https://arrivein.com/finance/tax-free-savings-accounts-tfsa-for-newcomers-investing-in-canada/#:~:text=As%20a%20newcomer%2C%20your%20contribution,annual%20contribution%20room%20for%202024.
TFSA contribution room
There is a limit on the amount you can deposit in a TFSA each year. The TFSA annual room limit varies for each year. It’s indexed to inflation and rounded off to the nearest $500. For 2023, the annual contribution room limit (also known as the TFSA dollar limit) is $6,500.
Only funds that you deposit or transfer to your TFSA count as contributions. Investment income or earnings on funds already in your TFSA are not considered contributions and will not affect your contribution room.
You don’t necessarily have to use your entire contribution room each year. Your unused TFSA contribution room accumulates and can be carried over to the following year. For instance, if the annual limit is $6,500, and you contribute $4,000 during 2023, the unused contribution of $2,500 will be added to your contribution limit for 2024. So, if the limit set for 2024 is $6,500, your total available contribution room will be $9,000.
As a newcomer, your contribution room starts accruing the year you become a resident of Canada, even if you don’t open a TFSA in your first year. This means that if you became a PR of Canada in 2023, but only open a TFSA account in 2024, your contribution room will be $6,500 plus the annual contribution room for 2024.
https://www.morningstar.ca/ca/news/239166/this-activity-could-put-you-offside-of-tfsa-rules.aspx#:~:text=However%2C%20there%20are%20certain%20TFSA,pay%20taxes%20on%20your%20profits.
However, there are certain TFSA restrictions to prevent abuse and manipulation of the plan.
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For example, day trading in a TFSA is prohibited. A recent court ruling has sent a clear message to investors who use their TFSAs for frequent trading: You may have to pay taxes on your profits.
In this ruling, the Tax Court of Canada determined that an investor, whose TFSA had ballooned from $15,000 to over $617,000 in just three years, had been guilty of day trading within his plan.
Investors should know how to avoid prohibited day trading in their TFSA accounts and the consequences of failing to do so.
Notably, TFSA rules allow for a range of investments, including cash, GICs, bonds, stocks, ETFs, and mutual funds, among others.
What’s Considered Day-Trading in a TFSA?
Unfortunately, there is no specific test in the Income Tax Act on what constitutes day trading, as this is a fact-specific determination. “CRA generally considers day trading to occur when there is a high volume of trades, with a relatively brief period between buying and selling individual stocks, often within a single day,” explains Matt F. Trotta, vice president, of tax, retirement and estate planning, at CI Global Asset Management, in Calgary, Alberta
The CRA reviews multiple factors to determine if an investor is conducting business, including trade frequency, securities traded, investor skill, time spent trading, and intention to resell for profit.
“Since TFSAs are generally intended to be tax-free, the appearance of a taxable business within a TFSA presents an opportunity for increased tax revenue that CRA will continue to target,” says Trotta.