Tax Treatment of Mutual Funds for Individuals

RC4169(E) Rev. 11

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Table of contents

• What is a mutual fund?
• How is income from mutual funds taxed?
• How do you report income from information slips?
• How do you calculate and report capital gains when you redeem units or shares?
• How do you calculate capital gains and capital losses?
  • How do you calculate your ACB?
  • How to calculate the proceeds of disposition?
• How do you use a capital loss?
• Can you claim a capital gains deduction?
  • Reporting instructions for T3 slips and T5 slips
• What if you need help
• Forms and publications
• Your opinion counts!

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This information sheet contains general information on the tax treatment of income received from Canadian mutual funds. It will help you understand what a mutual fund is, how to report income, and how to report the sale of mutual fund units or shares. We have included an example to show how to report these activities.

Note
This information sheet does not apply to certain investments in mutual fund trusts that are acquired through a securities option agreement, or mutual fund investments that are held in tax-deferred plans. For more information, see guides T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement, and RC4092, Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs).

What is a mutual fund?

A mutual fund is an arrangement under which shares or units are sold to raise capital. Investors purchase units if the mutual fund is a trust or purchase shares if the fund is a corporation. When you invest in a mutual fund, your money is pooled with the money of other investors and invested on your behalf by the fund manager.

Mutual fund trusts and corporations are also known as flow-through entities. For tax purposes, a flow-through entity treats the taxable income earned inside the entity as if you held the investments directly, instead of through the fund. The income that is distributed, or flowed out to you, keeps its identity. For example, dividend income remains dividend income, and capital gains remain capital gains when they are flowed out (or distributed) to investors.

How is income from mutual funds taxed?

In most situations, income from mutual funds is taxed in two ways:

• While you own the shares or units, you are taxed on the distributions that are flowed out to you. If you own units of a mutual fund trust, the trust will give you a T3 slip, Statement of Trust Income Allocations and Designations. If you own shares of a mutual fund corporation, the corporation will give you a T5 slip, Statement of Investment Income. This income can be capital gains, capital gains dividends, dividends, foreign income, interest, other income, return of capital, or a combination of these amounts.
• When you redeem (or cash in) the units or shares, you are taxed on the capital gain, if any. This is because your mutual fund investment is considered capital property for tax purposes. You will receive a T5008 slip, Statement of Securities Transactions, or an account statement from the mutual fund.

How do you report income from information slips?

The back of the information slip explains where to report the income shown in each box and it refers you to the appropriate section of the General Income Tax and Benefit Guide when necessary. See Reporting instructions for T3 slips and T5 slips for instructions on how to report the most common types of income.

If you choose to reinvest any distributions by buying more units or shares, you may not actually receive the income shown on your information slips. However, you must still report on your income tax and benefit return the amounts shown on your slips. This is because we consider you to have received these amounts before reinvesting them.

How do you calculate and report capital gains when you redeem units or shares?

When you redeem your mutual fund units or shares, you may have a capital gain or a capital loss. Generally, 50% (1/2) of your capital gain or capital loss becomes the taxable capital gain or allowable capital loss.

Use lines 131 and 132 of Schedule 3, Capital Gains (or Losses), to calculate and report all your capital gains and capital losses from your mutual fund units and shares. List the information for each mutual fund separately. Multiple redemptions from the same fund in the same year should be grouped together.

To calculate your capital gain or your capital loss, you need to know the following three amounts:

• the proceeds of disposition, which is the amount you received or will receive for your units or shares;
• the adjusted cost base (ACB), which is the cost of your units or shares, plus any expenses you incurred to acquire them, such as commissions and legal fees; and
• the outlays and expenses you incurred when selling your units or shares, such as redemption fees and commissions.

How do you calculate capital gains and capital losses?

To calculate your capital gain or capital loss, subtract the total of your property's ACB, and any outlays and expenses you incurred to sell it, from the proceeds of disposition.

How do you calculate your ACB?

Mutual fund units or shares are identical properties because each property in the group is the same as all the others. You may buy and sell several identical properties at different prices over a period of time. This occurs, for example, when you immediately reinvest your distributions in the mutual fund.

To calculate your capital gain from the units or shares you redeem, you first have to calculate your ACB. To calculate the ACB of the units or shares redeemed, multiply the average cost per unit of all units or shares held immediately before the redemption by the number of units or shares redeemed (see Chart 1).

The average cost per unit or share of your total investment increases or decreases when you purchase new units or shares, or reinvest your distributions, depending on the price when the transaction occurred. Every time you purchase additional units or shares, or reinvest your distributions, you should recalculate the average cost per unit or share. Do this for each of your mutual funds.

If you receive a T3 slip with an amount in box 42 - Amount resulting in cost base adjustment, the ACB of that mutual fund trust identified on the slip will change. If box 42 contains a negative amount, add this amount to the ACB of the units of the trust. If box 42 contains a positive amount, subtract this amount from the ACB of the units of the trust. See the example.

If the ACB of the trust units is reduced below zero during the tax year, the negative amount is deemed to be a capital gain in the year. Enter the amount of the capital gain on line 132 of your Schedule 3. Place a zero on line 131 since there is no actual sale of units. The new ACB of the trust units is deemed to be zero.

For example, Richard purchased RST Mutual Fund Trust units for $1,000 in 2005 and received a $200 return of capital in each of the 2006 to 2010 tax years. Because of these returns of capital, totalling $1,000, the ACB of the shares is zero by the end of 2010. In 2011, he received an additional $200 return of capital for the units. Since the ACB of these units is already zero, he must include this $200 in the calculation of his capital gains and losses for 2011.

How to calculate the proceeds of disposition?

The second step for determining your capital gain is to calculate the proceeds of disposition. Do this by multiplying the number of redeemed units or shares by the redemption price. Report the capital gain (or loss) on lines 131 and 132 of Schedule 3.

You should also report capital gains from information slips on Schedule 3. Capital gains from a T3 slip are reported at line 176 while capital gains from all other information slips (for example, a T5 slip) are reported at line 174.

How do you use a capital loss?

If you have a capital loss, you can use it to reduce any capital gains you had in the year. If your allowable capital loss is more than your taxable capital gain, you may have a net capital loss. You cannot use this loss to reduce other income. However, you can use a net capital loss to reduce taxable capital gains in any of the three previous years, or in any future year. For more details on capital losses, read Chapter 5 of guide T4037, Capital Gains.

Can you claim a capital gains deduction?

You cannot claim a capital gains deduction for capital gains from mutual funds. However, if you filed Form T664 or T664 (Seniors), Election to Report a Capital Gain on Property Owned at the End of February 22, 1994, for any of your units or shares, the unused balance of your exempt capital gains balance (ECGB) that expired after 2004 can be added to the ACB of your units and shares. For more information, go to our our Capital Gains page, or see guide T4037, Capital Gains.

Reporting instructions for T3 slips and T5 slips

Capital gains
Capital gains	T3 slip	Box 21	Subtract any amount in box 30 from the amount in box 21. Include the difference on line 176 of Schedule 3. All or part of this amount may be foreign non-business income, which will be footnoted. Include this type of footnoted amount on line 433 of Form T2209, Federal Foreign Tax Credits.
Capital gains dividends	T5 slip	Box 18	Include this amount on line 174 of Schedule 3.
Dividends
Taxable amount of dividends	T3 slip	Box 32 Box 50	Include these amounts in part I of Schedule 4 or on line 120 of your income tax and benefit return if you do not have a Schedule 4. See note 1.
	T5 slip	Box 11 Box 25
Federal dividend tax credit	T3 slip	Box 39 Box 51	Include these amounts on line 425 of Schedule 1. See note 2.
	T5 slip	Box 12 Box 26
Actual amount of dividends	T3 slip	Box 23 Box 49	Do not report these amounts.
	T5 slip	Box 10 Box 24
Interest income
Interest from Canadian sources	T5 slip	Box 13	Include these amounts in part II of Schedule 4 or on line 121 of your income tax return if you do not have a Schedule 4. See note 1.
Other income from Canadian sources	T5 slip	Box 14
Foreign income
Foreign non-business income	T3 slip	Box 25	Include these amounts in part II of Schedule 4 and on line 433 of Form T2209, Federal Foreign Tax Credits.
Foreign income	T5 slip	Box 15
Foreign non-business income tax paid	T3 slip	Box 34	Include these amounts on line 431 of Form T2209, Federal Foreign Tax Credits. See note 2 below.
Foreign tax paid	T5 slip	Box 16
Notes If you received a T1 Special or T1S-A income tax package in the mail, you will not have a Schedule 4 to complete. Enter your dividend or interest income as instructed above. If you qualify for the federal dividend tax credit or federal foreign tax credit, you may also qualify for similar provincial or territorial credits. For more information, read the Forms Book included in your tax package.

What if you need help?

If you need help after reading this publication, go to Capital gains, or call 1-800-959-8281.

If we cannot resolve your enquiry by telephone, you can meet with an agent in person at a tax services office. Call us at the number listed above to make an appointment with an agent.

Forms and publications

To get our forms or publications, including the ones mentioned below, go to Forms and publications or call 1-800-959-2221.

Form T2209, Federal Foreign Tax Credits.

Guide T4037, Capital Gains

Guide T4040, RRSPs and Other Registered Plans for Retirement

Information Sheet RC4092, Registered Education Savings Plans (RESPs).

Your opinion counts

If you have any comments or suggestions that could help us improve our publications, we would like to hear from you. Please send your comments to:

Taxpayer Services Directorate
Canada Revenue Agency
750 Heron Road
Ottawa ON   K1A 0L5