Canadian real estate continues to attract significant investment from non-residents. However, owning Canadian real property creates numerous Canadian tax obligations throughout the investment lifecycle—from acquisition and financing to rental operations and eventual disposition.

This intermediate-to-advanced course provides Canadian advisors with a practical understanding of the Canadian tax rules affecting non-resident individuals who own Canadian real estate. Beginning with the fundamentals, the course examines residency considerations, rental income reporting, withholding obligations, deductions, capital gains taxation, Section 116 compliance, principal residence issues and treaty considerations.

Rather than focusing solely on compliance, the course emphasizes practical planning opportunities, and common practitioner challenges.The course focuses primarily on individual ownership of Canadian real estate and does not provide coverage of corporate real estate structures or similar commercial real estate transactions.

This course is designed for:

• Canadian CPAs and tax practitioners advising non-residents investing in Canadian real estate.
• Personal tax practitioners expanding into non-resident taxation.
• Cross-border tax practitioners advising individuals with Canadian real estate holdings.
• Real estate accountants and tax advisors.
• Lawyers advising on real estate acquisitions, ownership and dispositions involving non-residents.
• Real estate professionals seeking a practical understanding of Canadian tax issues affecting non-resident owners.
• Financial planners and wealth advisors assisting clients with cross-border real estate investments.
• Non-accounting professionals interested in understanding the Canadian tax implications of non-resident real estate ownership.

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Determine when Canadian tax applies to non-resident owners of Canadian real estate.
• Understand the Canadian tax consequences of acquiring, owning, renting and disposing of Canadian real property.
• Identify Canadian withholding and reporting obligations affecting non-resident landlords and vendors.
• Calculate taxable rental income and capital gains.
• Apply the Section 216 election where appropriate.
• Understand the Section 116 clearance certificate process.
• Recognize common Canada-U.S. treaty considerations.
• Identify practical planning opportunities and common compliance pitfalls.

Module 1 — Acquiring and Owning Canadian Real Estate
This module establishes the Canadian tax framework applicable to non-resident owners.

Topics

• Canadian taxation of non-residents
• What constitutes Canadian real property
• Residency versus property ownership
• Types of ownership
  • Sole ownership
  • Joint ownership
  • Spouses
  • Family ownership
• Personal-use property versus rental property
• Financing considerations
• Mortgage interest
• Foreign currency considerations
• GST/HST overview
• Provincial land transfer taxes (high level)
• Canadian filing obligations
• Treaty overview
• Canadian-source income

Module 2 — Rental Income and Ongoing Ownership
This module focuses on Canadian taxation during the ownership period.

Topics

• Rental income taxation
• NR4 reporting
• Gross vs Net-rental taxation
• NR6 election
• Section 216 election
• Allowable expenses
• Repairs versus capital improvements
• Capital cost allowance
• Foreign exchange issues
• Canadian rental losses
• CRA reporting requirements
• Filing deadlines
• Record keeping

Module 3 — Selling Canadian Real Estate
This module examines the tax implications of disposing of Canadian real estate.

Topics

• Taxable Canadian property
• Capital gains taxation
• Adjusted cost base
• Outlays and selling costs
• Principal residence considerations
• Change in use election: Former residents, emigration and immigration issues
• Section 116 overview
• Clearance certificate process
• Vendor withholding
• Purchaser obligations
• Late filing consequences
• Canadian filing requirements after disposition

Module 4 — Planning Opportunities and Risk Management
Planning Opportunities

• Choosing between gross and net rental taxation
• Timing capital improvements
• Managing capital cost allowance claims
• Planning property dispositions
• Coordinating Canadian and foreign tax reporting
• Maximizing foreign tax credits
• Managing cash flow during Section 116 withholding
• Record retention throughout ownership

Practitioner Best Practices

• Annual compliance checklist
• Rental-income working papers
• Section 116 planning timeline
• Supporting adjusted cost base calculations
• Documentation supporting deductible expenditures
• Coordinating Canadian and foreign advisors

Common Practitioner Errors

• Assuming property ownership creates Canadian residency.
• Missing NR6 filing deadlines.
• Confusing withholding tax with final Canadian tax.
• Failing to file a Section 216 return when beneficial.
• Incorrectly claiming capital expenditures as current expenses.
• Waiting until closing to begin Section 116 planning.
• Miscalculating adjusted cost base.
• Ignoring foreign tax credit implications.
• Assuming treaty relief eliminates Canadian withholding.
• Poor documentation of acquisition and improvement costs.
  
  

Key Takeaways

• Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
• Advise non-resident individuals throughout the entire Canadian real estate ownership lifecycle.
• Identify Canadian withholding, reporting and filing obligations.
• Calculate rental income and capital gains.
• Navigate the Section 116 clearance certificate process.
• Apply the Section 216 election where appropriate.
• Coordinate Canadian tax reporting with foreign tax obligations.
• Recognize planning opportunities that improve tax efficiency while maintaining compliance.
  
  

Course Content Created: September 2026

Presenter

About This Product

CPABC On-Demand Courses offer self-paced learning through recorded sessions from previously delivered live seminars. Where available, accompanying materials such as handouts or course notes are included. On-demand courses are eligible for verifiable CPD hours upon successful completion, and a certificate will be made available for download for your records.

Please note that not all on-demand courses include downloadable materials such as handouts, course notes or presentation slides.

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