Guide for buyers living in Canada
Buying property abroad from Canada
Rules last checked 30 October 2026 · 3 official sources · Education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice.
What a buyer living in Canada meets before and after buying a home abroad: sending the money out, tax at home on the rent and the sale, and the forms to file.
The three things to know
- Sending money abroad
Canada sets no limit on a resident's transfers abroad in the regulations read; CAD 10,000 or more in currency or monetary instruments taken out must be reported, and banks report international electronic funds transfers of CAD 10,000 or more themselves.
- Tax at home
A Canadian resident is taxed on income from sources inside or outside Canada, with a deduction for foreign tax paid on non business income, and half of a capital gain is taxable. The principal residence definition does not name a country.
- Reporting at home
Property outside Canada that is not personal use property and not used in an active business counts toward Form T1135 once its total cost passes CAD 100,000 at any time in the year, and the form is due on the return filing date. A foreign home used only personally is excluded.
Sending money abroad
A report
- Rule
The prescribed amount for reporting the exportation of currency or monetary instruments under the Cross border Currency and Monetary Instruments Reporting Regulations is CAD 10,000, or the equivalent in a foreign currency.
- Limit
10,000 CAD per per exportation
A report
- Rule
A financial entity reports to FINTRAC the initiation, at a customer's request, of an international electronic funds transfer of CAD 10,000 or more in a single transaction; the duty sits with the entity, not the customer.
- Limit
10,000 CAD per single transaction
For buying a home abroad
- Rule
The regulations read do not treat the purpose of buying a home abroad differently from any other purpose.
Tax at home
A person who sojourned in Canada for 183 days or more in the year is deemed resident for the whole year, and residence ties are also considered, so a part year abroad does not by itself end residence.
Rent from a home abroad
- Rule
An income tax is paid on the taxable income of every person resident in Canada, and income for the year includes income from a source inside or outside Canada, so rent from a home abroad is taxable in Canada.
Gain on selling a home abroad
- Rule
Half of a capital gain is a taxable capital gain, and the definition of principal residence covers a housing unit owned and ordinarily inhabited by the taxpayer, spouse or child without naming a country.
Relief for tax paid abroad
- Rule
A taxpayer resident in Canada may deduct from Canadian tax the non business income tax paid to a foreign government, up to a limit based on the share of the tax that the foreign income represents.
Reporting at home
Form T1135 Foreign Income Verification Statement
- Who
Taxpayers resident in Canada whose specified foreign property cost totals more than CAD 100,000 at any time in the year
- Threshold
CAD 100,000 total cost amount at any time in the year
- Deadline
the filing due date for the year
- Covers a foreign home
Yes
Where to look
Choose a country to see what its rules say for a buyer with a Canada passport living in Canada.
Check a country for a passport
Australia
Depends on the propertyPassport: Canada. Buyer lives outside Australia. Reading for a home.
Different property types carry different readings. The country guide lists each one.
Australia requires a foreign person to obtain foreign investment approval before buying residential land, and from 1 April 2025 to 30 June 2029 buying an established dwelling is generally banned, while vacant land and new dwellings stay open with approval. Australian citizens, permanent residents and eligible New Zealand citizens are not caught.
Rules last checked 29 October 2026
Questions people ask
What if a Canadian resident rents out a condo abroad?
Canadian income tax applies to residents on income from sources inside or outside Canada, so the rent is taxable in Canada, and the foreign tax paid on it can reduce the Canadian tax under section 126.
How does Form T1135 apply to a rented home abroad?
Specified foreign property includes tangible property situated outside Canada but not personal use property or property used in an active business. A rented home is therefore counted, and the form is due once the total cost passes CAD 100,000 at any time in the year.
What if the foreign home is used only as a holiday home by the family?
Personal use property is excluded from specified foreign property, so it does not count toward the CAD 100,000 test, though foreign bank accounts or shares held with it may.
How much of a gain on a foreign home is taxed?
Section 38 makes half of a capital gain a taxable capital gain. The principal residence exemption depends on the definition of a principal residence, which does not name a country.
What if CAD 20,000 in cash is carried abroad for a deposit?
The prescribed amount for reporting exported currency or monetary instruments is CAD 10,000, so a report is due at that level.
How does residency work for someone spending most of the year abroad?
A stay in Canada of 183 days or more in a year makes a person deemed resident for the whole year. Under the Act residence is also tested on other ties, which this guide does not list.
What is still open
These points could not be confirmed from an official source yet, so they are not stated as rules.
- The Canada Revenue Agency pages on Form T1135, foreign rental income and residency could not be read, so form guidance and penalties were taken from the Income Tax Act only.
- A statement that Canada has no exchange controls on bank transfers could not be confirmed from an official source yet.
- The number of Canadian tax treaties in force was not read from the Department of Finance.
- How the principal residence designation is made for a home abroad could not be confirmed from the pages read.
- Whether a home abroad is personal use property when it is also let out for part of the year was not researched.
Sources
See what this does to your own numbers
Add a property abroad next to everything else you own, and see the income and net worth that follow after tax, year by year.
Free to start. No card. Rules checked 30 October 2026.
This is education, not financial, tax, legal or immigration advice. Rules change and depend on the buyer's own facts. Advice from a licensed professional in the country concerned is what settles a particular purchase.