Subject: CCRA and Land Sales Expert: taxman at centa.com Date: Wednesday October 11, 2006 Time: 09:40 PM -0400 QUESTION: Hello I'm enjoying your informative tax broadcasts. My question is: How does CCRA get the information on the sale of a cottage? My buddy says there is no real way and it is just up to the individual to declare a capital gain if it is not your principal residence. My instincts say that perhaps there is some connection between the provincial land registries or similar entity for CCRA to get sale information. Also there is property transfer tax in most areas, perhaps CCRA uses something like this. Perhaps the GST paid as well. Can you shed any light on our discussion? Thanks so much ===================================== david ingram replies: I can usually figure out how the CRA gets their information. When a client comes in with a CRA notice about an old sale, we can usually figure out who turned them in. Many cases are the result of an irate neighbour, an old girl friend, a spouse who thinks they got the short end of a divorce settlement, a realtor who did not get the listing or lost the listing or even the purchaser of the unit who thinks that they were taken in the deal. I also know of specific times in the 70's when the CRA has had their staff go through land records looking for sales and comparing them to tax returns. At one time, they even attended at the Whatcom County courthouse in Bellingham looking for Canadians selling land in Point Roberts, Sudden Valley, and Sandy Cove in particular. However, I do not believe that the CRA goes through land registry offices anymore as they were censured several years ago for doing that very thing in Kitchener, Ontario. However, they have absolute access to multiple listing and sales figures on the internet. In the last three years, I have had experience with two clients where the CRA caught up to them after the sale of houses. In both cases they were rentals that the owners had never reported and that had been sold to the tenants. Because they had both had bad words and dissension with the tenant purchasers, I can only assume that the tenants turned them in. Remember that the tenant does NOT need to know that the rents or sale were not reported. The tenant just has to write to the CRA anonymously and tell the story. The CRA does the rest by auditing the taxpayer's tax returns and asking for things like banking records and doing a net worth assessment. -------------------------------- David Ingram's US / Canada Services US / Canada / Mexico tax, Immigration and working Visa Specialists US / Canada Real Estate Specialists My Home office is at: 4466 Prospect Road North Vancouver, BC, CANADA, V7N 3L7 Cell (604) 657-8451 - (604) 980-0321 Fax (604) 980-0325 Calls welcomed from 10 AM to 10 PM 7 days a week Vancouver (LA) time - (please do not fax or phone outside of those hours as this is a home office) email to taxman at centa.com <mailto:taxman at centa.com> www.centa.com <http://www.centa.com/> www.david-ingram.com <http://www.david-ingram.com/> Disclaimer: This question has been answered without detailed information or consultation and is to be regarded only as general comment. Nothing in this message is or should be construed as advice in any particular circumstances. 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