Why does my tax report show foreign dividends when I own no foreign shares?

First check the exact column heading. The TIME MACHINE tax breakdown includes a combined Interest and Foreign Dividends category. Interest from Canadian cash, GICs or bonds can therefore appear there even when you have no foreign shares.

If the amount still seems unexplained, open the investments in your non-registered accounts and review their interest yield, dividend yield and dividend type. A fund’s distributions can include interest even if it is described as a dividend fund.

Compare the detailed year report with the investment yields for that year. This distinguishes a combined reporting label from an incorrectly classified input.