Be Careful When Flipping That Condo

Be prepared to pay tax on all your profits if you decide you want to “flip” your new condo unit before you take possession. You may try to argue with CRA that the profit you made on the sale should be taxed at 50% as a “capital gain” but most likely CRA will take the position that the profits are fully taxable as “income”. This means that you will have to pay tax on the full amount of the profit. On top of income tax, flippers may have to pay HST. If the original buyer of the unit (the flipper) bought the unit with the intention of flipping it, then HST is payable on the assignment price (ie the profit made by the flipper) and may be payable on the return of the flipper’s original deposit by the assignee of the purchase agreement.