T1161 Form: List of Properties When You Leave Canada

Who must file T1161 when leaving Canada?

You must file Form T1161 if you stopped being a resident of Canada during the year and the property you owned right after leaving was worth more than $25,000 in total on your departure date, not counting four excluded types (Income Tax Act s. 128.1(9); Form T1161).

T1161 is a list, not a tax. It is required even when no departure tax arises and even if you do not have to file a return. Once you pass the test, you list every reportable property, not only the large ones.

What makes a case less simple: private company shares, stock options, trust interests, many holdings that need values, property in two countries, or a departure year already past its due date.

What to gather:

• Your departure date
• Each property you owned right after leaving, Canadian or foreign
• Its fair market value on that date, in Canadian dollars
• Proof of each value: an account statement for that date, an appraisal or comparable sales for real estate, a valuation for private shares (if the CRA questions a value)
• Share counts, company names and share classes, and the address of each building or piece of land

How is the T1161 value threshold counted?

Add up the fair market value, on the day you left, of everything you owned right after leaving, inside and outside Canada, minus the excluded property below. If the total is more than $25,000, you file. Value is what the property would sell for on that day, not what you paid. The CRA says all amounts are in Canadian dollars; the Income Tax Act converts at the Bank of Canada rate for the day (s. 261).

Each person who leaves files their own T1161. For property you own with someone else, such as a home held jointly with your spouse, count and list only your share.

What property is left out of the T1161 count?

Four types of property are left out of both the count and the list (s. 128.1(10), "reportable property"; Form T1161).

Three things sit next to registered plans in the law but are not left out: employee stock options, an interest in a Canadian personal (family) trust you did not pay for and a Canadian life insurance policy (other than its segregated fund part). They count and go on the list. The form says "cash", but the law excludes only Canadian-dollar money and deposits of it, so foreign-currency cash and accounts, such as a US-dollar or euro account at any bank, in Canada or abroad, count and go on the list; a Canadian-dollar account is left out wherever the bank is. For the 60-month rule, see leaving Canada within five years of arriving.

Does my Canadian home go on T1161 even though it is not taxed?

Yes. Your principal residence, Canadian rental property and property of a business you carry on through a permanent establishment in Canada (a fixed place of business here, such as an office or shop) count toward the threshold and go on the list, even though they are not deemed sold when you leave (CRA; Form T1161). A home worth more than $25,000 meets the test on its own, even if you own nothing else.

The form names the property to list: principal residence, shares (public and private), bonds, debentures, promissory notes, treasury bills, interests in trusts and partnerships, personal-use property, business property including inventory, real or immovable property, and security options. Property abroad that you keep is listed too; see foreign real estate when leaving Canada.

How do I fill in Form T1161?

Enter your name, SIN, mailing address and date of emigration, then one line per property with four entries (Form T1161).

Attach a separate sheet if you need more lines. Errors to avoid: leaving off the home, entering cost instead of departure-date value, and listing excluded items such as an RRSP.

T1161 vs T1243: why are the two lists different?

T1161 lists what you own after leaving; Form T1243 calculates the gain on what you are deemed to have sold when you left. They differ because some property is listed but not deemed sold: Canadian real property, resource and timber property, Canadian business property used through a permanent establishment in Canada, employee stock options, an interest in a Canadian personal trust you did not pay for, and a Canadian life insurance policy other than its segregated fund part. Real and business property go on T1243 only if you elect, on Form T2061A, to treat them as sold. Personal-use items under $10,000 work the other way: deemed sold but not listed (CRA; s. 128.1(4)(b)).

For the gain calculation, see Form T1243 for emigrants.

When is T1161 due, and must I send it without a return?

T1161 is due on your filing due date for the year you left (s. 128.1(9)). For most people that is April 30 of the next year; if you or your spouse or common-law partner ran a business (other than one whose expenses are mainly tax shelter investments), it is June 15, though any balance owing is still due April 30 (CRA due dates).

Attach it to your departure-year return. If you do not have to file a return, send the form on its own by the same date (Form T1161). The CRA's EFILE manual for 2025 returns excludes a return that includes T1161, T1243 or T1244, so that return goes on paper (RC4018, chapter 1); check the manual for your year. Filing from abroad is covered in filing your departure return from abroad.

What is the T1161 late filing penalty, and can it be cancelled?

The penalty is $25 for each day late, at least $100 and at most $2,500 (Form T1161; s. 162(7)). The daily charge stops after 100 days. It does not depend on tax owed, so it applies even when you owe nothing.

The CRA may waive or cancel a penalty on request made within ten calendar years after the end of the tax year (s. 220(3.1)). Relief is discretionary. For how to ask, see late departure forms and penalties.

Does Quebec have its own list of properties form?

T1161 is a federal form; the CRA directs former Quebec residents to Revenu Québec for their Quebec return (CRA). Quebec has its own departure rules and forms; see leaving Quebec.

Example

These examples are illustrative and use Canadian dollars.

Homeowner with a house and an RRSP

A person leaves owning a house worth C$700,000 and an RRSP worth C$150,000. The RRSP is excluded; the house alone is over the threshold. The house goes on T1161 even though it is not deemed sold, so no departure tax arises on it. The RRSP is not listed.

Renter with a small brokerage account

A person leaves with C$20,000 in a non-registered brokerage account, C$30,000 in a Canadian-dollar bank account and a car worth C$8,000. The Canadian-dollar deposits are excluded, and the car is a personal-use item under the limit. Only C$20,000 counts, which is under the threshold, so no T1161 is required. The shares are still deemed sold on T1243.

Filed 60 days late

A person sends T1161 60 days after the due date and owes no tax. The penalty is 60 × C$25 = C$1,500, which is above the C$100 minimum and below the C$2,500 maximum. Had the form been 100 days or more late, the penalty would be C$2,500.

Different for you?

• You missed the due date, or several years have passed: see late departure forms and penalties and get help with your individual return.
• You own private company shares, stock options or many holdings to value: see departure tax on private company shares, stock options and RSUs and get help with your individual return.
• You will rent out your Canadian home after you leave: see non-resident landlords and get help with your individual return.
• You are moving to the US: see deferring departure tax when you move to the US.
• You lived in Canada less than five years: see leaving Canada within five years of arriving.
• You need the full picture: start with leaving Canada and the leaving Canada tax checklist.