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Tax on transfer bonuses

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444 views 34 replies 9 participants last post by  saver777  
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.
 
I agree. Credit card issuers are bribing consumers all the time with bonuses to move accounts to them. Sometimes a straight up bonus, other times higher cashback for a limited period. I don't see how that is different from bribes from discount brokerages as an incentive to move accounts to them, or banks for moving savings/chequing accounts to them. ISTM this practice has been going on for decades and CRA, to my knowledge, has not said 'boo' to any of this.
The difference is the nature of the product. Credit cards are providing incentives to spend (therefore can be seen as a discount on the spending the customer does), whereas brokerages are offering you extra money to bring over your income-generating assets.