Translation disclaimer
This translation was prepared by Tax Interpretations Inc. The CRA did not issue this document in the language in which it now appears, and is not responsible for any errors in its translation that might impact a reader’s understanding of it or the position(s) taken therein. See also the general Disclaimer below.
Principal Issues: In a given example, does the CRA agree that an individual must include $5,000 as a capital gain in his income?
Position: Yes.
Reasons: Wording of the Act.
APFF FEDERAL TAX ROUNDTABLE 10 OCTOBER 2024
2024 APFF CONFERENCE
9. Exercising a purchase option and selling the vehicle
In recent years, more and more individuals have been selling their vehicles at a profit. The profit realized by a taxpayer on the sale of a vehicle should generally be included in income as a capital gain.
However, the tax treatment of the profit realized on the sale of a vehicle seems to require some clarification when an individual sells a vehicle for an amount corresponding to its FMV after exercising the purchase option provided for in the lease contract.
Consider the example of an individual who exercised a purchase option allowing him to acquire an automobile at the residual value provided for in the leasing contract in the amount of $15,000, taxes included, when at that time the FMV was $20,000. He then sold the vehicle for an amount corresponding to this FMV, i.e. $20,000. Over the 48-month lease period, the individual paid a total of $12,500 in lease charges, including taxes.
In a situation where an individual leases a vehicle used in the course of carrying on a business, the rules set out in subsection 13(5.2) may apply. Under that subsection, where the vehicle is a capital property that is depreciable property and the taxpayer was entitled to a deduction in respect of any amount paid for its use, or the right to use, the cost of the vehicle, for depreciation purposes, is the lesser of
- the FMV of the property at the time the option is exercised; or
- the total lease charges under the contract plus the price paid under the option.
The difference between the deemed cost and the price paid for the option is deemed to have been claimed as depreciation.
Consequently, in the example given, if the individual used the vehicle in the course of carrying on a business and the conditions of subsection 13(5.2) were satisfied, the cost of the vehicle for depreciation purposes would be $20,000, equal to the undepreciated capital cost of $15,000 plus the $5,000 deemed capital cost allowance taken under subsection 13(5.2). Thus, by selling the vehicle for $20,000, the individual in such a case must include in computing income for the year an amount of $5,000 as recapture of depreciation rather than as a capital gain.
For an individual who does not use the vehicle in the course of carrying on a business, subsection 13(5.2) is not applicable, as the individual was not entitled to a deduction in computing income in respect of any amount paid or payable for its use, or the right to use. Under section 49, it is only the cost of the purchase option that can be considered as the cost of the vehicle. Consequently, in the example given, if the individual did not use the vehicle in his business, he must include an amount of $5,000 as a capital gain in computing his income on the sale of the vehicle, regardless of whether he paid a total of $12,500 for the use of the vehicle under a lease.
Question to the CRA
Does the CRA agree with our analysis?
CRA Response
The CRA agrees with your analysis.
As indicated in the statement of the question, the rules in section 49 apply to an option to purchase a property so that the portion of each lease payment in respect of the option to purchase the property forms part of the ACB of that option. Pursuant to subsection 49(3), the ACB of the option to purchase the property is added to the cost of the property acquired following the exercise of the option to purchase.
In the example given, assuming, as indicated in the statement of the question, that the relationship between the parties was legally a leasing agreement for a vehicle and that no part of the leasing costs was reasonably attributable to the acquisition of the purchase option, the ACB of the purchase option for the vehicle under the section 49 rules was nil.
Consequently, the ACB of the vehicle in the example given, which was not used in the course of carrying on a business, was $15,000, which corresponds to the exercise price of the $15,000 purchase option plus the ACB of the option of $0. Thus, on the sale of the vehicle for proceeds of disposition of $20,000, the individual does not have to include any amount as recapture of depreciation in computing the individual’s income in the year of sale since subsection 13(5.2) does not apply, but the individual must include an amount of $5,000 as a capital gain in computing the individual’s income.
Jean-François Benoit
October 10, 2024
2024-102890
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