Bringing Foreign Savings To Canada

[XtremeRules]

Hi Forum Members,
I got my PR in May 2010, but after 3 months of our initial landing had to leave Canada to take care of my dad back home in Dubai, I did not have any significant residential ties i.e. bank accounts, license, health card etc so am assuming after reading the various forums that I am not taxable during the years 2011-2013 - I have now moved back to Canada in Sept'14, opened up bank accounts, applied for driving license etc. - My questions are:
1- I have savings of over 20 years amounting to around 400,000 CAD - What sort of tax implications if any would this attract ?
2- What is the best way to transfer this amount ? Wire transfer to bank ?
3- When & how do I declare this amount in my first tax returns of Jan 2014-Dec 2014 ?
4- Also do I need to include my world income for the period Jan-Aug 2014, during my tax returns for period of Jan 2014-Dec 2014 - I am still looking for jobs in Canada ?
Appreciate all responses and feed-backs, Thank you.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1- I have savings of over 20 years amounting to around 400,000 CAD - What sort of tax implications if any would this attract ?
2- What is the best way to transfer this amount ? Wire transfer to bank ?
3- When & how do I declare this amount in my first tax returns of Jan 2014-Dec 2014 ?
4- Also do I need to include my world income for the period Jan-Aug 2014, during my tax returns for period of Jan 2014-Dec 2014 - I am still looking for jobs in Canada ?

1. There are no tax implications. Money earned prior to becoming resident in Canada is not back-taxed.

2. Wire transfer or online transfer is probably the easiest. From what I've seen in transferring my money between many countries, online transfer companies tend to give better rates than the banks.

3. Savings do not need to be declared on your tax return.

4. No, you do not include your world income earned before you became resident in Canada. http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/newcomers/

 

[Suin]

2. Wire transfer or online transfer is probably the easiest. From what I've seen in transferring my money between many countries, online transfer companies tend to give better rates than the banks.

Thank you for your reply. Could you please give me more info on online transfer companies.

 

[Amadan123]

RBC - http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/commercial/cashmanagement/_assets-custom/pdf/WP-FS-EN.pdf ; http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/deposits/wire-payments.html ;


Scotiabank - http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,2815,00.html ;


Sincerely,
Madan CA
www.madanca.com

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you for your reply. Could you please give me more info on online transfer companies.

OzForex is a good one; they are the parent company that also operates CanadianForex, UKForex and a few others. I used several of them, depending on the countries I was in. You will need to see if they transfer out of Dubai

XE.com also does forex transfers online, though I've never used them myself.

Try googling it, I'm sure you'll get a lot more results and maybe some that are more specific to Dubai.

 

[Suin]

OzForex is a good one; they are the parent company that also operates CanadianForex, UKForex and a few others. I used several of them, depending on the countries I was in. You will need to see if they transfer out of Dubai

XE.com also does forex transfers online, though I've never used them myself.

Try googling it, I'm sure you'll get a lot more results and maybe some that are more specific to Dubai.

Thank you for your reply. In our case we are planning to bring the money from Europe.

 

[Suin]

RBC - http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/commercial/cashmanagement/_assets-custom/pdf/WP-FS-EN.pdf ; http://www.rbcroyalbank.com/products/deposits/wire-payments.html ;


Scotiabank - http://www.scotiabank.com/ca/en/0,,2815,00.html ;


Sincerely,
Madan CA
www.madanca.com

Thank you for your reply.

According to the RBC - Incoming wire payment from another financial institution located anywhere worldwide: - Fee - Over $50 Cdn/U.S.: $15 Cdn or $15 U.S. depending on the currency of the incoming wire payment

Is it one time fee of $50 for any amount of money over $50 sent to Canada?

Is there a limit for transaction?