The Key Things to Understand Before Holding U.S. Stocks in a TFSA

Canadians love U.S. stocks in their TFSAs, but dividends, currency, and account choice can quietly change the math.

Amy Legate-Wolfe

Author Bio Amy became interested in investing in 2018 after having her first daughter. After receiving a masters degree in journalism from Western University, she became frustrated that the finance industry remained a confusing place for Canadians like her: new parents, millennials, and other young people who needed to understand their finances. Now, Amy focuses on tech companies and renewable energy for growth opportunities, coupling that with long-term investing strategies and equities. She also provides investors with a daily newsletter, Canada Stock Digest, for daily market updates. Her work can also be found at Canada's National Observer, where she writes on the business side of climate action. Before joining Motley Fool Canada, Amy wrote for major news organizations including HuffPost, CTVNews.ca, and CBC. When she’s not researching investing strategies, Amy’s time is pretty much monopolized by her two wild daughters, but in what little spare time she has she loves to do yoga, go on walks with her dog, and travel with her husband. Social Media Follow Amy on LinkedIn and Canada Stock Digest. Favorite Investment Quote “October: This is one of the particularly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February.” – Mark Twain

Published April 30, 9:45 pm EDT

Key Points

U.S. dividends in a TFSA usually lose 15% to withholding tax, and you can’t claim it back.
Currency swings and conversion fees can shrink returns, even if the U.S. stock does well.
Fairfax stock offers U.S. and global exposure on the TSX, avoiding U.S.-listed dividend headaches in a TFSA.

Plenty of Canadians hold U.S. stocks in a Tax-Free Savings Account (TFSA), even if there is no neat public running tally that shows exactly how many do. The CRA publishes TFSA statistics with a lag, not a live breakdown of how many account holders own U.S. names specifically, but the broader trend is hard to miss.

Canadians bought a record amount of U.S. shares in February 2025, and Statistics Canada said Canadian investors bought $133.8 billion of foreign securities in 2025, with most of that aimed at U.S. corporate securities. So yes, Canadians clearly like U.S. exposure, and a lot of that enthusiasm spills into TFSAs.

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What to consider

The first thing Canadians should understand is that a TFSA does not make U.S. dividend withholding tax disappear. The account is tax-free in Canada, but the United States still generally withholds 15% on dividends paid by U.S. companies inside a TFSA. That money usually comes off before the dividend lands in the account, and unlike a taxable account, you generally cannot claim a foreign tax credit to recover it. That doesn’t make U.S. stocks a bad idea in a TFSA, but those dividend-heavy U.S. names lose a bit of their shine there.

The second thing is currency. Even great U.S. stocks can underwhelm if investors ignore exchange rates and conversion costs. If you buy in U.S. dollars, your return doesn’t depend only on the stock, but on what the loonie does versus the greenback and how much your brokerage charges to convert cash. That’s fine for long-term investors, but worth remembering that a perfectly good stock pick can still look mediocre after foreign exchange drag.

The third thing is account fit. A TFSA works best when investors hold businesses they can leave alone for years. If a U.S. stock pays little or no dividend and has strong long-term growth potential, the TFSA can still be a very useful home because capital gains stay tax-free in Canada. But if the stock is mostly about income, the Registered Retirement Savings Plan (RRSP) often gets better tax treatment on U.S. dividends. That’s why Canadians should think about the type of U.S. stock they are buying, not just whether it is American.

FFH

That’s what makes Fairfax Financial (TSX: FFH) such an interesting fit in this discussion. Fairfax stock is listed on the TSX, so investors can buy it in Canadian dollars, avoiding direct U.S. dividend withholding issues tied to owning a U.S.-listed stock in a TFSA. Then, get meaningful exposure to the United States and global markets through its insurance and investment operations. It’s often described as a Canadian answer to Berkshire Hathaway, and over the last year. it kept acting like one. Fairfax reported 2025 net earnings of US$4.77 billion, up from US$3.87 billion in 2024, while book value per basic share climbed to US$1,260.19 from US$1,059.60.

The business itself is broad and useful for long-term investors. Fairfax owns property and casualty insurers around the world and invests the float those operations generate. Higher interest rates can actually help here, as insurers can earn more on fixed-income investments. Gross premiums written rose to US$33.6 billion in 2025, showing the insurance side is still growing, not just the investment portfolio.

The valuation still looks reasonable, too. Fairfax stock trades at roughly 8 times trailing earnings, which is not demanding for a company that just posted record annual profit. There is risk, of course. Fairfax stock can be lumpy because investment gains and underwriting results do not move in a straight line. But for Canadians who want long-term growth in a TFSA without taking on the direct tax quirks of U.S.-listed dividend stocks, it gives a very practical middle ground.

Bottom line

The main takeaway is simple. U.S. stocks can still make sense in a TFSA, but Canadians should understand the withholding-tax hit on dividends, the currency piece, and the difference between holding a U.S. growth stock and a U.S. income stock. Fairfax stock won’t replace every U.S. name, but it shows there is more than one way to get international exposure in a TFSA without making the account harder to manage than it needs to be.