2 June 2026 STEP Roundtable Q. 10, 2026-1088411C6 - Notifiable Transaction: New Trusts with Corporate Beneficiaries Owned by Potential Non-Resident Beneficiaries

Please note that the following document, although believed to be correct at the time of issue, may not represent the current position of the CRA.
Prenez note que ce document, bien qu'exact au moment émis, peut ne pas représenter la position actuelle de l'ARC.

Principal Issues: 1. In a hypothetical situation where a trust is settled with beneficiaries that include Canadian-resident corporate beneficiaries owned by an individual beneficiary who may become a non-resident in the future, is an RC312 required to be filed within 90 days of the trust's settlement to report a notifiable transaction under NT-2023-02? 2, If the RC312 was filed disclosing a series of transactions that may occur, confirm whether an amended RC312 is required to be filed if the transactions occur as described in the original filing.

Position: 1. No. 2. No.

Reasons: 1. A requirement to file the RC312 under subsection 237.4(4) would only arise if and when a person enters into or becomes contractually obligated to enter into a transaction or series that is the same as, or substantially similar to, the designated transaction or designated series, such that the deadline in subsection 237.4(9) is triggered. 2. On the facts provided and for reasons explained in Question 1, the reporting requirement in section 237.4 does not apply and the RC312 cannot be filed pre-emptively in this case. However, if the transactions as outlined ultimately occur in a future year, then the RC312 will need to be filed accordingly.

2026 STEP CRA Roundtable – June 2, 2026

QUESTION 10. Notifiable Transaction: New Trusts with Corporate Beneficiaries Owned by Potential Non-Resident Beneficiaries

A family trust is settled with beneficiaries that include Canadian corporations owned by one of the named individual beneficiaries. At the time of settlement, there is a possibility that this individual is planning to attend university in the U.S. and may become a non-resident of Canada in the future.

1. Because it is possible the individual beneficiary may emigrate from Canada, is Form RC312 required to be filed within 90 days of the trust’s settlement to disclose a notifiable transaction (NT-2023-02)?

2. If Form RC312 was filed within 90 days of the trust’s settlement and disclosed a series of transactions where:

• a named beneficiary may emigrate from Canada within a specified timeframe, and
• if emigration occurs, trust property will be distributed under subsection 107(2) to a Canadian corporation owned by that beneficiary within a subsequent specified timeframe,

based on paragraph 69 of CRA’s Mandatory Disclosure Rules – Guidance, this initial disclosure describing the series satisfies the reporting obligation for each transaction in that series, provided no new transactions, parties, hallmarks, or material facts arise.

Can the CRA confirm that, in the above scenario, an amended Form RC312 is not required to be filed if the transactions occur as described in the initial disclosure?

CRA Response

Part 1.

Subsection 237.4(4) requires certain persons to file an information return in respect of a notifiable transaction. A “notifiable transaction” is generally defined as a transaction, or a transaction in a series that is the same, or substantially similar to, a transaction designated by the Minister.

NT-2023-02 designates certain transactions as notifiable, including those involving an indirect transfer of trust property to a non-resident through the use of a Canadian-resident corporate beneficiary to avoid or defer the “21-year deemed realization rule” in subsection 104(4), or to avoid the rules in subsections 107(5) and 107(2.1) even though the property continues to be held, directly or indirectly, by a trust or by a non-resident beneficiary.

Whether a filing obligation under subsection 237.4(4) exists is a question of fact.

On the facts provided, no person has yet entered into, or become contractually obligated to enter into, a transaction or transaction in a series that is the same as, or substantially similar to, the designated transaction or designated series. Indeed, there is only a possibility at the time of the trust’s settlement that a beneficiary may later become non-resident. That possibility, on its own, does not establish that a notifiable transaction has been entered into, nor does it create any contractual obligation that any person has become contractually obligated to enter into one. As a result, an RC312 filing would not be required solely because the trust is settled in these circumstances.

A filing requirement may arise if the facts later establish that a person has entered into, or become contractually obligated to enter into, a transaction, or a transaction in a series, that is the same as, or substantially similar to NT-2023-02. In that case, subsection 237.4(9) would generally require the RC312 to be filed within 90 days after the earlier of the day the person becomes contractually obligated to enter into the notifiable transaction and the day on which the person enters into the transaction.

Part 2.

On the facts provided and for reasons explained above, the reporting requirement in section 237.4 has not arisen at the time of the trust’s settlement. Paragraph 69 of the CRA’s Mandatory Disclosure Rules – Guidance does not alter that result, since it presupposes that a valid reporting obligation has already arisen in respect of a disclosed transaction or series.

If the facts later establish that a person has entered into, or become contractually obligated to enter into, a transaction, or a transaction in a series, that is the same as, or substantially similar to, the designated transaction or designated series under NT-2023-02, the filing obligations, if any, will have to be determined at that time under subsections 237.4(4) and (9).

Mei Ng
2026-108841

Response prepared in collaboration with:

Richard Archambault & Joseph Armanious
Tax Avoidance Division, International and Large Business Directorate
Compliance Programs Branch