FAQs about Foreign Reporting
Q7. Under the new reporting requirements, Canadian residents must file Form T1135 when the cost amount of their foreign property exceeds $100,000 at any time during the year. Does this mean that a person does not have to report income from foreign property whose cost amount is below $100,000?
A7. Income earned from foreign property must be included in income for Canadian tax purposes, regardless of the cost amount of assets held outside Canada.
This distinction applies only for the purpose of the reporting requirements, that is, for the disclosure of details relative to the nature and cost amount of foreign property.
This distinction is made for practical reasons: it spares many Canadians who don't own much foreign property (for example, a bank account to support the expenses of staying a few weeks in another country) the need to comply with the reporting requirements.
Canadians who are exempt from such requirements still have to pay tax on any income earned on such property.
Q8. Does foreign property have to be reported if the cumulative cost has been either:
more than $100,000 at any time during the fiscal period and is still held at period-end, even though at that time it may be more or less than $100,000
more than $100,000 at any time during the fiscal period, whether or not it's held at period-end.
A8. Foreign property must be reported on Form T1135 if at any time in the year or period the total cost amount of foreign property owned by the person was more than $100,000.
Even if the property isn't owned at the end of the year, it must still be reported if it was owned by the person at any time in the year.
As a result, the property would have to be reported on Form T1135 in both situations described above.
Q10. Does foreign property include only income-producing property or does it also include property that doesn't produce income (e.g., vacant land)?
A10. The fact that a foreign property doesn't produce income does not exclude it from the reporting requirements.
However, a property that doesn't produce income may be excluded if it's a personal-use property.