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Limits of tax-free accounts – Metro US

Limits of tax-free accounts

Q. I am a resident and citizen of Canada. I have four grand­children who live in the U.S. Can I open Tax Free Saving Accounts for them and can it hold U.S. stocks? — Eleanor

A. To open a TFSA, you must be at least 18 years old, a resident of Canada and a have a valid social insurance number. Your grandchildren are out of luck.

Investment holdings mirror an RRSP and include foreign content holdings that contain many eligible U.S. stocks. However, unlike an RRSP, contributions are not tax deductible.

On Oct. 16, the federal government closed some ­TFSA loopholes, including asset transfers between registered or non-registered accounts to a TFSA without paying tax.