Canada Crypto Superficial Loss Rule: How the 61 Days Work

17 October 2026 · en-CA · Educational information · No affiliate links

Educational information only. Not tax, legal or investment advice. We are not the CRA and are not affiliated with it. Check canada.ca and consider a qualified Canadian tax professional. Sources read October 17, 2026. Anything marked expected should be re-checked (re-check planned December 1, 2026). Examples use made-up numbers. This page contains no affiliate links.

Short answer: Section 54 of the Income Tax Act defines a superficial loss as a loss on disposing of a property where (a) during the period starting 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition, you or a person affiliated with you acquires the same property or an identical one (the "substituted property"), and (b) at the end of that period you or an affiliated person own, or have a right to acquire, the substituted property. The CRA's Capital losses page says the same in plain words, with "calendar days", and that no loss is allowed.

The window

The window is the day of sale plus 30 days each side: 61 calendar days. The ownership test is applied at the end of the window (30 days after the sale).

Made-up examples (sale on Tuesday, December 15, 2026)

The window runs from November 15, 2026 to January 14, 2027.

  1. Bought back and kept: you sell a coin at a $5,000 loss and buy the same coin on December 29, still holding it on January 14: both conditions are met. The loss is a superficial loss.
  2. Bought back on the 31st day: a purchase on January 15, 2027 falls after the window (our date arithmetic), so condition (a) isn't met by that purchase.
  3. Spouse bought earlier: your spouse bought the same coin on December 10 and still holds it on January 14. A spouse is an affiliated person, so the conditions can be met.

Exceptions listed in the Act

Dispositions deemed to occur on certain events (for example emigration, change of use or death), the expiry of an option, and a few others. The CRA lists common situations, including becoming or ceasing to be a Canadian resident, a change in use, death, option expiry, and dispositions by a corporation, partnership or trust (loss deferred rather than added to cost).

Crypto specifics

The CRA's crypto pages treat disposals (selling, exchanging for other crypto, spending, gifting) as dispositions. They don't mention the superficial loss rule, and we found no CRA position on what is "identical" for crypto. See buy back and identical property.

Related

Where the denied loss goes · Spouse and affiliated persons

FAQ

Does a transfer between my own wallets matter? The CRA says transfers between wallets you own aren't taxable dispositions.

Does the rule apply to business income? It concerns capital property; see trader or investor.

What we could not verify

Sources (official)