I've had mixed results with the GIC brokers, so have focused on direct purchasing since GIC rates are not (now) that much higher from brokers. And while the State Bank of India does offer higher rates, these come with hassles of in person visits to a branch which is far from my home, plus some minor fees for opening an associated chequing account.

So I'll be filling up to my CDIC limit with 1.5 and 2 year USD GICs at Tangerine next week. I don't want to invest the US cash in equities until after their market corrects, and this appears as good a place as any to keep those funds from losing purchasing power.

willpower said
Well my 9 months of Tangerine Jail (AKA low tiered rate offer) ended on March 31st. I was pretty happy to see the 4.25% offer until July 31st when I logged into my account today.  

My 'Tang jail' time is not over yet. It ends this month, though. Fingers crossed for the June lottery.

TD

US dividends to a TFSA are subject to a 15% withholding under the treaty instead of the non-treaty 30%.

smayer97 said
I just learned this week that foreign investment in a TFSA is NOT covered by Foreign tax treaties, unlike RRSP, so gains would be subject to Taxable income owing in the US in this case.  

It is not quite like you suggest. A TFSA is not recognized as a retirement account by the IRS and thus is just another non-registered account for US tax purposes. A Canadian citizen residing in Canada has no US tax obligation beyond withholding taxes, just as in a non-registered accountt.

For ex-pats residing in the USA, any holdings in a TFSA would be subject to 1040 taxation which is why it has been typical advice for ex-pats NOT to keep investments in their TFSAs.

A dual citizen such as a US citizen residing in Canada filing a 1040NR would face a similar issue.

hwyc said
Saving is an art. What else do you see here? 

Nothing that has been known by everyone(?) for many months I suspect. Hence the reason I asked the question, i.e. is there something new you wished to inform the forum on to dedicate a thread to?

P.S. The discount brokerages have similar CAD-USD GIC yield spreads

Yes. I have been noting the C$ U$ differences on several posts now.

(On 2nd thought) Yet among the banks/CUs on the GIC comparison chart, I don't know how many offer U$ GICs. Therefore, the flip side of my question ... What else is missing? Why?

The US Fed rate is 3.5-3.75% vs 2.25% for BoC. The US 5 year bond yield is about 4% vs 3.2% for GoC 5 year bond. It seems to me to be about the right spread.