This is technically a question specific to Canada but maybe it can be applied to other countries as well.
I have a fixed number of stocks in a regular investment account and in a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA). For non-Canadians the TFSA is like a personal investment account except there is no capital gains tax. Last year I maxed out my contributions to my TFSA but I wanted to save more money so I put some funds into a personal investment account. This year due to the economy I can’t save as much so I have extra contribution room in my TFSA. So my question is, should I just sell all my shares in my personal investment account, transfer the money to my TFSA account and buy the same stocks there? Are there any downsides to doing this?
Ok but this is pretty much a no brain decision right? Maybe it seems like this move is only positive and has no down sides.
The downsides are having to report Capital Gain, and losing the ability to report Capital Loss.
You just weigh those costs (tax owing for capital gain, or loss of tax credit for capital loss) to see if they are sufficiently offset by the expected returns.
I would personally just sell and move cash, that way I know what capital gain or loss to expect.
All things considered, I would too.