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Proposed GST/HST Treatment of Assignment Sales

GST/HST Notices – Notice 323
May 2022

On April 7, 2022, the Minister of Finance Canada tabled Budget 2022 which proposed an amendment to Part IX of the Excise Tax Act. The proposed amendment would make all assignment sales in respect of a newly constructed or substantially renovated single unit residential complex or residential condominium unit taxable.

An assignment sale in respect of residential housing is a transaction in which a purchaser (an assignor) that has entered into an agreement of purchase and sale with a builder of a new house sells (assigns) their rights and obligations under the agreement of purchase and sale to another person (an assignee). The agreement that details the terms of the assignment of an agreement of purchase and sale (the assignment sale) is generally referred to as the assignment agreement.

For purposes of this notice, a house includes a detached or semi-detached house, a duplex, a condominium unit, a townhouse, a unit in a co-operative housing corporation, a mobile home (including a modular home) and a floating home.

Under the current GST/HST rules, an assignment sale made by a person that is not an individual in respect of newly constructed or substantially renovated residential housing is generally taxable, whereas an assignment sale made by an individual may be either taxable or exempt. An assignment sale made by an individual is generally taxable if the individual had originally entered into the agreement of purchase and sale with the builder for the primary purpose of selling their interest in the real property. If, on the other hand, the individual had originally entered into the agreement of purchase and sale for another primary purpose (for example, to occupy the house as a place of residence), the assignment sale is generally exempt. Any amount an assignor paid as a deposit to a builder is included in the consideration for a taxable assignment sale. For more information on the current GST/HST rules, refer to GST/HST Info Sheet GI-120, Assignment of a Purchase and Sale Agreement for a New House or Condominium Unit.

The proposed amendment to the ETA would make all assignment sales, including those made by individuals, in respect of newly constructed or substantially renovated residential housing taxable for GST/HST purposes. Furthermore, the proposed amendment would exclude any amount attributable to a deposit paid by an assignor to a builder from the consideration for a taxable assignment sale, when certain conditions are met. The proposed amendment would apply to all assignment agreements entered into after May 6, 2022.

Source: canada.ca

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