Good news for CNAREA from the Canada Revenue Agency

To all members,

The attached announces some very good news we recently received from the Canada Revenue Agency regarding the Underused Housing Tax.

We are pleased to share with the membership some significant news. On January 24 we received an email from the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regarding the Underused Housing Tax (UHT).

As stated by CRA “This new tax generally affects non-resident, non-Canadian owners of vacant or underused residential property in Canada, as well as some Canadian owners in limited situations. The UHT amounts to 1% of the taxable value or the fair market value (FMV) of the property. An owner electing to use the FMV in the calculation of their tax obligation must obtain a written appraisal prepared by an accredited, professional real estate appraiser operating at arm’s length.”

The email goes on to state:

The CRA is committed to providing clear and easily accessible information so property owners can find the resources to help them fulfill their Canadian tax obligations. This includes providing a list of acceptable Canadian professional real estate appraisal associations and designations which property owners can use to help find an accredited, professional real estate appraiser.

As such, we are reaching out to advise you that your association will be included in this list that will be posted in the coming weeks on CRA’s UHT web pages on Canada.ca, which includes:

Appraisal Institute of Canada (AIC)
• Accredited Appraiser Canadian Institute (AACI)
• Canadian Residential Appraiser (CRA)

Canadian National Association of Real Estate Appraisers (CNAREA)
• Designated Appraiser Residential (DAR)
• Designated Appraiser Commercial (DAC)

Ordre des évaluateurs agréés du Québec (OEAQ)
• Chartered Appraiser/Évaluateur agréé (C.App./E.A.)

This recognition comes from the continued work with provincial and federal regulators and is a significant step forward for the association, the DAR, and the DAC designations.

Should you have any questions please forward them to Kevin Lonsdale at executivedirector@cnarea.ca or 888.399.3366 Ext 3.