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Posted Fri, 17 Nov 2023 11:58:50 GMT by David Orr
Hello, I am a Canadian resident who lives and pays tax in the UK. I do not have tax residency in Canada but do maintain a Tax Free Savings Account (TFSA), similar to an ISA, in Canada. I recently withdrew some money from this TFSA and transferred it to my bank account in the UK. Some capital gains from interest were realised. However, as it is from an ISA equivalent account, I am unclear if any tax is due to HMRC. Specifically, under the terms of Article 22(1) of the Canada/UK double taxation treaty it states the following - "The nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which nationals of that other State in the same circumstances are or may be subjected." In 2021, an HMRC Community Forums post (since deleted, but here for reference: https://community.hmrc.gov.uk/forums/customerforums/sa/14f98ac8-5a3d-ea11-8454-00155d3bd04f) stated, "In this case, as long as you are a national of Canada, you will not be taxed on the interest in your Canadian ISA account in the UK, as long as it remains non-taxable in Canada." Please can you confirm if this tax-free capital gains from Canada is taxable in the UK? Kind regards
Posted Wed, 22 Nov 2023 07:18:27 GMT by HMRC Admin 25
Hi David Orr,
Aricle 11 of the UK Canada double taxation treaty, has no guidance or condition to show that this type of savings account would be exempt from UK tax.
There is no relief in the UK on any interest/gains arising in the account.
These will need to be declared accordingly.
CONVENTION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND AND THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND CAPITAL GAINS
Thank you. 

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