28 June 1989 Ministerial Correspondence 58264 F - Transfer of U.S. Social Insurance Benefits to RRSPs

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

June 28, 1979

Dear Sirs:

Re:  Transfer of U.S. Social Insurance Benefits to Registered Retirement Savings Plans (RRSPs) Our letter No. 5-6698 dated October 21, 1988

In the above noted letter we advised that all or any portion of any U.S. Social Insurance Benefits received by an individual 65 years of age or over could be transferred to an RRSP but that since only 1/2 of such payments would be taxable in Canada in accordance with the Canada-U.S. Income Tax Convention (the "Convention") the amount deductible under paragraph 60(j) of the Income Tax Act (the "Act") would be limited to the lesser of the amount of the transfer and the amount subject to taxation.

Upon further consideration, we have concluded that the full amount of the Benefits must be brought into income under the provisions of subparagraph 56(1)(a)(i) of the Act but an offsetting deduction for 1/2 of the amount would be allowed under subparagraph 110(1)(f)(i) of the Act for the amount not taxable under the Convention.  Accordingly, a deduction under paragraph 60(j) of the Act would be allowable for the lesser of the amount included in income and the amount transferred to the RRSP.

We trust these comments will be of assistance to you and apologize for any inconvenience that our previous letter may have caused.

Yours truly,

for Director Financial Industries DivisionRulings Directorate