Politics · Canada · 6 hrs ago
Canada defends foreign-asset tax reporting requirement
Canada requires some taxpayers to report foreign assets on a form called the T1135.
The requirement applies when the total cost of those assets exceeds $100,000 at any point during the year.
Foreign shares held in a non-registered account generally count, while shares held through a Canadian-listed mutual or exchange-traded fund do not.
The Finance Department says the rule supports tax compliance by making foreign investments more transparent to the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA.
A tax lawyer says the form gives the CRA information it does not automatically receive and could help it identify mismatches between foreign assets and reported income.
He also says reporting shares held in a Canadian brokerage is unlikely to directly prevent tax evasion.
Serious failures to report can bring fines of up to 5 per cent of the asset’s cost.
Canada requires residents to report certain foreign assets when their total cost exceeds $100,000 at any point during the year.
The Department of Finance says the T1135 form helps the Canada Revenue Agency support tax compliance and enforcement.
A tax lawyer says the form gives the agency information it does not otherwise receive automatically.
He also says it does nothing directly to tackle tax evasion involving shares held in Canadian brokerage accounts.
Penalties for serious reporting failures can reach 5 per cent of the property’s cost.
- Who
- Canadian residents who own certain foreign assets must report them. The Department of Finance defended the requirement.
- What
- The T1135 form requires reporting of specified foreign property when its total cost exceeds $100,000 at any point during the year.
- When
- The requirement was introduced nearly three decades ago. The article was published on October 23, 2026.
- Where
- Canada.
- Why
- The department says reporting supports tax compliance and enforcement by increasing transparency about Canadians’ foreign investments.
Department of Finance
Mike Dolson
Purpose of reporting
Department of Finance
The requirement supports compliance and enforcement by giving tax authorities greater transparency about Canadians’ foreign investments.
Mike Dolson
The form provides unique information to the CRA, but does nothing directly to tackle tax evasion involving shares in Canadian brokerage accounts.
The foreign-asset reporting requirement was introduced after an Auditor-General’s complaint that not enough was being done to track foreign assets.
A Globe and Mail column described the reporting requirement as provoking a ruckus.
The Common Reporting Standard came into effect, requiring Canadian financial institutions to identify accounts held by residents of foreign tax jurisdictions.
The Globe and Mail published the article explaining the reporting requirement and the Department of Finance’s rationale.
- Reporting threshold
- More than $100,000 in total cost at any point during the year
- Form
- T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement
- Potential penalty
- Up to 5 per cent of the cost of the property for serious transgressions
- Common Reporting Standard
- Came into effect at the beginning of 2017
- Article publication
- October 23, 2026
What people are saying
by ensuring greater transparency with respect to the foreign investments of Canadians.
What the T1135 is providing to the CRA is unique information in the sense that they’re not getting that information through other means automatically.
It will do absolutely nothing to directly tackle any kind of tax evasion,