Questions tagged [canada]
For questions that relate to the financial laws, practices, and products of Canada.
1,394
questions
93
votes
12
answers
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Where can I park my rainy-day / emergency fund? Savings accounts don't generate much interest
Savings accounts don't seem to generate much interest. What other options do I have for my emergency fund?
- 1,135
68
votes
11
answers
39k
views
Rent cheque was stolen from landlord - am I obligated to pay again?
I live in Quebec, and my rent cheque was stolen from my landlord as they travelled to the bank to deposit it. They've asked me to stop payment on the cheque, and provide them with a new one. The ...
- 887
63
votes
2
answers
16k
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I won a car in a poker game. How is that taxed in Canada?
For the sake of title transfer and taxes, is this a gift or a sale?
This was a private game. We both tossed our keys into the pot. I won and the vehicle is now sitting on my driveway.
I live in ...
user47387
50
votes
11
answers
11k
views
Is it principled to tip less if a pricey restaurant doesn't accept Visa or Mastercard? [closed]
Last month, I spent $230 CAD at a restaurant.
Yesterday I spent $150 CAD at another restaurant. Both high-priced restaurants in Toronto accept just cash or debit, no credit. I'm using final prices, ...
user44213
48
votes
12
answers
12k
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How can sister protect herself from impulse purchases with a credit card?
My little sister is 18, and currently has a bank account with a debit card. She and mom believe it might be time to get her a credit card, mostly to build up her credit rating than out of necessity.
...
- 463
48
votes
6
answers
9k
views
How do tax brackets work? Do they yield significantly different results than a continuous curve?
In Canada (and many other countries), high-earners pay a greater percentage of their income in taxes than low-earners. Here is our Schedule 1 form:
The marginal utility of money decreases smoothly ...
- 479
42
votes
4
answers
42k
views
It is legal for a retailer/store or other business to refuse $50 & $100 bills or other legal tender, e.g. pennies?
I'm trying to find out about businesses refusing $50 & $100 bills. Aren't they required by law to accept all legal tender? I had one person say it could be that it's not all legal (i.e. a ...
- 421
41
votes
1
answer
7k
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Canadian citizen, TN worker, commute daily from Canada: am I a US person for tax purposes?
I only have citizenship of Canada.
I work for a US company on TN Status.
I commute daily from home in Canada to office in US and back.
I do not reside in the US.
I get a W2 and file taxes with the IRS ...
40
votes
14
answers
12k
views
Why would someone get a credit card with an annual fee?
I currently just have a Visa credit card. A place I shop at doesn't accept them. I'm looking at getting a second credit card such as Mastercard. I am surprised by how many highly recommended cards ...
- 1,109
38
votes
4
answers
16k
views
How do I lend money to a friend for a car and put the car as collateral?
A friend of mine wants to buy a car, but does not have the money for it.
Instead of him going to a bank and borrowing the money to buy the car, I was thinking of maybe taking some cash from my bank ...
- 405
37
votes
6
answers
9k
views
Ex-husband is trying to find out my banking info
My ex-husband keeps trying to find out my banking information. We have been divorced for 3 years but still involved in the family court system. Over the past years, he's
opened closed accounts,
...
- 387
37
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Should I pay more towards my mortgage?
I have worked for the past 5 years to get out of debt, pay my bills, and own a home. I'm glad to say that all my debts are paid off, my bills are paid every month, and my mortgage is cut by 10 years ...
- 951
32
votes
9
answers
12k
views
Can I buy a new house before selling my current house?
I am looking to sell and buy a house. But with the current market being as crazy as it is (houses are selling fast for sometimes 150,000 over asking), I'm afraid if we sell first, we could be stuck ...
- 631
32
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Why do most banks in Canada charge monthly fee?
I am not sure about other countries, but here in the UK we mostly don't need to pay a monthly fee. But I was a bit surprised to learn that most Canadian banks do charge monthly fees that some of them ...
- 439
30
votes
7
answers
13k
views
Someone stated that my uncle died in Canada and there is money for me [duplicate]
Someone contacted me and said that someone with a similar last name died and left me a large amount of money. He gave me information and forms from a bank, and other pertinent information.
I then ...
- 301
30
votes
1
answer
12k
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I am a Canadian resident who wants to gift my Adult US child CAD$175K. What are the tax implications?
I am a Canadian resident who wants to gift my adult US child $175K Canadian. What are the tax implications for the US resident who resides in California?
- 271
27
votes
7
answers
14k
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Why would a rational buyer offer to buy with no conditions precedent?
Assume that the Canadian Reddit commenter beneath is rational. I corrected typos.
As an investor, I have a tactic where I only buy houses via the
listing realtor, and do not use my own. Why?
...
user102055
26
votes
5
answers
10k
views
Why would a home insurer offer a discount based on credit score?
Recently I received a letter from my home insurance company:
Thank you for being a Gore Mutual customer.
We're working hard to ensure that our products are competitive. And we want to provide ...
- 1,704
26
votes
9
answers
10k
views
3.5% Interest Student Loan or use all of my savings on Tuition?
I've got one year of University left and luckily I've managed to stash around ~$18k in savings that my expenses never cut into. My tuition for my last year will probably be around $13k.
I hate the ...
- 363
26
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Estate with negative net worth
If someone dies with a negative net worth, what happens to the bills and debts that they leave behind? If I am the next of kin, or if I am the estate administrator, am I responsible for the debts?
...
- 14.1k
25
votes
8
answers
7k
views
Selling a House Upfront Or Collecting An Income Over Time?
Suppose that you have a house worth $500,000.00 that is gifted to you and this house is completely paid off. The people who want to purchase this house will need to go to the bank to get a loan so ...
- 399
23
votes
4
answers
7k
views
Buying a house. Seller wants cash now and move only next year, renting same house in meantime
A relative of mine found a fantastic house on the market (Canada), evaluated 750k. He knew there were 3 other buyers making offers and he was entering a bidding war. He made an 800k offer and was the ...
- 333
23
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Why is "cheque cashing" a legitimate business?
There are many places around here, often co-located with pawn shops or payday-loan places, where they offer to "cash cheques" immediately, with some very high fee.
How does this get any business? ...
- 493
23
votes
2
answers
75k
views
Canada: Girlfriend did not file tax return since 2006. What to do?
I was just starting my girlfriend's tax return when I realized I didn't have her notice of assessment from 2009. I wanted her tuition carry forward so I decided to call revenue Canada to see what the ...
- 231
21
votes
3
answers
11k
views
Will I get in trouble for sharing my bank account information with a sugar daddy? [duplicate]
A sugar daddy messaged me on Instagram. I was having a hard time so I responded, and he said he would send me money and didn’t expect anything in return.
He then he asked for my bank account info ...
- 235
20
votes
10
answers
7k
views
How to save money by shopping at a variety of grocery stores?
I am living close to a mall with several grocery stores. I would like to save money on the food I buy. I have tried using apps that show me the best prices, ads, and coupons from multiple stores, but ...
- 1,109
20
votes
2
answers
3k
views
Was my insurance technically cancelled?
A few weeks ago I received a cancellation notice effective two weeks from then for my home insurance because of a single occurrence of a lack of funds. I immediately paid the balance due and had the ...
- 2,179
19
votes
4
answers
6k
views
If I have given my bank details to someone by email what should I do now? [duplicate]
I have given someone my bank account details including my home address and phone number by email, supposedly so that money can be transferred into my account.
I am now quite sure this is a scam.
...
- 199
19
votes
4
answers
5k
views
How does holding onto an active but un-used credit card affect your ability to get a loan?
I was debating with my friend about my old credit card.
His view is that holding onto an unused credit card is bad for my credit b/c it will count as potential money I can borrow in an instant and ...
- 415
18
votes
2
answers
13k
views
If you're loaning yourself a mortgage, why must you pay interest? At the bank's posted rate?
I'm addled. You're withdrawing money from your own Registered Retirement Savings Plan(RRSP), and you must repay it. You're not using the approved lender's money at all!
So why must you pay interest ...
user40527
18
votes
6
answers
3k
views
What are the advantages of paying off a mortgage quickly?
What are the advantages of paying off the mortgage quickly??
Sure, not paying interest and truly owning your house is great, but then the money is tied in a fixed asset, and if you want to get at ...
- 191
17
votes
3
answers
44k
views
If I were to buy something a day before my due date for my credit card bill, would I be charged interest?
First of all, I am a resident of Canada.
I am new to credit cards, so I hope my question makes sense. I've had my card for a few months ago and I've always paid the balance in full by the time the ...
- 179
17
votes
3
answers
2k
views
Regular contribution threshold for ETF vs Index Mutual Fund?
I've seen enough info out there comparing lump-sum investments into ETFs vs mutual funds with respect to broker commissions in the case of ETFs, and the discrepancy between MERs between the two. In ...
- 2,253
16
votes
9
answers
13k
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I unknowingly went $1200 over my credit card limit, how do I fix it?
I got a RBC Visa in Canada which I continued to use trusting that I could never go over my limit (except maybe $100 over as stated by a teller to me when I asked why was I able to go $1200 over).
So ...
- 361
16
votes
4
answers
11k
views
Minimize taxes now that I earn more
Background
I recently received a hefty promotion for $350k (plus stocks and bonuses) with the same company. Now that I can finally start to pay down my debt, I'm not so happy that suddenly 45% of my ...
- 201
16
votes
6
answers
5k
views
While transitioning to a new (online) bank is it OK to have my money split between two banks?
I used to keep all my money with one bank. I recently opened an account with another bank and have slowly been transitioning towards them. I have multiple jobs and sources of income. Now when someone ...
- 221
16
votes
4
answers
3k
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I guess I'm American (by birth). I'm Canadian... my investment company is asking an impossible question. I don't have an SSN, what to do? Lie?
When I was born (1976) they did not automatically assign SSNs to kids (according to my mother). I guess that's not the case now. I only lived there for a few years and I gather I am a US citizen by ...
- 446
16
votes
1
answer
5k
views
What does a mortgage percentage rate really mean?
I'm wondering if I could get a detailed explanation on exactly what a mortgage rate really means. For example, if you have a $250,000 mortgage, with a 25 year amortization, at 2.95%, with a 5 year ...
- 271
16
votes
3
answers
695
views
Aside from having to re-establish credit & credit history, what are downsides to declaring personal bankruptcy?
If someone were to file for (personal) bankruptcy protection from their creditors, is their entire debt wiped clean? And then they have seven years to wait before their credit history no longer ...
- 271
16
votes
1
answer
3k
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I'm being asked for installment tax payments, but I just started as a salaried employee. What should I do?
For the last decade I've been a freelancer. I had a balance owing two years ago, so last year (2014) I had to pay by installments.
However, on January 1st, 2015, I started as a salaried employee at ...
- 161
16
votes
3
answers
4k
views
Why would a restaurant offer a very large cash discount?
I understand that in many cases, merchants would put surcharges on credit card purchases, or offer cash discounts, in order to pay for transaction fees charged by Visa, etc.
However, a restaurant I ...
- 493
16
votes
3
answers
5k
views
Why are wire transfers and other financial services in Canada so much more expensive than in Europe?
Why are wire transfers in Canada so expensive compared to Europe? The simple answer I've seen is because bankers are crooks, but I find that this oversimplifies the situation — I don't believe ...
- 2,676
15
votes
5
answers
5k
views
Why would my tenant want me, landlord, to buy his leasehold interest in my own property? [closed]
My lessee asked if I'm interested in buying his leasehold interest. He wants to sell his lease to the landlord, me. He's renting my detached house in Toronto until Jun 1 2024. He pays $9 000/month. I'...
user44213
15
votes
6
answers
2k
views
What's a good personal finance management web app that I can use in Canada? [closed]
I'm looking for an intuitive free to use personal finance management web application. There's a whole bunch of them out there and the few that seems modern are:
www.buxfer.com
www.wesabe.com
www....
15
votes
3
answers
23k
views
Is there something on a check (cheque) that determines what currency it is?
We're a US company. We got a check from a Canadian company and usually the check will say "USD" on it. Otherwise when we deposit it, the check will clear as CAD.
This check has no indicators on it....
- 8,643
15
votes
2
answers
13k
views
Should a married couple co-sign a mortgage or not?
If one partner can qualify for the mortgage that the couple needs based on his/her income and credit history alone, is there value in co-signing the mortgage apart from the 'in it together' mentality? ...
- 2,253
14
votes
4
answers
4k
views
Working on a tax free island to make money?
I recently came across a website that was touting the benefits of working in cayman islands. Work for a financial firm, earn well, scuba dive...and..............pay NO taxes.
Now, if the people are ...
- 15.7k
14
votes
4
answers
2k
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Explanations on credit cards in Canada
I recently moved from France to Canada, and am a bit lost regarding the way credit cards work in North America. Let me explain my understing to give some context to my question:
In France, one has ...
- 243
13
votes
3
answers
4k
views
First time home hunters. Pay debt or save for down payment
tl;dr
We want to buy a house.
We've done all the pro's and con's of home ownership.
We have 1/2 a down payment and some highish loan payments
Would it be wiser to pay down the loans and go with a ...
- 285
13
votes
5
answers
10k
views
I'm currently unemployed and have been offered a contract position. Do I need to incorporate myself? How do I do it?
I'm sure there are tax implications, and other things to consider. I don't know where to start.
- 8,653