PrivateACB

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Canada

One pool per asset at its average cost, the superficial-loss rule applied with the CRA's proration, and Schedule 3 filled the way the form asks.

Tax authority
Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)
Method
Adjusted Cost Base (ACB)
Currency
CAD
Tax year
1 January – 31 December
Holding period
No distinction — a gain is a gain however long you held the asset.

The rules the program applies

Superficial-loss rule
A loss is denied when you buy the same asset within 30 days before or after the sale and still hold it 30 days after. The program applies the CRA's proration: denied loss = loss × min(S, P, B) ÷ S, so if you re-bought only part of what you sold, only that part of the loss is denied. (Income Tax Act s. 54 and s. 40(2)(g)(i).)
Denied losses added back to the ACB
A denied superficial loss is added to the adjusted cost base of the asset you still hold (s. 53(1)(f)), so it comes back when you eventually sell. The loss is deferred, not lost.
Schedule 3 reports the full gain; the 50% inclusion happens on your return
Schedule 3 asks for proceeds, cost and the full gain or loss, and that is what the program reports. Half of your net gain becomes taxable income on line 12700 of the T1. A net loss can be carried back three years or forward indefinitely against capital gains.

The reports

The names are the program's own, as they appear on its Reports page. Each is a PDF, and the tables are also CSV.

  • Schedule 3
  • T1135 Foreign Property
  • ACB Summary
  • Superficial Loss
  • Income Report
  • Audit Provenance

See every one on the Canada example set →

How ACB works#

The adjusted cost base method pools every acquisition of the same asset. Each purchase adds to the pool’s total cost; each disposal removes units at the pool’s average cost per unit before the disposal.

Example:

DateActionQuantityPriceACB per unit
15 JanBuy 1.0 BTC1.0$50,000$50,000
10 MarBuy 0.5 BTC0.5$60,000$53,333
20 JunSell 0.8 BTC-0.8$65,000$53,333

Gain on disposal: (0.8 × $65,000) − (0.8 × $53,333) = $9,333, which goes on Schedule 3. Taxable capital gain on the return (50%): $4,667

The superficial-loss rule#

If you sell at a loss and buy the same asset back within a 61-day window (30 days before through 30 days after the sale), and you still hold some of it 30 days after the sale, the CRA denies some or all of the loss.

The CRA’s proration:

  • S = units sold · P = units bought in the window · B = units held at day 30
  • Denied loss = |loss| × min(S, P, B) ÷ S

If you re-bought only a fraction of what you sold, only that fraction of the loss is denied.

The program finds these itself. The Superficial Loss report shows every affected sale with the window dates, the S, P and B figures, the ratio, the denied amount and the ACB after the add-back.

Prices and exchange rates#

Crypto prices come from CoinGecko in Canadian dollars for the past year. For older dates the program uses DefiLlama and Binance, which quote in US dollars, and converts at the Bank of Canada’s daily rate for that day (the Federal Reserve’s rates are the alternative source). You can also import a price file or type a price yourself; the Canadian example set uses price files so that its figures reproduce to the cent.

References#

  • Income Tax Act, s. 54 — the definition of “superficial loss”
  • s. 40(2)(g)(i) — the denial of a superficial loss
  • s. 53(1)(f) — the addition of a denied loss to the adjusted cost base
  • Guide T4037, Capital Gains — the CRA’s guide, including Schedule 3
  • Form T1135 — Foreign Income Verification Statement
  • Part XXI of the Income Tax Act (CARF) — the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework: Canadian exchanges report their users’ activity to the CRA from 1 January 2027, with the first reports due in 2028 for 2027 activity (the start was moved back from 2026).

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