Ask a Planner

By Jason Heath, CFP on August 18, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

By Jason Heath, CFP on August 18, 2025
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

A MoneySense reader wants to report half the capital gain for a rental property on his spouse’s tax return. Can Canadians do this to minimize the tax payable?

I have an investment property (condo) in my name. I would like to sell it and [have the proceeds] paid out half to me and half to my spouse. The plan is to make the maximum RRSP contribution for both of us to minimize the capital gain.

Is that plan OK, legal, and wise?

–Zlatko

Taxpayers sometimes get confused about how to report their investment income, especially from a significant transaction like a real estate sale or other asset sale that yields a large capital gain. The rules are clear, and it’s important to follow them so that your tax return is filed correctly. Tax planning is a taxpayer’s right, but it is an offence to make a false statement on your tax return.

Let’s look at reporting investment income and capital gains, and which spouse should report the capital gain on a rental property.

When you earn investment income like interest or dividends in a taxable investment account, or rental income from a rental property, you need to report it on your tax return.

Taxpayers sometimes mistakenly think they can minimize the tax payable by choosing which spouse’s tax return to report the income on, and in some cases, changing the allocation from year to year. Unfortunately, it does not work that way. The........

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