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 administration fees you paid for your registered retirement savings plan or registered retirement income fund);
• 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;
  • accounting is a usual part of the operations of your business or property; and
  • 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. For more information, contact the CRA;
• interest you paid during 2016 on a policy loan made to earn income. To make this claim, have your insurer complete Form T2210, Verification of Policy Loan Interest by the Insurer, on or before the date your return is due; and
• 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. You can also deduct your expenses in the following situations:
  • You collected late support payments.
  • You established the amount of support payments from your current or former spouse or common-law partner.
  • You established the amount of support payments from the natural parent of your child (who is not your current or former spouse or common-law partner) where the support is payable under the terms of an order.
  • You sought to obtain an increase in support payments.

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

You cannot claim on line 221 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 tax-free 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 on 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; and
• 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.

Completing your tax return

Claim on line 221 the total interest expenses and carrying charges.

If you have carrying charges for Canadian and foreign investment income, identify them separately on Schedule 4, according to the percentage that applies to each investment.

Supporting documents

Filing electronically
Keep all your documents in case we ask to see them later.

Filing a paper return
Attach your Schedule 4 with Part III completed, but do not send your Form T2210 or any other documents. Keep them in case we ask to see them later.

Forms and publications

• General income tax and benefit package - Guide, return and schedules
• Guide T4037, Capital Gains
• Form T2210, Verification of Policy Loan Interest by the Insurer
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-99, Legal and Accounting Fees
• Interpretation Bulletin IT-238, Fees Paid to Investment Counsel

Related topics

• Line 121 - Interest and other investment income
• Line 127 - Taxable capital gains
• Line 319 - Interest paid on your student loans

Date modified:

2017-01-04