Under the Income Tax Act, gains from the sales of your principle residence have always been exempt from Capital Gains Tax and many of these foreign investors have been using this exemption falsely to save a tremendous amount of tax. Effectively, they have ‘claimed’ that the investment property was their Principle Residence in Canada and was therefore exempt.
Effective with the 2016 tax year, ALL Principle Residence Dispositions must be reported on your personal Income Tax Return (T1) whether exempt or not. These new rules will apply to anyone that disposes of their principle residence; the disposition will be reported on Schedule 3 (Capital Gains) and eligible taxpayers will still be able to claim the exemption.