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How can I get my RRSP money OUT of my RRSP  - without paying the taxes on it!!!!!!!!!  

A longtime client of mine phoned me one day and asked me if I would send him $20,000 out of his RRSP. I tried to convince him to get the money somewhere else, but he said the RRSP was the easiest. So I sold $20,000 worth of his RRSP investments and sent him a cheque for $16,000, and then sent a cheque to Revenue Canada for $4000, on his behalf. A few days later he called me and said, "what are you doing, I asked for $20,000, and you only sent me $16,000. Where's the other $4000?". I explained to him that every time you take money out of your RRSP, the government requires that the institution holding the RRSP account deduct withholding tax "AT THE SOURCE". The client of course knew this, he'd just never had it happen to him, and needless to say he was ticked off !. 
The following April same client was filling out his tax return, (he's in the 40% marginal tax bracket), and since I had only deducted 20% on the RRSP money at the source, he owed another 20% in taxes on that same $20,000, (another $4000). Now he was really steamed. 
Two motto's here:
1) Don't touch your RRSP until you've stopped working and have no other sources of income in that year.
2) Once your RRSP is big enough, do a RRIF LEVERAGE!!!!!. 

What's a RRIF LEVERAGE? 

True Story: 

  Mr. Q MAY 1, 1993 - APRIL 30, 1998 

Mr. Q. makes approximately $85,000 per year.  He has $22,000 in a self directed RRSP.  He also has a company pension plan, with eighteen years in, so he knows now that no matter when he takes that RRSP money out, he's going to lose half of it to taxes. 
Mr. Q. also doesn't want the Canadian government telling him how much and when he "HAS TO" take out this money from his RRSP, and thus pay the taxes. 

On May 1st 1993, with some coaching from his financial advisor, Mr. Q. rolled $20,000 from his RRSP into a RRIF, and borrowed $50,000 from the bank and invested it in four foreign growth mutual funds: 
Mr. Q secured the loan with the share certificates as collateral. The loan has a floating rate of prime plus one-half. He chose to pay only the interest, prime at the time was 6.25%, the monthly payments were $291.67. 

Mr. Q. withdrew $292 per month from the $20,000 that he rolled into his RRIF, to make the monthly loan payment. Thus nothing comes out of his pocket each month, it's all set up to happen automatically. 

Each year when Mr. Q. prepares his taxes, he gets a T4 RSP slip for $3504, ($292 x 12 monthly withdrawals), for the money he's taken out of his RRIF. He also gets an investment loan interest slip from the bank for $3500. Thus, the interest, (which is tax deductible) knocks off the taxes on the RRIF entirely, on his tax return. 
 

Results - April 30, 1998 

Value of NON-Registered funds 
Total  $104,731 

Mr. Q pays off the $50,000 investment loan, and is left with $54,731 outside his RRSP. 
Inside the RRIF he has $11,718. 
Mr. Q has essentially TRANSPLANTED, $50,000 from inside his RRSP, to outside where there's no withholding taxes. 


Borrowing to invest is not suitable for everyone. You should be fully aware of the risks and benefits associated with using borrowed money to invest since losses as well as gains may be magnified.

 
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