Get For Local Council Units Only - Submit After December 1, 2011

When a depreciable fixed asset is sold, its capital cost allowance (CCA) class is reduced by deducting the lower of its original cost, or its proceeds of sale. If, at the end of a fiscal year, the balance of the class is negative, a gain has occurred.

In the year you acquire rental property, you can usually claim CCA only on one-half of your net additions to a class. This is the half-year rule (also known as the 50% rule) which the CRA explains under Column 15 – Adjustment for current year additions subject to the half year rule.

Use the CRA's chart of classes and list of capital property to determine which classes your purchases fall into. Group your expenses together by class, and add them together. Then, multiply the total in each class by its rate. The result is the CCA you can claim for the year.

One Principal Residence (Housing Unit) Per Couple A taxpayer and spouse or common-law partner may only designate one housing unit as a principal residence between them for each tax year after 1981.

Capital Cost Allowance (“CCA”) is the depreciation mechanism used for tax purposes. Unlike accounting depreciation, CCA can be deducted from income for tax purposes. Capital assets require depreciation because the capital assets wear out over time.

When you change your principal residence to an income-producing property you can file an election 45(2) which means that you do not have to report any capital gain in the year you change the property's use.

The half-year rule temporarily cuts the cost of an asset purchased during the year in half. This lower amount is then used to calculate CCA for the year.

There is a special rule (the “plus 1” rule) that allows a taxpayer to treat both properties as eligible for the principal residence exemption for a year where one residence is sold and another is purchased in the same year, even though only one of them may be designated as such for that year.