Spouse or Company Buys the Coin: Affiliated Persons
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: The rule isn't limited to your own purchases. The Act says a purchase by "a person affiliated with the taxpayer" counts. The CRA's examples of affiliated persons: you and your spouse or common-law partner; you and a corporation controlled by you or your spouse or common-law partner; a partnership and a majority-interest partner; and a trust and its majority-interest beneficiary (or a person affiliated with that beneficiary).
What follows for your coin
If your spouse buys the same or an identical coin inside the window and still holds it (or has a right to acquire it) when the window closes, the loss can be a superficial loss even though you didn't buy anything. The CRA says you can add the loss to the cost of the substituted property only if you're the person who acquired it.
Made-up example
You sell coins at a loss on December 15; on December 20 your common-law partner buys the same coin in their own account and holds it through January 14. On the CRA wording above, the conditions may be met.
Related
FAQ
Does it matter whose account? The test looks at whether you or an affiliated person acquires and owns the substituted property.
Are family members other than spouses affiliated? The CRA page lists the four examples above; we don't cover other relationships.
What we could not verify
- The full text of section 251.1 (our own fetch failed; relied on the researcher's reading and the CRA page).
- Provincial rules.
Sources (official)
- CRA, Capital losses (page modified February 5, 2026 per our researcher's check; examples refer to tax year 2025) — https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/personal-income/line-12700-capital-gains/capital-losses-deductions.html (read in full October 17, 2026)
- Department of Justice Canada, Income Tax Act, s. 54 (definitions, "superficial loss"; Act current to 2026-09-30, last amended 2026-06-18) — https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-3.3/section-54.html (read in full October 17, 2026)