VOO vs VFV vs XUS: Which S&P 500 ETF Should a Canadian Use?
The same 500 companies, three wrappers. For a Canadian, the right choice depends less on the fee than on the account, the currency conversion and US estate tax. Here is the comparison, account by account.
Key takeaways
- In an RRSP, US-listed VOO generally avoids the 15% US dividend withholding that Canadian-listed VFV and XUS pay inside the fund. In a TFSA, all three lose it, so the Canadian-listed funds are often simpler.
- Fees are close: VOO 0.03%, VFV 0.08% and XUS 0.09% (issuer sites, October 2026). Converting Canadian dollars to US dollars can cost more than years of fee savings.
- US-listed ETFs such as VOO are US-situs assets for US estate tax; Canadian-listed ETFs generally are not.
- All three own the S&P 500 index, unhedged. Over the 10 years to Sep 30, 2026, VOO compounded at 15.2% a year in US dollars (Exent’s data).
Should I buy VOO or a Canadian-listed S&P 500 ETF like VFV or XUS?
It depends on the account. In an RRSP or RRIF with a meaningful amount, US-listed VOO is usually cheaper over time because it avoids US withholding tax on dividends. In a TFSA, RESP or a small account, VFV or XUS usually wins on simplicity: no currency conversion, no US estate-tax filing question, and the withholding is lost either way.
The three funds hold the same companies. VOO is the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, listed in New York and priced in US dollars. VFV (Vanguard) and XUS (iShares) are listed in Toronto and priced in Canadian dollars, and each holds its US exposure mainly through a single US-domiciled S&P 500 fund.
VOO vs VFV vs XUS at a glance
| VOO | VFV | XUS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listed in / currency | New York / USD | Toronto / CAD | Toronto / CAD |
| Fee (issuer, Oct 2026) | 0.03% expense ratio | 0.08% MER | 0.09% MER |
| Currency hedged | No | No (hedged version: VSP) | No (hedged version: XSP) |
| US withholding in an RRSP | Generally none | 15% inside the fund | 15% inside the fund |
| US withholding in a TFSA | 15% lost | 15% lost | 15% lost |
| Non-registered | 15% withheld, usually claimable as a credit | Usually claimable | Usually claimable |
| Need to convert CAD to USD | Yes | No | No |
| US estate-tax (US-situs) asset | Yes | Generally no | Generally no |
Sources: Vanguard (VOO), Vanguard Canada (VFV), BlackRock Canada (XUS). Fees change; check the issuer page before you buy. Hedged versions are compared in hedged vs unhedged ETFs.
Which is cheaper in an RRSP, a TFSA and a taxable account?
Add the fee and the withholding drag together. Illustrative, on C$500,000 and assuming the index yields 1% a year in dividends (15% of 1% = a 0.15% yearly drag where withholding is lost):
| Account (C$500,000) | VOO: fee + withholding | VFV: fee + withholding | Yearly difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| RRSP / RRIF | C$150 + C$0 = C$150 | C$400 + C$750 = C$1,150 | About C$1,000 in VOO’s favour |
| TFSA | C$150 + C$750 = C$900 | C$400 + C$750 = C$1,150 | About C$250 in VOO’s favour |
| Non-registered | C$150 + credit | C$400 + credit | About C$250 in VOO’s favour |
Illustrative arithmetic; your yield and fees will differ. The one-time conversion cost goes against VOO. If a broker’s exchange spread were 1.5% (illustrative; check your broker’s actual rate against the Bank of Canada rate), converting C$500,000 would cost about C$7,500. That takes about seven and a half years of the RRSP saving to repay, and decades in a TFSA. Lower-cost conversion methods change that maths a lot. The withholding rules behind this table are in US dividend withholding tax for Canadians.
Does holding VOO create a US estate-tax problem?
It can create a filing obligation and, for larger estates, a tax. US-listed ETFs and shares of US companies are US-situs assets. The IRS requires an estate tax return (Form 706-NA) for a non-resident whose US-situs assets exceed US$60,000 at death. The Canada–US treaty gives Canadians a prorated credit that removes the tax for most estates, but the paperwork falls on your executor. Canadian-listed ETFs like VFV and XUS are Canadian funds and are generally not US-situs assets. Details in US estate tax for Canadians.
Do VOO and VFV have the same returns?
In US-dollar terms they track the same index, so the difference comes down to fees and withholding. In Exent’s data, VOO returned 313.1% over the 10 years to September 30, 2026, or 15.2% a year, in US dollars. Its worst stretch in that data was the 2020 COVID crash, a 34.3% peak-to-trough fall.
A Canadian holder of either fund also has US-dollar exposure, so returns in Canadian dollars move with the exchange rate. Neither VOO nor VFV is hedged. If the loonie rises, both lose some value in Canadian dollars; if it falls, both gain. Past returns are not a forecast.
How do I decide, account by account?
- RRSP or RRIF with a large, long-term S&P 500 holding: compare the yearly withholding saving of a US-listed fund with your one-time conversion cost.
- TFSA: withholding is lost either way, so the Canadian-listed fund avoids conversion costs and estate-tax paperwork.
- Non-registered: withholding is usually recoverable, so the difference is mainly fees, conversion and estate-tax exposure.
- Small or frequently topped-up accounts: repeated conversions favour the Canadian-listed fund.
- Already holding US dollars (from US dividends or a USD account): the conversion cost may not apply.
- Check total US-situs assets across all accounts if your estate could be large. A cross-border tax adviser can confirm your case.
How to check your S&P 500 overlap across accounts with Exent
- Upload a screenshot or file from each account (CSV, Excel, PDF or Google Sheet); no brokerage login. TSX listings are read with their .TO suffix.
- Exent groups holdings that move together into correlation clusters, so VOO, VFV and XUS in different accounts show up as one S&P 500 bet.
- Replay the combined portfolio through 2008, 2020 and 2022 to see the crash loss of your total US exposure.
Frequently asked questions
They track the same S&P 500 index. VFV is a Canadian-listed fund priced in Canadian dollars that holds the US-domiciled Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, so it pays US withholding tax inside the fund and has a slightly higher fee.
From a withholding-tax view, an RRSP is the better home for VOO because the treaty generally exempts US dividends paid to RRSPs. In a TFSA the 15% is lost anyway.
Both are iShares S&P 500 ETFs listed in Toronto. XUS is not currency hedged; XSP is hedged to the Canadian dollar, so its returns in Canadian dollars do not move with the US dollar.
Canadian-listed ETFs are Canadian funds and are generally not treated as US-situs assets, even when they hold US stocks. US-listed ETFs such as VOO are.
It depends on the account, the amount and your conversion cost. In a large RRSP the yearly withholding saving can repay a one-time conversion within several years; in a TFSA it rarely does.
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Educational content, not investment advice. Examples are illustrative; past performance does not guarantee future results.