Tax-free savings account rule confusing: survey

A new survey suggests many Canadians are still confused about a tax rule that caught about 72,000 people off guard last June.

The Canada Revenue Agency demanded taxes from those Canadians because they took money out of their tax-free savings accounts (TFSAs) in 2009, then replaced it the same year.

That's against the rules, which say the money can only be replaced tax-free in the following calendar year.

Afocus-group survey commissioned by the agency last fall found that many account-holders are still in the dark about the re-contribution rule.

The $40,000 survey also found that the revenue agency's own website, which has information about the rule, was too difficult to navigate.

Canadians have opened some five million TFSAs, which were introduced by the Conservative government in the 2008 budget.