Important changes for the owners of Canadian homes.

On October 3, 2016, the Minister of Finance, Bill Morneau, announced several significant changes to the existing rules related to Canadian housing.

A few key points from it are as follows:

- The owners of Canadian primary residence, who sell their homes in a tax years that end after October 2, 2016, would be required to report the deposition of the homes on their tax returns, even if it qualifies for a Principal Residence Tax Exemption.
- CRA now will have an authority to assess the taxpayers beyond the normal assessment limitation period for a tax year, in respect of a disposition of real estate by the taxpayer, in cases where the disposition is not reported in the taxpayer’s tax return.
- An individual who was not resident in Canada in the year the individual acquired a residence will not—on a disposition of the property after October 2, 2016—be able to claim the exemption for that year.

Those changes will also affect the mortgage calculations, mortgage risk assessment, mortgage insurance and down payments.

For information on the changes from Finance, refer to: