HolderTax / Canada
Jurisdiction · Schedule H–CA · tax year 2026
Canada
The CRA has treated crypto as a commodity since 2013, half of every capital gain is taxable — and the two rules holders actually trip over are quieter: a superficial-loss rule that reaches thirty days in both directions, and a foreign-property form most people have never heard of.
Filing deadline30 April 2027 (for 2026 · payment due even if filing 15 June)
Answer first
What HolderTax can say from the current evidence
Pre-publicationThese claims are still awaiting licensed human approval. Use the evidence bundle below to inspect the authority and review state.
Action-sensitive pageA deadline, disclosure route, examination or other consequential step is involved. Use the instructions on the authority document you actually received and do not treat this summary as advice.
Capital vs business characterFacts and circumstances determine whether crypto activity is capital or business incomeCRA — Reporting income from crypto-asset transactions
Capital gains inclusion50% taxable capital gain under current CRA 2025 guidance; recheck for 2026 return before publicationCRA — Reporting your capital gains as a crypto-asset user
Adjusted cost baseCapital gain/loss uses adjusted cost base; CRA describes crypto ACB as usually weighted average costCRA — Reporting your capital gains as a crypto-asset user
Crypto-to-crypto exchangeGenerally a disposition measured in Canadian dollarsCRA — Completing Schedule 3
Current position
The schedule.
Status marks: — settled in practice, ! watch (moving or commonly misapplied), ? unresolved. All lines are a working draft pending licensed review.
Schedule H · Part INature, inclusion, cost basis, income events, reporting and deadlines
FORM H–CA / 2026
STATUS: WORKING REVIEW| Line | Position | Current treatment | What it means | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | Nature of the asset | Commodity · not currency | Dispositions are taxable events; transfers between your own wallets are not. | — |
| 02 | Capital vs business income | Facts decide · frequency, intent, expertise | Capital gains are half-taxed; business income is fully taxed. Day-trading patterns pull toward business — the single most expensive characterisation question in Canadian crypto. | ! |
| 03 | Inclusion rate | 50% · increase cancelled | The proposed two-thirds rate was deferred, then cancelled in March 2025. It was never law; 50% stands. | — |
| 04 | Cost basis · ACB | Average cost per identical property | All units of the same coin share one adjusted cost base — closer to the UK pool than to US lots. | — |
| 05 | Superficial loss | 30 days both directions · affiliated persons | Rebuy within the window — or your spouse or your corporation does — and the loss is denied, then added to the new ACB. Deferred, not destroyed. | ! |
| 06 | Token-for-token swap | Disposition | Stablecoin legs included, at CAD value on the day. Barter rules, not currency rules. | — |
| 07 | Staking & mining | Income where business-like · facts decide | Value at receipt enters income and becomes cost base. Hobby-scale mining differs from a mining business — and staking guidance remains thinner than either. | ! |
| 08 | Airdrops & forks | Guidance thin | Published CRA positions are sparse; treatments diverge in practice. Position with advice, keep the record. | ? |
| 09 | Foreign property · T1135 | Report if cost ever exceeds $100,000 | Foreign-platform crypto may fall within specified foreign property depending on the legal situs and custody facts. The $100,000 threshold is based on cost, at any time in the year; this crypto-specific application remains under licensed review. | ! |
| 10 | DeFi, wrapping & liquidity | Characterisation unresolved | Whether deposits and wraps are dispositions turns on facts; published guidance is thin. Position by transaction. | ? |
| 11 | Losses | Allowable at 50% · back 3 · forward indefinitely | Capital losses offset capital gains only. The superficial-loss rule on line 05 decides whether the loss exists at all. | — |
| 12 | Exchange data · CARF | Court orders · CARF implementation now tracks 2027 | Unnamed-persons orders already reach platform records. Current 2026 federal legislative notes move Canada’s new crypto reporting Part XXI to the 2027 and subsequent calendar years; final enacted timing must be checked before publication. | ! |
| 13 | Filing | Schedule 3 · 30 April | Self-employed file by 15 June, but payment is due 30 April either way. Tax year is the calendar year. | — |
| 14 | Records | Keep 6 years | CAD values per transaction, ACB workings, wallet trails. The reconstruction is cheaper before the letter. | — |
Working draft · all 14 lines pending licensed review · sign-off dates will appear per lineStart with line 05 →
Education letterA general reminder about crypto reportingNot an audit — and under the new VDP rules, not even "prompted". The window is still fully open.Window open
Specific-issue letterThe CRA names a compliance issueDisclosure is now "prompted": penalty relief survives, most interest relief does not.Relief shrinking
Questionnaire / auditA crypto audit has openedThe VDP door is closed for this issue. Representation before the questionnaire.Formal
No letter yetUnprompted — the 100/75 momentFull penalty relief and 75% interest relief belong to disclosures the CRA didn't ask for.Voluntary
Published pages · Canada
Read in the order trouble arrives.
Letter
The CRA letter ladder
Education letter, specific-issue letter, questionnaire. Each rung quietly reprices your disclosure.
→ RuleThe superficial loss
Thirty days in both directions, affiliated persons included — and the denied loss moves into your ACB.
→ DecisionThe VDP after October 2025
Unprompted or prompted is now the whole question. What each status buys, and what closes the door.
→ AnalysisT1135: the form crypto holders forget
Foreign platforms, a $100,000 cost threshold, and penalties that run per year — without any tax being due.
→Evidence bundle
Canonical claims used on this page
Claim IDs are the publication contract. A translation or article may explain a claim, but cannot silently change its source, status or review lifecycle.
ca.capital_vs_businessCapital vs business characterFacts and circumstances determine whether crypto activity is capital or business incomeca.inclusion_rateCapital gains inclusion50% taxable capital gain under current CRA 2025 guidance; recheck for 2026 return before publicationca.acbAdjusted cost baseCapital gain/loss uses adjusted cost base; CRA describes crypto ACB as usually weighted average costca.swap_disposalCrypto-to-crypto exchangeGenerally a disposition measured in Canadian dollarsca.superficial_lossSuperficial loss30 days before through 30 days after, plus substituted property ownership/right 30 days after; affiliated persons includedca.vdp_2025Voluntary Disclosures ProgramFrom 1 Oct 2025: general relief normally for unprompted applications; partial relief normally for prompted applicationsca.t1135_thresholdT1135 thresholdSpecified foreign property with total cost over CAD 100,000 at any time can trigger Form T1135ca.t1135_crypto_situsT1135 treatment of cryptoDraft assertion that crypto on every non-Canadian platform is specified foreign property needs licensed/legal situs reviewca.carf_timingCanadian CARF timingCurrent 2026 legislative notes apply the new Part XXI crypto reporting regime to 2027 and subsequent calendar years