Administrative Policy
10 June 2019 Internal T.I. 2019-0796221I7 F - Qualification d’un véhicule à titre de « voiture de tourisme »
When asked as to the qualification of a vehicle as a "passenger vehicle” where it initially was acquired for personal use and subsequently began to be used primarily as a taxi, CRA noted that this definition turned on that of "automobile," which excluded a motor vehicle acquired primarily for use as a taxi and that, by virtue of a deemed acquisition under the change of use rules in s. 13(7), the “acquired primarily for use as a taxi” condition is satisfied on the change of use. Consequently, at that time, the motor vehicle would cease to qualify as a "passenger vehicle."
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 13 - Subsection 13(7) - Paragraph 13(7)(b) | s. 13(7)(b) applies when passenger vehicle converted to taxi use | 52 |
9 March 2017 External T.I. 2017-0689241E5 F - Avantages imposables relatifs aux automobiles ou autres véhicules
After being asked about fire chiefs, who were on call 24 hours a day throughout the year with a clearly identified vehicle, equipped with all emergency equipment, to enable them to get to an emergency scene quickly, CRA stated that “an emergency response vehicle…is generally considered to be clearly identified if it is readily identifiable by the general public as a police or fire vehicle because of symbols or lettering on the exterior of the vehicle.”
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 6 - Subsection 6(2) | even where a vehicle available 24 hours a day to a fire chief is clearly marked as a firefighter car, the employer must still estimate whether there is a personal-use benefit | 205 |
9 December 2010 Internal T.I. 2010-0371741I7 F - Automobiles mises à la disposition des employés
In concluding that vehicles, whose trunk and back seat are dedicated to carrying the equipment necessary for the employee to perform job-related duties, were automobiles, the Directorate stated:
In determining whether the motor vehicles described in the facts are automobiles for the purposes of the Act, the question is the design of the motor vehicles, not their use. If the motor vehicles described in the facts are designed primarily to transport individuals on highways and streets, those motor vehicles are "automobiles" if the seating capacity does not exceed nine and the exceptions in paragraphs (a) to (d) of the definition "automobile" do not apply.
In both of the situations described above, since the vehicles … are designed and constructed with more than three seating positions and are not similar to a van or pick-up truck, we are of the view - based on their use - that those vehicles are automobiles for the purposes of the Act.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 6 - Subsection 6(1) - Paragraph 6(1)(e) | employer-provided automobile to attend occasional off-site meetings did not generate a benefit | 182 |
19 January 2004 Internal T.I. 2003-0045911I7 F - Camionnette et définition de automobile
An extended-cab pick-up truck was included in Class 10.1 when it was acquired in 2002 but fell into Class 10 for years commencing after 2002 because of the addition of the exclusion in s. (e)(iii) of the automobile definition, so that it was transferred to class 10 pursuant to s. 13(5). In this regard, the Directorate indicated that the capital cost of the Class 10.1 property should still reflect the s. 13(7)(g) limitation, and that employee benefits for use of the truck should be determined under s. 6(1)(a) rather than ss. 6(1)(e) and (k).
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 13 - Subsection 13(5) - Paragraph 13(5)(a) | when truck is transferred from Class 10.1 to 10, the capital cost as originally limited under s. 13(7)(g) is used for Class 10 purposes | 120 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 13 - Subsection 13(7) - Paragraph 13(7)(g) | s. 13(7)(g) limitation was preserved when pick-up truck transferred from Class 10.1 to 10 | 69 |
18 January 2002 External T.I. 2001-0092665 F - AUTOMOBILE-VEHICULE PUBLICITAIRE
An advertising company acquired motor vehicles which it modified for use, e.g., in vehicular traffic, for advertising the products of its clients. In indicating that the vehicles likely qualified as “automobiles,” CCRA stated that this determination turned on “the design of these motor vehicles and not … their use.”
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Automobile - Paragraph (e) - Subparagraph (e)(i) | vehicle cosmetically altered for advertising purposes is not thereby used to transport goods or equipment | 86 |
14 July 1995 External T.I. 9507975 - DEFINITION OF AUTOMOBILE
A "Hummer" qualifies as a "motor vehicle of a type commonly called a van or pick-up truck or a similar vehicle".
10 December 1992 Memorandum (Tax Window, No. 27, p. 21, ¶2327)
Unless the configuration of a pick-up truck is permanently altered by the removal of the rear seat, it will not qualify for the exemption from the definition of automobile in subparagraph (e)(i) merely by the removal of a backseat and utilization of the space which is behind the front seat to store tools.
88 C.R. - "Automobile Rules" - "With Respect to Expensive Automobiles"
A pick-up truck that has been adapted to transport more than two passengers as well as equipment, is included.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 67.3 | 16 |
IT-63R5 "Benefits, Including Stand-By Charge for an Automobile, from the Personal Use of a Motor Vehicle Supplied by an Employer - after 1992"
Paragraph (e)
Administrative Policy
10 October 2024 APFF Roundtable Q. 8, 2024-1028891C6 F - Définition du terme « automobile »
The conditions in (e)(i) to (iii) for exclusion from the “automobile” definition specify that such conditions must be satisfied “in the taxation year in which it is acquired or leased.” In the case of a leased vehicle, is the referenced taxation year the year of the signing of the leasing contract, or does it apply to each of the years within the lease term?
CRA responded:
With respect to leased vehicles, the CRA is of the view that the use tests apply in the taxation year in which the lease agreement comes into effect, i.e., generally in the taxation year in which the lease agreement is signed.
Subparagraph (e)(i)
Administrative Policy
23 May 2023 External T.I. 2017-0713011E5 F - Avantages imposables relatifs aux automobiles ou autres véhicules
Employees were provided with a minivan only during periods that they were on-call to respond to emergency calls. The minivans (bearing the employer’s name) were specially adapted so that they could be used to transport all the equipment required to carry out the employees’ employment-related tasks.
Regarding whether the minivans were “automobiles”, CRA stated that “a minivan is generally an ‘automobile’ … even if it has been adapted by an employer to be used to transport equipment, unless one of the exceptions provided for in subparagraphs (e)(i) and (ii) of that definition applies” and that , regarding such exceptions, “a minivan is generally a vehicle of a type similar to a van-type vehicle because of its resemblance to a van, both in its design and in its use.”
Regarding the exception in (e)(i), it stated:
[A] minivan that originally had more than three seats could still be considered to have a maximum of three seats … for the purposes of subparagraph (e)(i) of the definition of "automobile" in subsection 248(1) if the modification reducing the number of seats to a maximum of three seats is of a permanent nature.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 6 - Subsection 6(2) - Element A - Paragraph A(a) | driving to or from home as a result of responding to emergency calls is not personal use | 193 |
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 6 - Subsection 6(1) - Paragraph 6(1)(k) | travel of on-call employees between home and customer sites was not personal | 80 |
18 January 2002 External T.I. 2001-0092665 F - AUTOMOBILE-VEHICULE PUBLICITAIRE
An advertising company acquired motor vehicles which it modified for use, e.g., in vehicular traffic, for advertising the products of its clients. In indicating that the vehicles likely qualified as “automobiles” since this turned on their design rather than their use, CCRA went on to find that, even if they were pick-up trucks, they did not come within the para. (e) exclusion, stating that “the goods or equipment to be transported by the motor vehicle … must be distinct from the motor vehicle itself.”
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 248 - Subsection 248(1) - Automobile | automobile status turns on design, not use (here, only for advertising) | 51 |
9 January 2002 External T.I. 2001-0089655 F - AVANTAGE AUTOMOBILE
Employees who supervise the installation of new equipment are provided with a van or pick-up truck so that they can respond to emergencies. CCRA noted that pick-up trucks with six seats would not satisfy the para. (e) exclusion. Regarding the application of ss. ss. 6(1)(e). (2) and (k), CCRA stated:
[T]he fact that an employee is required by an employment contract to be available at all times to respond to various emergencies or that the employee spends a significant portion of time away from the employer's offices does not diminish the benefit the employee enjoys by having at the employee’s disposal an automobile provided in the course of employment.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Income Tax Act - Section 6 - Subsection 6(2) | being on-call at home does not diminish the personal benefit from use | 101 |
Subparagraph (e)(ii)
See Also
BH Parkway Place Ltd. v. The Queen, 2019 TCC 7 (Informal Procedure)
D'Auray J also accepted evidence that the appellant (a commercial landlord) had purchased a $73,000 Mercedez Benz SUV in order to permit its principal to move goods to and from business premises. On this basis, the SUV was not an “automobile,” whose ITA definition (applicable also for ETA purposes), excluded a “van or pick-up truck, or a similar vehicle” (interpreted by CRA to include an SUV) “the use of which … is all or substantially all for the transportation of goods, equipment or passengers in the course of gaining or producing income.” Accordingly, its cost was not limited for input tax credit (or, presumably, CCA) purposes to $30,000.
| Locations of other summaries | Wordcount | |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 182 - Subsection 182(1) | a statutory penalty received by a landlord from a defaulted tenant was not subject to s. 182, which applied on prorated basis | 225 |
| Tax Topics - Excise Tax Act - Section 201 | $74K SUV used for transporting goods was not subject to $30K cap | 233 |
Pronovost v. The Queen, 2003 DTC 720, 2003 TCC 139 (Informal Procedure)
A six-passenger pick-up truck of the taxpayer was used by him to carry tools required for work by him as an employee of a forestry company, and his personal use of the truck was minimal. Accordingly, the truck did not constitute an automobile by virtue of paragraph (e)(iii) of the definition.
Subparagraph (e)(iii)
Administrative Policy
10 January 2005 Internal T.I. 2004-0091251I7 F - Définition d'automobile
An employee of a logging contractor who is required to work at logging sites that are special work sites or remote locations described in s. 6(6)(a)(i) or (ii), also carries on a business in which he holds a harvester, that he leases to the logging contractor for use at the logging sites, and a pick-up truck (purchased by him for $45,000) which he drives in transporting equipment and maintenance parts when working at such sites. In finding that the s. (e)(iii) exclusion applied, CRA stated:
[T]he wording of the exclusion … allow[s], inter alia, an employee's own vehicle that is used in the course of employment under the conditions set out in that subparagraph, and for which the employee's expenses are not reimbursed by the employee's employer, to be excluded from the definition of automobile … . [T]he exception in subparagraph (e)(iii) … may even apply to a self-employed person who primarily uses the individual’s vehicle at a location described in subparagraphs 6(6)(a)(i) or (ii) … .
The same exclusion would apply even if the individual leased rather than owned the truck.