ETF Split Calculator

Annual savings from splitting an all-in-one ETF into its components — for Canadian investors.

Inputs

Total portfolio value (CAD)

$10k$2M

All-in-one ETF

Account allocation

RRSP50%

TFSA50%

Non-Reg0%

🟢 Worth splitting ✓

Your portfolio is $156,469 above the breakeven threshold.

AnnualiManagement Expense Ratio — the annual fee deducted from fund assets. Lower MER means more of your returns stay with you. MER saving

$258

10.3 bps

Annual foreign withholding taxiForeign Withholding Tax — the 15% US tax on dividends paid by US-listed ETFs. Eliminated in an RRSP by the Canada–US tax treaty when you hold the ETF directly. saving

$143

5.7 bps

Combined annual saving

$401

0.160% of portfolio

Breakeven portfolio size

$93,531

Splitting pays off above this

20-year compounded saving

$14,749

At 6% annual growth, savings reinvested

Split components

Ticker	Description	Weight	MER
ITOT	iShares US Total Market	45.0%	0.03%	USDRRSP FWT-exempt
XIC	iShares S&P/TSX Composite	25.0%	0.06%
XEF	iShares MSCI EAFE IMI	25.0%	0.22%
XEC	iShares MSCI Emerging Markets	5.0%	0.27%
Weighted average split MER		0.097%vs 0.20% for XEQT

MER savings apply to your full portfolio across all account types.

FWT savings in this calculator reflect only the RRSP benefit. The Canada–US tax treaty eliminates the 15% US withholding tax on US-sourced dividends when USD-listed ETFs are held directly in an RRSP. This benefit does not apply to TFSAs or non-registered accounts.

In non-registered accounts, US withholding tax on USD-listed ETFs is creditable via the foreign tax credit — recoverable whether you hold the all-in-one or the split. There is no incremental FWT saving from splitting in a non-registered account.

Foreign country withholding tax (Level 1) on international holdings — XEF, XEC, AVDV — is unrecoverable in all account types. This drag exists whether you hold the all-in-one or the components directly and is not captured as a saving in this calculator.

AVDV (USD-listed international small cap value) carries two layers of unrecoverable withholding tax in a TFSA: Level 1 from the foreign countries where stocks are held, and Level 2 from the US wrapper. Hold AVDV in a non-registered account or RRSP instead.

USD-listed ETFs (ITOT, VTI, AVUS, AVUV, AVDV) require currency conversion to purchase. Norbert's gambit is the standard low-cost method — a multi-day process using DLR/DLR.U or equivalent. This one-time friction cost is not reflected in the annual savings above.

20-year projection assumes annual savings are reinvested at 6% annually. Illustrative only. This calculator does not constitute financial advice.