Dear Expert:
Is there any such thing as a "once in a lifetime gift" whereby parents can give up to $10,000 to a child and no one would be taxed on that amount? In other words, a situation where an elderly parent would reduce the amount of money in GICs held within his or her RRIF by giving the money to the child before death.
Expert Answer:
In Canada (unlike the U.S.) we do NOT have "gift tax" and a parent can gift as much as she wants to an adult child with no tax implications or attribution of income. Naturally such a gift needs to properly consider the parent's estate plan, the income tax bracket of the parent and the child and any family law implications for assets placed in the child's hands.
If a parent withdraws $10,000 from her RRIF, she will first pay the tax on the withdrawal and then she can give the funds to the child. Beware that the withholding tax on the RRIF withdrawal will be $2,000 (20%) and the parent will owe the rest of the tax depending on her tax rate when she files her tax return. The issue here is if the parent takes $10,000 out of the RRIF and gives her son the $8,000 after tax, then the Mother will be faced with any additional tax (as much as $2,600 in Ontario) when her tax return is filed for the year.
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