I want to send my two children a considerable amount of money as a surprise to Canada where they live. It will be two cheques from a UK bank. Is there any complications with that.?

Depending on the amount, they could have some difficulty cashing/depositing the cheques. Banks are incredibly strict now about the sources of money and very afraid of anything that could even be construed as money-laundering.

Your better send money direct in the account

Your better send money direct in the account

Why ?

Depending on the amount, they could have some difficulty cashing/depositing the cheques. Banks are incredibly strict now about the sources of money and very afraid of anything that could even be construed as money-laundering.

So your suggesting one cannot transfer large amounts of money internationally or a bank will not execute the instruction ?

I am going to suggest your talking rubbish, as if this was true how would international commerce operate ?

Depending on the amount, they could have some difficulty cashing/depositing the cheques. Banks are incredibly strict now about the sources of money and very afraid of anything that could even be construed as money-laundering.

So your suggesting one cannot transfer large amounts of money internationally or a bank will not execute the instruction ?

I am going to suggest your talking rubbish, as if this was true how would international commerce operate ?

Cashing a cheque in Canada drawn on foreign bank is indeed scrutinized very heavily. Sending paper cheque is not the same as Quote.. transferring money... regardless for commerce or personal reasons.

Depending on the amount, they could have some difficulty cashing/depositing the cheques. Banks are incredibly strict now about the sources of money and very afraid of anything that could even be construed as money-laundering.

So your suggesting one cannot transfer large amounts of money internationally or a bank will not execute the instruction ?

I am going to suggest your talking rubbish, as if this was true how would international commerce operate ?

Cashing a cheque in Canada drawn on foreign bank is indeed scrutinized very heavily. Sending paper cheque is not the same as Quote.. transferring money... regardless for commerce or personal reasons.

Again same question are you suggesting one cannot transfer large sums of money ? A Cheque drawn on a foreign bank anywhere is heavily scrutinished...not just Canada...no one has suggested otherwise...its called due dilligence.

To answer the OPs question...as far as i can see only tax implications in Canada would be on interest earned on the amounts once they were in a Canadian bank acc

Is the OP trying to manage "international commerce"? No, it's a personal cheque he wants to send.

And Canadian banks (can't say anything about others) are getting more and more strict about scrutinizing and refusing personal cheques, not inter-bank transfers.

Some could refuse the cheque completely, some could hold it for ten days or two weeks until it had cleared. And although it's not indicated by the OP, any third party cheques - written to one person but being deposited by another, even if endorsed and indicated for deposit only - are often simply refused. I know this from experience - Canadian company sent me a cheque in my friend's name, he signed it but my own bank, where I've been a customer for more than 30 years, refused to deposit it in my account. And it was for less than Cdn$100.

Your better send money direct in the account

Why ?

For many reasons:

1-Bank could refuse the check

2-Could take a very long time before she can cash it

3-Could get lost in the delivery

I want to send my two children a considerable amount of money as a surprise to Canada where they live. It will be two cheques from a UK bank. Is there any complications with that.?

I'm trying to understand what you're asking exactly. The title of your thread is "Canadian Tax implications".

As other posters mentioned, clearing a cheque of a high amount could trigger AML flags, completely different to tax implications.

Cheques drawn on foreign banks take longer to clear and there could be costs associated to them depending on the receiving bank that could well exceed the cost of a telegraphic transfer.

If you're talking about tax implications, the amount you're talking about is also important. Considerable amount is a relative thing, I don't understand if we are talking about 50K, 500K or 5M.

Could be looked at as a gift or a personal transfer, not necessarily taxed. You haven't told us also what's the Immigration status of your sons. Living there could mean citizenship, PR, just working and living there but only temporary resident etc.

It's a bit vague for anyone to make an assesment.

Three things that jump out:

1) Find out how long it takes for a foreign cheque to clear in Canada. Some countries foreign cheques can take weeks/ months to clear. Opening bank accounts for them if they don't already have one and doing SWIFT transfers direct to their accounts may take significantly less time.

2) Understand what the UK inheritance tax implications may be of gifting a large sum to your children. This will depend on your total estate worth as well as the amount given among many other factors. The UK govt website would be worth a read as a starting point:

https://www.gov.uk/inheritance-tax/gifts

3) Understand what the Canadian tax treatment is for a child receiving a gift from a parent - if any. I wouldn't expect there to be any, but that's something to confirm with someone who's knowledgeable on Canadian tax, to make sure.