Sync Tax Factors: Automatically Add ROC & Phantom Gains to Your ACB

If you own Canadian ETFs or mutual funds in a non-registered account, two things happen every year that affect your ACB: return of capital (ROC) reduces it, and reinvested capital gains distributions increase it. Most investors either miss them or spend way too long hunting down per-unit amounts from fund company PDFs and T3 slips.

Tax Factors Sync handles this automatically. It pulls distribution data, matches it to your holdings, and creates the transactions in your portfolio.

Why This Matters

Your brokerage statement only shows what you received in cash. It doesn’t break down the tax factors that actually affect your cost base. Most investors who have held ETFs for a few years have an ACB that’s at least a little off. It’s usually not a huge amount each year, but it adds up. By the time you sell, you’re either overpaying or underpaying the CRA.

How It Works

The sync is a four-step wizard.

Step 1: Select a Tax Year

Choose the tax year you want to sync. Only years with transactions in your portfolio are selectable. Data is currently available for 2020 through 2024.

Step 2: Map Your Securities

Securities are auto-matched when your ticker is identical to the tax factor ticker. If something doesn’t match (different listing symbols, for example), you can search and select the right one manually. You can also skip any security you don’t want included.

Step 3: Preview the Changes

Before anything is saved, you get a full preview of every transaction: date, type, amount per unit, and quantity held. Duplicates are flagged and excluded automatically, but you can include them if you need to.

Step 4: Confirm and Sync

Hit confirm and everything runs in the background. Your ACB is recalculated once the sync finishes.

What Gets Synced

Distribution Type	Effect on ACB
Return of Capital (ROC)	Decreases ACB per unit
Reinvested Capital Gains Distribution	Increases ACB per unit

Cash dividends, interest, and anything else that doesn’t affect ACB is left out. The sync only creates what matters.

Plan Availability

Tax Factors Sync is available on all plans. Free plan users can sync one security. Pro users can sync unlimited securities across all tax years.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute tax, legal, or financial advice. Tax rules can change and individual circumstances vary. Consult a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.