Hong Kong and A-Share Accounts: Reporting Dividends and Capital Gains

Reporting income from brokerage accounts outside Canada, the cost base and exchange rates

Scott Tang, CPAUpdated 2026-11-052026 rules5 min read

After you immigrate, your A-share account in mainland China and your Hong Kong brokerage account may still be trading and receiving dividends — all of this has to be reported in Canada. The biggest difference from a Canadian brokerage is that a foreign brokerage won't give you Canadian tax slips (T5, T5008). You have to put together the dividends, the trading records and the cost in Canadian dollars yourself.

No tax slips

Foreign brokerages don't issue T5 or T5008 slips; you have to work from your statements

Fully included

Foreign dividends don't get the Canadian dividend tax credit

50%

Half of the capital gain on a sale is included in income

T1135

Shares in a foreign brokerage account are specified foreign property

How dividends and sales are reported

Item	Dividends	Capital gains on a sale
How it's included	The full amount before any tax withheld is included in income	Half of the gain is included in income
Exchange rate	The rate on the day each payment is received, or the annual average rate	Each purchase and sale converted to Canadian dollars at that day's rate
Tax withheld locally	If it is an income tax, you can claim a foreign tax credit (for investment income, up to 15%)	Hong Kong has no capital gains tax; for mainland China, check by type of security, your status and the tax actually borne
Canadian dividend tax credit	None (only for dividends from Canadian corporations)	Not applicable

Tax withheld locally. Hong Kong doesn't withhold tax on dividends from ordinary Hong Kong-listed companies. For H-shares and other shares of mainland companies listed in Hong Kong, Chinese individual income tax is often withheld when dividends are paid. For A-share dividends, the tax withheld depends on how long you have held the shares. Only the part withheld that is an income tax can be credited, and for investment income the credit is limited to 15%; the excess can be deducted.

How to calculate your cost (ACB)

1
Each purchase
Number of shares × price + commission, converted to Canadian dollars at that day's rate
2
Pool identical shares
If you bought more than once: total cost in Canadian dollars ÷ total number of shares = average cost
3
Sale
Sale price (converted to Canadian dollars at that day's rate) − average cost × number of shares sold
4
Splits and consolidations
The number of shares changes; the total cost usually doesn't
5
Bonus shares, stock dividends
First determine their nature under Canadian tax law; they may have to be included in income and added to your cost
6
Owned before landing
Your cost is reset to the market value and exchange rate on the day you became a resident

If you hold the same shares in two accounts (for example, one at a Hong Kong brokerage and one at a Canadian brokerage), you have to combine them to calculate the average cost. For the full method, see "How Are Capital Gains Calculated? Adjusted Cost Base (ACB) Explained" in the Investment Tax series.

Points to watch

Keep your statements every year
Annual statements, the confirmation for each trade and records of dividends received — a foreign brokerage may keep electronic records for only a few years, so download and save them yourself.
Selling at a loss and buying back
If you buy the same shares (including a purchase by your spouse) within 30 days before or after selling them at a loss, and still hold them on the 30th day after the sale, Canada's superficial loss rule applies here too — see "Can Investment Losses Reduce Your Tax? Capital Losses and the Superficial Loss Rule" in the Investment Tax series.
Don't miss the T1135
If the shares and cash in your foreign brokerage accounts, together with your other foreign property, cost more than $100,000 in total, you have to report them.
Be careful with frequent trading
If you trade short term and frequently, the CRA may treat the profits as business income, taxed in full rather than half.

How Sheng Qian CPA can help

Statements into tax figures
From your Hong Kong and A-share statements, we organize the dividends, sales and Canadian-dollar cost into detailed schedules ready for filing.
Set your landing cost once
For holdings you had before landing, we build a cost table using the market value and exchange rate on the day you landed, and you use it every year after that.
Tax return and T1135 together
The dividends, capital gains, foreign tax credit and T1135 tie together. For fees, see "What Sheng Qian CPA Can Do for Cross-Border Families: From Tax Returns to Foreign Asset Reporting" in this series.

Sources

Disclaimer

This article is general information only and is not tax advice. Everyone's situation is different; please consult a CPA about your specific arrangements, and a qualified local adviser about tax matters in mainland China or Hong Kong. Service fees are as set out in our written quote.

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