In Canada, if you surrender a life insurance policy and the cash value exceeds the adjusted cost base it is taxed as a gain. The adjusted cost base is the total premiums paid, less the Net Cost of Pure Insurance which is a rate set by the government. You can also trigger a deemed disposition if you borrow in excess of the adjusted cost base and with most transfers of ownership.
Before you surrender a policy, check with your agent to be sure you are informed decision and to review other options.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.
That is a great question! One of the great benefits of a whole life policy ( Term policies do not have this) is the cash value that the policy accumulates as it ages. As long as the cash value stays within the policy, it is tax free. It can be borrowed against, and still be tax free. But if the policy is cashed out, or "surrendered", any cash value amount that is more than the total amount of premiums paid is considered to be income, and therefore taxable. If you need some cash, but don't want to get a tax bite while getting it, you may really want to consider borrowing vs. surrendering. Contact me, and I'll walk you through the advantages/dangers of doing this. Thanks for asking!
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Before you surrender a policy, check with your agent to be sure you are informed decision and to review other options.
If you have further questions, or feel that I could be of assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
If you would like to work with a local life insurance broker, you could start with a Google search. For example, if you search for: life insurance broker Halifax or life insurance agent Halifax, my name, along with several others, will come up. You can use the same method to find a life insurance broker in your community.