General Information

The objectives of this reporting requirement are:

1. to enhance compliance with tax laws that require reporting of foreign-source income
2. to increase taxpayers' awareness of these laws
3. to provide information to the CRA for the purpose of verifying taxpayers' compliance with these laws
4. to better target international tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance

Who has to report?

Form T1135, Foreign Income Verification Statement, must be filed by:

• Canadian resident individuals, corporations, and certain trusts that, at any time during the year, own specified foreign property costing more than $100,000
• certain partnerships that hold more than $100,000 of specified foreign property

What property has to be reported?

Specified foreign property is defined in subsection 233.3(1) of the Income Tax Act and includes:

• funds or intangible property (patents, copyrights, etc.) situated, deposited or held outside Canada
• tangible property situated outside Canada
• a share of the capital stock of a non-resident corporation
• shares of corporations resident in Canada held outside Canada
• an interest in a non-resident trust that was acquired for consideration
• an interest in a partnership that holds a specified foreign property unless the partnership is required to file Form T1135
• a property that is convertible into, exchangeable for, or confers a right to acquire a property that is specified foreign property
• a debt owed by a non-resident, including government and corporate bonds, debentures, mortgages, and notes receivable
• an interest in a foreign insurance policy
• precious metals, gold certificates, and futures contracts held outside Canada

Specified foreign property does not include:

• a property used or held exclusively in carrying on an active business
• a share of the capital stock or indebtedness of a foreign affiliate
• an interest in a trust described in paragraph (a) or (b) of the definition of exempt trust in subsection 233.2(1)
• a personal-use property as defined in section 54
• an interest in, or a right to acquire, any of the above-noted excluded foreign property

Filing deadline

Individuals, corporations and trusts – Form T1135 is due on the same date as the income tax return.

Partnerships – Form T1135 is due on the same date as the partnership information return under section 229 of the Income Tax Regulations (or what would be the due date for this return if the partnership had to file one).

Additional information

Form T1135, Foreign Income Verification Statement is available in a fillable/saveable PDF format.

Form T1135 has a two-tier information reporting structure for specified foreign property. Part A is a simplified reporting method for taxpayers who held specified foreign property with a total cost of more than $100,000, but less than $250,000, throughout the year. This reporting method allows taxpayers to check the box for each type of property they held during the year rather than providing the details of each property. Part B, the detailed reporting method, applies to those taxpayers who, at any time during a year, held specified foreign property with a total cost of $250,000 or more.

Individuals can file Form T1135 electronically (EFILE or NETFILE) for the 2017 and later tax years. Corporations can EFILE Form T1135 electronically for the 2014 and later tax years.

Partnership can file Form T1135 electronically (EFILE or NETFILE) for the 2017 and later tax years.

Trusts can EFILE Form T1135 electronically for the 2021 and later tax years.

If you choose to paper file the T1135, you must either attach it to your paper-filed tax return (or partnership information return), or submit it separately, and send it to the Winnipeg Tax Centre by the filing-due date. If you need more space, attach a schedule to your form. The schedule must be in the identical format as the tables on Form T1135.

The period within which the CRA can reassess a taxpayer's tax return is extended by an additional three years if the taxpayer has failed to report income from a specified foreign property on their income tax return and Form T1135 was not filed on time by the taxpayer, or there is a false statement or omission on Form T1135 for that particular tax year.

For tax years of a taxpayer that begin after February 26, 2018, the reassessment period is extended by three years for income, loss or other amount arising in connection with a foreign affiliate of the taxpayer.

There are significant penalties that may be applicable for failure to file Form T1135 by the reporting deadline, or for making a false statement or omission with respect to the required information. For more information, go to Penalties.

Forms and publications

• Form T1135, Foreign Income Verification Statement

Related topics

• Reporting for 2015 and later tax years
• Questions and answers about Form T1135 (Frequently asked questions)
• Table of penalties
• Voluntary Disclosures Program