TFSA Contribution Limits

The limit to contribute to a TFSA for the year 2009 is $5000. Most everyone already knows this.

But how much will the Tax Free Savings Account Contribution limit go up to for the year 2010?

The TFSA Contribution limit goes up by the CPI, or the amount of inflation in a given year, but in $500 increments only.

TFSAs and IRS Dividend Withholding Taxes

This is just a note that if I held a US-based fund/stock in my TFSA, such as a S&P 500 ETF or MSFT that trades in the USA, I, as a Canadian, would still pay IRS withholding taxes on any foreign dividends. This rate should be 15% and not 30%. So, I would lose about 15% of any dividend to the IRS that I wouldn't be able to claim against my Canadian income tax from that holding, since I'm not paying any taxes on that holding because it is in a TFSA. If this holding were in an RRSP, there is a tax treaty that would exclude this IRS withholding.

There is some weirdness with ADRs and non-US/non-Canadian holdings that I'm not even sure of and not going to bother with. If a US-based ETF holds these, I don't have any idea what might happen with withholdings. 

Canadian ETFs and their Management Fees: A Comparison Chart

As far as I know, there are no restrictions on Canadians buying US ETFs (just watch out for those currency exchanges, and differences in tax-treatment). And the US has been exploding in ETF Offerings, with over 100 launched just this year. Heck, you can even buy “Russian Ruble ETFs”.