Crypto on a Foreign Exchange: Canada's T1135 Question
17 October 2026 · en-CA · Educational information · No affiliate links
Educational information only, not tax 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: The CRA's T1135 Q&A says Form T1135 is required when the cost amount of your specified foreign property exceeds $100,000 at any time in the year; the threshold is based on cost amount (generally adjusted cost base), not fair market value. The page read does not mention crypto-assets at all. Whether coins held on a foreign exchange count is therefore not answered there, and this page does not answer it.
What the CRA Q&A says (general rules)
- The $100,000 test uses the total cost amount of all specified foreign property, including property that produces no income.
- If you crossed $100,000 at any time in the year, you must report all specified foreign property held during the year, even if sold before year-end.
- Intangible property can be specified foreign property if it is "situated, deposited or held outside Canada": the CRA says shares of a Canadian company held with a foreign agent are an example.
- Property used exclusively in an active business is excluded; personal-use property is excluded.
- The Q&A lists other exclusions; check the CRA form guide for whether any apply to you.
- Form T1135 is due on or before the due date of your return.
- Not filing, filing late or inaccurately can bring penalties and extend the reassessment period by three years if you also failed to report income from that property.
- The Voluntary Disclosures Program may be available.
What is not answered
- Whether crypto on a foreign platform or in a self-custodied wallet counts as "held outside Canada".
- How the cost amount of crypto should be tracked for this purpose.
A summary from a third-party tax publication (search excerpt, not CRA) suggests crypto may be specified foreign property if held offshore; we have not verified this with the CRA. If your cost might exceed $100,000, ask a qualified Canadian tax professional or the CRA.
Related
Records to keep · Schedule 3, line 7 · Trader or investor? · CARF status in Canada
FAQ
Is the threshold market value? No, cost amount.
Are any holdings excluded? The Q&A lists some exclusions (business use, personal-use property); check the CRA guide for your case.
Is T1135 due with the return? The Q&A says on or before the return due date.
What we could not verify
- Any CRA statement applying T1135 to crypto-assets (none on the Q&A page read; CRA main T1135 page not read).
- Third-party summaries of CRA roundtable answers are search excerpts only, not verified.
- The 2026 form and filing dates (expected, not published).
- How to compute cost amount for crypto.
Sources (official)
- Canada Revenue Agency, Questions and answers about Form T1135 — https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/international-non-residents/information-been-moved/foreign-reporting/questions-answers-about-form-t1135.html (read in full 17 October 2026; no review date shown)