How to Get Your Income Tax Slips (T5s, RRSP slips) for Your ING Direct Accounts

On January 14 I decided to see if my T5s were available yet for my ING Direct (now Tangerine) bank accounts. They were so I printed them out and added them to my ever-growing pile of tax information for my 2013 return. Along the way, I learned how Tangerine.ca handles joint accounts: it’s not the way the CRA wants you to do it. I was also misinformed by Tangerine about how they would report the interest on our joint USD account. And one of my children got a T5 but another one didn’t. No wonder tax time is confusing! Here’s how to get your income tax slips for your Tangerine ING Direct  Accounts.

Finding Your Tangerine Income Tax Receipts Including T5 s and RRSP Contribution Slips

  1. Go to tangerine.ca
  2. Click on the tab: I’m a Client, let me in!
  3. Log in to your account.
  4. From the list of links down the left side of the screen, click on My Documents.
  5. Click on Tax Receipts.
  6. In the Choose a Year: field, from the drop-down list select the year you’re interested in. Receipts for the past 7 years will be provided if you have banked with Tangerine for that long. If your 2013 forms are ready, it will be the first choice.
  7. A list of your Tax Receipts will be displayed. Examples of available tax receipts may include under the heading Savings Tax Receipts “T5 – Interest earned”
    • my full name as a link.
    • my child’s name and my name as a link.

    Under the heading RSP – RRSP contributions (First 60 Days)

    • my full name as a link
    • Spousal – followed by both spouse’s names

    Under the heading RRSP contributions (Balance of Year)

    • my full name as a link.
    • Spousal – followed by both spouse’s names

    (Unfortunately, I don’t have any Streetwise Funds so I don’t know how they display the tax forms for people who invest in those in a non-RRSP, non-TFSA account.)

  8. To see a tax form, I click on the appropriate link. For example, I click on Mrs. Bet Crooks to see my T5.
  9. The system will ask if you wish to open the form with Adobe Acrobat or whether you want to save the file.
    1. Click to select the radio button beside Open with Adobe Reader.
    2. Click on the OK button.
  10. Use the icons on the document to print or save the file. (You may need to use the File, Save command to save the file depending on your version of Adobe Reader.)
  11. When you are finished, close the document.
  12. Click on Log Me Out to leave the ING Direct Tangerine website.
    For increased security, clear your browser cache and close your browser session.

What’s on my T5 from Tangerine?

You may have more than one Investment Savings Account at ING Direct Tangerine, especially if you like to save money in separate accounts for vacations, home renos and a new vehicle. ING Direct Tangerine will add up the interest from each of those accounts and include it as a single number on your T5. If you participated in the TFSA Kickstart program, you may have been paid interest into your non-TFSA account (usually your chequing or savings account). This interest may also be included on your T5. You can double check the value if you want by adding up the amounts of interest you earned from each account. To do that, click on

  1. Click on the name of a specific savings account.
  2. Click on the Account Info button
  3. UPDATE 2016 02 13: If you hover your cursor over the question mark symbol after the Current Interest Rate: XX% ? In the box of information at the start of the account, it will state the Interest, Previous Year ($):
  4. Make a note of the amount.
  5. Repeat for each account.
  6. If you participated in the TFSA Kickstart program, you may have to check your Transaction History for your accounts to find where the interest was paid. That amount will not show on the Interest Earned in the Previous Year summary. You’ll have to find it and add it to your notes.
  7. Add up the total and see if it matches your T5.

Mine almost did. It did not include the interest earned by my joint USD savings account.

Why Is There No Slip for my Tangerine US Dollar Account?

ING Direct (Tangerine) did not advise me on the T5 as to which bank accounts’ interest was being reported on the slip. By adding up the information for my various accounts, I discovered they had reported all of the interest I earned on my Canadian dollar accounts, but not the interest I earned on my USD account. I wasn’t sure if they didn’t report the USD interest because

  • the amount was less than the equivalent of $50 CAD
  • the account was a joint account, or
  • the account was in USD and they need me to calculate the amount in CAD-equivalent before reporting it on my taxes

So I phoned Tangerine to ask. I was told that because the account is a joint account, and because my husband is listed as the “primary account holder” that the interest has been included in his tax receipts. I was also told that the amount will have been converted into CAD.

I asked my husband to print his tax receipts so that I could check whether this information is correct.

It’s not.

The USD interest is not reported on his T5 either. I think it may be because

  • the $$ amount is too small; or
  • the amount is USD not CAD

Taxpayers can choose how to convert USD earnings, using the actual exchange rate on the day of each payment or using an annual average exchange rate set for this purpose by the Bank of Canada. That may be why it hasn’t been converted and included. (NOTE: Banks must issue a T5 if you make over $50 CAD in interest on an investment. They don’t have to if you make less. You do legally have to report the interest to the CRA, though, if even it’s just 50 cents.)

Declaring Interest from Joint Accounts to the CRA

One thing to remember is that the CRA expects you to report the interest on joint accounts properly. The amount is supposed to be split and reported by each person holding funds in the account “in the ratio that they contributed the funds to the account.” So if my mother and I held a joint account but all of the money in the account came from her, she would have to report 100% of the interest. If I had contributed one-quarter of the money to the account, she would report 75% of the interest and I would report 25%.

Why Is There Only a T5 for One of my Children?

ING Direct Tangerine will only issue a T5 if the interest earned by the account is at least $50. So if one of your children earns, say $50.01 in interest and the other earns only $49.99 you will only get a T5 for one of the children. NOTE: Legally in almost all cases because of income attribution you must claim the interest for both children on your taxes filed with the CRA whether you get a T5 or not!

Why am I Being Issued a T5 for My Child’s Bank Interest?

In almost all cases, due to attribution rules, parents must pay taxes on interest earned by children under 18.

My Conclusions

Always check whether you received more interest than was reported on your T5s. Check for

  • a child’s account earning less than $50
  • a small account earning less than $50
  • a US dollar account

Always split the interest earned on a joint account according to the CRA rules, not according to the T5.

Related Reading

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Did you find anything quirky when printing your tax receipts for your ING Direct Tangerine accounts? Please share your experiences with a comment.

 

I’m Not Sure What to Do with My RRSP Money—What Should I Do Till I Decide?

Well it’s January and “RRSP Season” is officially open. Banks will be angling for your business and offering all sorts of promises of high returns and low risks as tantalizing bait. You may be afraid they may hook and land you like a spring migration Sucker. If you’re not sure what to do with your RRSP money but you want to get it in by the end of February, what should you do?

Keep Your RRSP Funds Flexible and Accessible

Check Transfer Fees for RRSP Funds

What you don’t want to do is get rushed into a bad decision by an arbitrary deadline set by the government’s tax department.

Before investing anywhere, ask

  • can you can move your money in the future and
  • how much would a transfer cost

Many banks charge $25-150 to move your RRSP money to another financial institution. A very select few charge nothing.

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine has started charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

Choose RRSP Investments That Don’t Lock in Your Money for the Long Term

Until you have time to make a strategy and plan your investment, you shouldn’t sign or buy anything that locks you in for a long term.

Beware of

  • regular GICs
    Most Guaranteed Investment Certificates can NOT be cashed before they mature. Only buy redeemable GICs or short-term GICS (6 months to 1 year) if you are still researching your long-term RRSP investment plan.
  • back-end-load mutual funds
    Some mutual funds charge a large fee if you sell them or transfer out of them within the first 5-10 years that you own units in the fund. These fees may be called Deferred Service Charges, DSC fees, or Deferred Sales Charges, etc. Only buy no-load funds while you are researching your plan.
  • cyclical stocks
    Some types of businesses are prone to boom–and-bust cycles. For example, the Canadian petroleum-producing companies often see their stock prices vary in a wavy pattern depending on the swings of the world price for oil. Be very wary investing in any shares or stocks if you are planning to only stay invested for a short time but be especially cautious with cyclical industries.

What Investments Are Good for a RRSP for a Very Short Term Investment?

If you’re committed to doing some research and making a plan for investing your RRSP money, you may need to park your contribution temporarily until you’re ready to start implementing your plan.

What can you invest in for a very short term?

  • A high interest RRSP savings account
  • A short-term GIC
  • A short-term redeemable GIC
  • A money market mutual fund
  • A money market ETF

None of these investments will give you a great rate of return. You are sacrificing yield to increase the safety and accessibility of your principal.

It’s important to remember that you can lose money in a money market fund. Personally, I would recommend the savings accounts or cashable GICs but not the money markets.

Don’t leave your money parked for too long! None of these investments will pay enough interest right now to keep up with the cost of inflation. They make reasonable spots to shelter your investment in the short term but they are not meant for long term use.

The Drawbacks of Transferring a RRSP Contribution to Another Financial Institution

You may have to pay a fee to transfer out your contribution.

It may take 4-8 weeks to move your money from one institution to another. And during that transit time, your money may be earning no interest, distributions, dividends or capital gains whatsoever.

Where’s the Best Place to Invest my RRSP Money in the Short Term?

I don’t know because I’m not you.

Here are some places to consider, though:

Tangerine, formerly called ING Direct
One place to consider is Tangerine.ca ING Direct.

UPDATE: Please be aware that as of January 2015, Tangerine plans to start charging a fee if you transfer your RRSP or TFSA from Tangerine to another bank, credit union, brokerage or financial institution.

From June 1 till July 31, 2014, you can earn 2.50% (That’s the annual rate!) on cash deposited in a RRSP Investment Savings Account at Tangerine ING Direct that increases your total in all savings type accounts at Tangerine above your balance on April 7, 2014. It has to be “new” RRSP money, not just a transfer from another Tangerine ING Direct RRSP product.

It’s important to understand that you are NOT earning 2.5% on your investment for only investing for 3 months. For example, if you contribute $1 000 to your RRSP on January 1, you will not get paid $25 on May 1; You would get a bit less than 1 /4 of that amount, or about $6.

After July 31, the rate will drop down like a rock, probably to the previous rate of 1.35% or less per year. So you will want to keep working on your investment plan and shift the money once you know where you want to keep it for the long term.

There are no fees or service charges nor is there any fee to transfer your RRSP money out of your Tangerine ING Direct ISA to another financial institution at the time this article was written in January 2014. (Always phone and check for changes to fees and transfer fees BEFORE making an investment! Things can change for the worse.)

I will no longer recommend Tangerine because it will charge a transfer fee.

Peoples Trust
Peoples Trust does have free transfers of RRSP funds to other institutions. (Although you should confirm this again before investing.) It only offers GICs, however. There is a 1-year-term non-redeemable GIC available with a minimum investment of $1 000. If you know you won’t be ready to invest the money elsewhere for a year, it is a possible choice to consider.

Home Trust
Home Trust also appears to have free transfers of RRSP funds. (Again, confirm before investing in case this has changed.) It offers 1-year-term non-redeemable GICs and also 90-364 day short-term investments. The minimum investment is $1 000 for a GIC and $2 500 for a shorter term investment.

PC Financial
PC Financial does not offer free transfers of your RRSP funds to other financial institutions. I won’t recommend them for that reason.

Other Institutions
I’m sure there are other places, especially credit unions or trust companies, that can offer similar benefits. If you use one, please share some information about it with a comment.

Where Do I Park My RRSP Contribution?

UPDATE: I no longer will use Tangerine as previously described because they now charge a transfer fee. I usually do drop our RRSP investment in to Tangerine ING Direct in January, and then move it by transferring it to one of our other planned investment choices. It’s worked very well for me in the past, especially since we can make the contribution online with a couple of mouse clicks, and can print off our official RRSP contribution tax receipts very easily. (No waiting for the mail!)

 

Related Reading

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Do you already have a RRSP investment strategy or are you still researching your options? Do you ever park your new RRSP money temporarily until you can use it effectively? If so, where? Please share your views with a comment.

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