Bonuses paid to a chequing account. Clients are solely responsible for any required tax reporting.
 
#6 ·
You found a legit tax loophole here. Getting a discount is not taxable in the same way as income is. Otherwise CRA would arguably be getting into territory of taxing you on the fair value of goods you purchase instead of the actual cash paid. So reducing your expenses will be great opportunity to effectively get tax free income.

But unless you can tie this specifically to a reduction in cost (that you are not already claiming i.e. trading commissions are already part of capital gain calculation) then this is not a reduction of expense. The banks leave this argument up to you to justify it but I haven't seen anything to convince me it is legitimately tax free.

Most of the arguments I have seen are regarding the lack of tax slip. CRA position on this is quite clear.


"You may not receive a T5 slip if the investment income is less than $50, but you must still report the income."

So most of the arguments I have seen are effectively advocating tax fraud arguing if there is no slip the CRA will never know or that the CRA has better things to do with their time than to chase these relatively small amounts. There may be some rational thought to this argument but legally, morally, ethically as far as I can tell it's taxable.
 
#7 ·
So I guess that people jumping yearly on these 1%-2% reward for transfers which can mean 5 figures in some case but not getting any T5 as I've never heard of an institution providing a T5 for these rewards are doing some tax fraud yet maybe the CRA as clear on that matter as in the US.
 
#8 ·
At least some brokerages 'book' this line item as a 'negative' administrative charge allowing them to pay that bonus in a registered account without affecting contribution room.

These bonuses in themselves also are not 'investments' for which there is an intention of earning an income or a profit as one would when buying an asset such as an ISA, GIC, stock or bond.

Neither cash back from credit cards nor winnings from a raffle or a lottery are taxable nor are points from a credit card or airline/hotel/auto rental reward programs
 
#11 ·
At least some brokerages 'book' this line item as a 'negative' administrative charge allowing them to pay that bonus in a registered account without affecting contribution room.
This is not relevant in the broader question. Income in registered accounts is either differed (RSP, RIF) or exempt (TFSA) rendering the payment in this respect a mute point.
 
#18 ·
I don't believe this is classified as 'income', it is more of a company specific sales reward. You don't get taxed on things like cash back on purchases from credit cards, Travel points , Shoppers Optimum or Diamond and other purchase rewards programs, fees waived for holding cash balances, no tax sales events , no interest for a year, BOGO free etc or other programs.
 
#19 ·
Getting a discount on shreddies at the grocery store does not imply you don't have to report income from a bank promotion.

I get how you can see it this way but in my opinion the logic is not related. The incentives you describe above are a discount on expenses.

The promotions from the bank are directly related to investing your money with them over a specific period of time (otherwise known as interest).
 
#30 ·
What about the car dealers that say we’ll give you $500 if you’re a member of the armed services or as a loyalty for previous owners of the brand. These amounts are received after pst/gst or hst tax is paid on the full sale amount. Maybe that 500 is taxable income? I have no idea and wouldn’t report the 500 as income. I have always wondered why the 500 is applied only after the prov/ fed sales tax has been applied?

Seems to me these inducements to transfer investment accounts is similar.
 
#32 ·
Bringing this back on the original question in post 1 from @MrBlackhill , repeated in quotes below;
” There's a lot of promotions going on where institutions are competing to get clients and offer a transfer bonus which can be 1% to 2% of the value of assets transfered. Some of these offers can get you up to $20k bonus from transferring $1M.

I've seen people debating whether this was taxable”

In my opinion if an FI gives an account owner $20K because they transferred and maintained a $1M balance that should be brought into income by the account holder.
 
#33 · (Edited)
Getting a discount on shreddies at the grocery store does not imply you don't have to report income from a bank promotion.

I get how you can see it this way but in my opinion the logic is not related. The incentives you describe above are a discount on expenses.

The promotions from the bank are directly related to investing your money with them over a specific period of time (otherwise known as interest).
I studied taxation ages ago. These sales inducement programs were not mentioned or in the ITA as far as I can recall. Mr. Blackhill listed a section of the ITA for inducements that relate to property or business income. Taxable benefits too were generally only from the employer so I dont think this is a taxable event. Someone can call the CRA to confirm.
 
#34 · (Edited)
I will likely have over $10k of transfer bonuses earned this year. Asked my tax accountant friends. The one who works at the CRA (CPA, CA trained at a Big 4 firm) says that she can’t see this as non taxable income, and that it’s just a matter of time they get to auditing these. Of course that was just conversation; no research was done.

So I tried digging myself.

Under another topic re how it will impact RRSP room when a bank (e.g., TD) pays the transfer bonus directly into RRSP account - Canada.ca states that since it’s considered a return on investment, it doesn’t impact RRSP room. But the fact that the CRA considers it a return on investment from that perspective leads me to believe that it’s also a return on investment for tax purposes.

Link: Income Tax Folio S3-F10-C3, Advantages – RRSPs, RESPs, RRIFs, RDSPs, FHSAs and TFSAs - Canada.ca

Excerpt:

Promotional incentives
3.12
It is common practice for financial institutions and other firms in the investment industry to offer fee waivers, preferential pricing, bonus interest, and other promotional incentives. Often these incentives require the customer to satisfy certain criteria such as maintaining a minimum investment balance, having a minimum number of products, opening a new account, or investing additional funds. Where a customer’s registered plan is taken into account in determining eligibility, the incentive could be viewed as conditional on the existence of the plan. However, most conventional incentives are accommodated by one or more of the exceptions described in ¶3.7(a), (d), or (e). Examples 2 to 6 demonstrate common situations that are covered by these exceptions. In addition to not being treated as an advantage, the payments described in Examples 4 and 6 do not constitute a premium, gift, or contribution to the plan (as they are considered a return on investment). This ensures that such payments will not affect contribution limits or the registered status of the plans. In contrast, if a controlling individual directs that a referral bonus be paid into their registered plan, the payment will be considered to be a contribution or premium to the plan. A referral bonus is paid as a consequence of the relationship between the existing investor and the new investor. When a registered plan is involved, it is actually the controlling individual who earns the referral bonus, not the plan itself.