Line 221 - Carrying charges and interest expenses

Line 221 - Carrying charges and interest expenses

Claim the following carrying charges and interest you paid to earn income from investments:

• fees to manage or take care of your investments (other than any fees you paid for services in connection with your pooled registered pension plan, registered retirement income fund, registered retirement savings plan, specified pension plan, and your tax-free savings account)

• fees for certain investment advice (see Interpretation Bulletin IT-238, Fees Paid to Investment Counsel) or for recording investment income

• fees to have someone complete your return but only if you have income from a business or property, if accounting is a usual part of the operations of your business or property, and if you did not use the amounts claimed to reduce the business or property income you reported. See Interpretation Bulletin IT-99, Legal and Accounting Fees

• most interest you pay on money you borrow for investment purposes but generally only if you use it to try to earn investment income, including interest and dividends. However, if the only earnings your investment can produce are capital gains, you cannot claim the interest you paid

• legal fees you incurred relating to support payments that your current or former spouse or common-law partner, or the natural parent of your child, will have to pay to you.

  Note
  Legal fees you incurred to try to make child support payments non-taxable must be deducted on line 232 of your return. For more information, see Guide P102, Support Payments.

Policy loan interest - To claim interest paid during the year on a policy loan made to earn income, ask your insurer to complete Form T2210, Verification of Policy Loan Interest by the Insurer.

Refund interest - If the CRA paid you interest on an income tax refund, report the interest in the year you receive it on line 121 of your return. If the CRA then reassessed your return and you repaid any of the refund interest in 2018, you can claim on line 221 of your return, the amount you repaid, up to the amount you had reported as income.

You cannot claim on line 221 of your return any of the following amounts:

• the interest you paid on money you borrowed to contribute to a registered retirement savings plan, a pooled registered pension plan, a specified pension plan, a registered education savings plan, a registered disability savings plan, or a taxfree savings account (TFSA)

• safety deposit box charges

• the interest part of your student loan repayments (although you may be able to claim a credit on line 319 of your Schedule 1 for this amount)

• subscription fees paid for financial newspapers, magazines, or newsletters

• brokerage fees or commissions you paid when you bought or sold securities. Instead, use these costs when you calculate your capital gain or capital loss. For more information, see Guide T4037, Capital Gains, and Interpretation Bulletin IT-238, Fees Paid to Investment Counsel

• legal fees you paid to get a separation or divorce or to establish custody of, or visitation arrangements for, a child

If you have a tax shelter, see "Tax shelters" at the end of Step 2 - Total income of this guide.