UPSY

Hi everyone I am a little ( well a lot) confused.
We are moving to Canada in June we are selling our home of 11 years.
It's our family home and as never rented.
We had a chat with the companies tax consultant who told us if it sells after we land in Canada we will have to pay capital gains as all houses in Canada have to pay it.
However doing my own research I see primary residence are not subject to it.
Can anyone clarify with their own experience?
Thanks in advance.

jimf

I think you would pay Canadian tax based on the difference in value of the house (in CND$) between the date you became tax resident in Canada and the date you sell the house.

rivingtonpike

I'm pretty sure you don't pay tax if it's your primary residence. We didn't pay any tax on ours and we were already in Canada when it sold.

HGerchikov

You don't pay Capital Gains on your principal residence, however the debate will start if you don't sell the house for some time after you move here as clearly it is no longer your residence as it's in the UK and you live here. The following link states that a property qualifies if you, your spouse or your children have lived in the house for at least some time during the year (which I interpret to mean the tax year that you sell the property in).
How does a property qualify?

Please don't rely on this, it's just my opinion, I am not an expert on tax. Hopefully the link helps though.

rivingtonpike

Yeah, we completed within about 2months of moving here. I think you can be fairly generous with the interpretation of primary residence. It is still yours after all and you may well be renting for the first few months or more when you first get here.