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Departure Tax - Plan Ahead and Plan Early

Navigate the deemed disposition rules, security options, and the complex compliance traps of exiting the Canadian tax system.

Created byCPA Solutions LLP Year
emoji_eventsEditor's Pick· 5.0/5BeginnerUpdated Nov 12, 2026

What You'll Learn

  • check_circleAnalyze the criteria for determining the cessation of Canadian tax residency.
  • check_circleApply the deemed disposition rules to various asset classes upon departure.
  • check_circleEvaluate the impact of taxable Canadian property on post-departure tax obligations.
  • check_circleFormulate strategies for deferring departure tax using security and elective provisions.
  • check_circleAssess the risks of double taxation and implement mitigation techniques like the Section 119 credit.

About This Course

Leaving Canada can create significant and often unexpected Canadian tax consequences. One of the most important considerations is Canada’s departure tax regime, which may apply when an individual ceases to be a Canadian tax resident. Because the rules are highly technical and fact-driven, every departure situation requires careful analysis of the taxpayer’s residency status, assets, ownership structure, treaty position, and future plans.

  • Departure tax under subsection 128.1(4) generally applies when an individual ceases to be resident in Canada for Canadian income tax purposes, including situations involving factual residence determinations, deemed residence rules, and treaty tie-breaker provisions under subsection 250(5)
  • Upon emigration, a taxpayer is generally deemed to dispose of certain capital property immediately before departure at fair market value and to reacquire such property at the same amount, potentially triggering accrued but unrealized capital gains for Canadian tax purposes
  • The deemed disposition rules do not apply to all property. Excluded property may include taxable Canadian real property, Canadian resource property, certain business property used in a Canadian permanent establishment, registered plans, pension entitlements, specified trust interests, and certain life insurance interests
  • Former Canadian residents may remain subject to Canadian taxation on Canadian-source income and taxable Canadian property following emigration, including potential Part XIII withholding tax exposure on dividends, pensions, trust distributions, and certain corporate redemptions or wind-ups
  • Pre-departure planning may involve residency analysis, utilization of subsection 128.1 elections, short-term resident exemptions under the 60-month/120-month rule, departure tax deferral elections under subsection 220(4.5), asset crystallization strategies, and cross-border structuring designed to minimize double taxation and future withholding tax exposure

Given the complexity of Canada’s departure tax rules, proactive planning before leaving Canada is critical. A comprehensive review of residency status, asset holdings, accrued gains, treaty implications, and post-departure tax exposure can help taxpayers reduce unnecessary tax liabilities and implement more efficient cross-border tax planning strategies before emigrating from Canada.

Course Content

1 activity • 1 videos • duration: 2h 8m

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Departure Tax - Plan Ahead and Plan Early1 videos • 2.1 hours
  • videocamDeparture Tax - Plan Ahead and Plan Early
    Duration 128:41

Your Instructors

CPA Solutions LLP Year

Tax Structuring, Planning & Reporting

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star17 reviews

At CPA Solutions we provide services throughout the cycle of a tax transaction from setting up creative domestic or cross border structures to implementing those structures and finally reporting them on the tax returns. Our knowledge of Canadian and US taxation coupled with an understanding of the accounting concepts enables us as a practitioner to provide a complete overall service to achieve our clients needs. We strive to only enhance your practice in ways a larger firm can achieve through their in-house tax department.

Boris Volfovsky, CPA, CA

Partner at CPA Solutions LLP

Boris has over 17 years of experience in public practice. Before becoming a partner at CPA Solutions LLP, Boris worked as a senior tax manager in the private enterprise group at one of the big four national firms. Boris has vast experience working with owner-managers and their small, medium, and large private corporations across industries. In addition, Boris is also involved in the tax community through the facilitation of the In-Depth tax courses, facilitation of tax week under the former School of Accountancy and through presenting on various tax topics at YDCPAA, PD Consortium and AJAG.

Manu Kakkar

CPA, TEP, Mtax, BSc(Hons)

Manu has over 20 years of experience in taxation in both domestic and international, personal and corporate taxation as well as litigation support. He runs his own independent tax practice with offices in Montreal and Toronto with a team of professionals consisting of tax lawyers and tax accountants. His firm services a diverse client base which includes manufacturing, retail and distribution, construction, farming, real estate, athletes and artists, across Canada and the US. His firm acts as a counsel to over 125 professional firms in Canada and USA specializing in domestic and international reorganizations and transactions. Manu is known as one of the leading experts in Section 55 of the Act and butterfly reorganizations. He is an award winning and prolific tax writer. His Master of Taxation thesis on butterfly reorganizations won 2 awards and was published in the Canadian Tax Journal. Manu has published and presented over 450 tax articles and presentations since 2001 across Canada. Manu is an authority in taxation as his name has been cited 41 times in the Income Tax Act. Manu has taught tax at The Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants, The Canadian Tax Foundation and The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, of and various provincial accounting bodies across Canada. Manu has sat or sits on the Steering Committees for the Canadian Institute of Chartered Professional Accountants’ National Conference on Income Taxes; the Canadian Tax Foundation Laval Program Committee; CPA Canada's Small and Medium Practitioner’s Tax Committee; and the Canadian Tax Foundation's Ontario Tax Conference. Manu served a three-year term from 2016-2019 on the Canadian Tax Foundation’s Board of Governors.

Credit Information

Is this course eligible for my CPD requirements as a Canadian CPA?

Provincial regulators of CPAs in Canada do not require that independent providers of CPD be approved to offer courses. Instead, individual CPAs are responsible for assessing whether a CPD activity meets their requirements, and may take activities from any source provided those requirements are met.

Every course offered on LearnFormula is delivered by a qualified subject matter expert or learning organization, and advances learning objectives that are relevant to the responsibilities or professional competencies of Canadian CPAs. All activities on LearnFormula are quantifiable in terms of hours, and are also verifiable, in that users receive documented evidence of their attendance via a certificate of completion after finishing a course (and this certificate is stored by LearnFormula indefinitely). Nearly 100,000 Canadian CPAs successfully satisfy their CPD requirements via LearnFormula on an annual basis.

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Frequently Asked Questions

We are a registered provider with 300+ associations and regulatory bodies worldwide. We operate across 27 global markets including Canada, the US, Australia, and the UK. Every course page clearly displays its specific accreditations. Upon completion, you receive a professional certificate that can be validated online. Our certificates include all necessary accreditation details, credit hours, and completion dates, and are formatted specifically to meet the submission requirements of most global regulatory bodies.

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