transfer from e-series TFSA to e-series RRSP

Before I asked that question, I actually should have asked this one:

Does it matter if I switch the US equity fund out to the RRSP? From what I'm now reading online, TD pays the withholding tax BEFORE distributions, so it appears as though it won't matter and I'll still be paying the withholding tax regardless of where the fund is held.

Can anyone confirm?

The TD efunds are Canadian-domiciled funds, so there are no withholdings on their distributions to Cdn residents, regardless of where you hold the units ... regarding the amounts withheld from the fund by its US-domiciled holdings , you’ll be out of luck ... you can’t avoid those withholdings in an RRSP ... those amounts are lost to you forever in both TFSA and RRSP.

Even if you still wanted to, I don’t know if you can make a direct transfer from a TFSA to an RRSP ... have you verified that this is possible?

One option, for future reference ... once your portfolio grows beyond a certain size, it may be beneficial to switch to a US-domiciled ETF in the RRSP ... you would avoid the withholdings that way, but there are transaction and currency exchange costs that you'd need to factor in, to determine how much of a holding you'd need, before it'd be worth doing.

cardhu said:

Even if you still wanted to, I don’t know if you can make a direct transfer from a TFSA to an RRSP ... have you verified that this is possible?

Click to expand...

I believe you can swap assets from one account (TFSA) into another (RRSP) as long as the value of the assets is the same. I haven't personally done this but I have done a swap between a RRSP account and cash in a taxable account.

CanadianCapitalist said:

I believe you can swap assets from one account (TFSA) into another (RRSP) as long as the value of the assets is the same.

Click to expand...

If the value's the same you can just sell the one you don't want and buy the one you do in each account -- once you've waited the 90 days there's no transaction fees for eseries.

Realizing this is a very old thread, it's still relevant and I have information to add.

I called TD Waterhouse (TDW) yesterday and asked exactly the same question about moving funds between accounts.

I was told by the TDW rep their e-Series funds could be "journaled" between accounts by phone request.
This would not trigger a sale and could be done within the 90-day penalty period without incurring a penalty.

CJOttawa said:

I was told by the TDW rep their e-Series funds could be "journaled" between accounts by phone request.
This would not trigger a sale and could be done within the 90-day penalty period without incurring a penalty.

Click to expand...

I would be really surprised if you are still able to swap funds with registered accounts (TFSAs and RRSPs). You are still able to contribute in-kind to a RRSP or TFSA but swaps are disallowed for a while now.

CanadianCapitalist said:

I would be really surprised if you are still able to swap funds with registered accounts (TFSAs and RRSPs). You are still able to contribute in-kind to a RRSP or TFSA but swaps are disallowed for a while now.

Click to expand...

Thinking back, I was specifically asking about moving funds from an unregistered account to the TFSA, not the RRSP.