Edo

Unfortunately it looks like the two don't blend together very well!

So back in 2015 I transferred my QROPS from the UK and I declared it on my income tax return on the lines as my advisor suggested. I provided all the paperwork along with the 60j receipt as evidence to prove that it was a foreign pension transfer.

Following the income tax filing CRA decided to include the transfer amount as my income for 2015 and raised an audit enquiry asking me to provide the money trail (something that was already submitted to them). All the info was re-sent to them and they closed the audit enquiry. However, CRA concluded that the QROPS amount should be included into my RRSP room in Canada.

I contacted them numerous times and every agent that I spoke to gave a different opinion on how I should have filed this QROPS transfer on my tax return. I finally got through to the correct CRA department that deals with this stuff yesterday but the gentleman that I spoke to kept trying to convince me not to bother getting it fixed as "I will have to pay thousands of $s back to CRA from my previous years' tax refund if the foreign pension transfer amount is taken out of my RRSP room". He agreed that (a) the amount was a foreign pension transfer, and (b) it should not be treated as income. But I am assuming that since he didn’t know how to resolve this so he was insisting that I leave it alone.

I am going to request CRA for a formal review of their decision but I just wanted to ask our dear BEs who have done QROPS transfer to help me make sure that I get this right. The two simple things I want to achieve are:

• the CRA does not include my QROPS transfer in my income for 2015
• the QROPS does not take up any room in my Canadian RRSP

Any help would be greatly appreciated folks.

Edo

Lets see who wins the trophy for replying to this post first

Tigger1

I did a QROPS a few years ago, and I didn't include it in my income, nor does it count as RRSP room.

snoopdawg

Both Stinky and I transferred our NHS pensions via QROPS in 2014.
I use an accountant who I think is excellent and well worth the money she charges! The amounts were definitely not counted as income nor have they affected our RRSP allowances.
You say you used an advisor- were they an accountant? If not, it must be worth talking to a good one!

Edo

Yes the transfer was done through an advisor and he showed me how to file it on my taxes which I passed on to my accountant. So I am not sure where things went wrong. Or may be theres nothing wrong but CRA is just being difficult?

MarkG

I know when I did my transfer, the tax return was pretty easy: I just added the amount on one line and subtracted it on another. But it was a few years before you did yours.

dgagitw

I had no issues when I did my transfer. I added the transfer amount into total income then subtracted it later using a different box (it was a bit fiddly making the tax software do it right but I got there in the end). The only communication I had from the CRA was a call from an officer who wanted to confirm that it was a one off transfer and not part of a stream of payments. It sounds like you just got unlucky with the people you've dealt with at CRA.

Edo

Thanks guys.

So I have figured that its the T1 Processing Review Section of CRA in Winnipeg that my case was sent to and they are the ones who can get it fixed. I was able to find their contact no. which is 1 800 631 9010 which I have tried calling numerous times but I haven't been able to get through as the lines are always so busy.

Would someone happen to have an alternative no. for this particular department of CRA by any chance? I know its kind of a long shot asking this on here but I thought I would just give it a try.

Thanks

nivlad

I did mine transfer using ScotiaBank - easy peasy. Free, did take few months to get over

Edo

Thanks but my query was not about transferring QROPS; it was about reporting the QROPS to CRA once it has been transferred.

Edo

So after a few months of chasing I finally got a call from CRA to explain what they did. So according to them the QROPS amount that was transferred from the UK was included into my RRSPs, but at the same time was also deducted using Lines 208, 240, and 245 on my tax return/Schedule 7 therefore, it did not effect my available RRSP room.

They however did say that QROPS transferred into Canada count as income. Please can someone tell me if there is any truth in that cuz from what I read the tax treaty between the two countries does not class QROPS as income until it is withdrawn.

Thank you!

Tangram

Mine wasn`t. It was transferred from my old company scheme to the FA who placed it into my RRSP.

bats

Ours wasn't. The tax free lump sum was but not the part that went into RRSPs

MarkG

As I said above, mine ended up being listed as income, but with a matching deduction that eliminated any tax to pay on it.

Almost Canadian

This, as it should be.