Capital Gains Tax Rate Increase Postponed (Perhaps Indefinitely)

On January 31, 2025, federal Finance Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced that the proposed capital gains tax rate increase will be postponed to the start of 2026.  The 2024 federal budget has originally proposed to make the rate increase effective as of June 25, 2024.  The enacting legislation was not passed before the federal Parliament was prorogued on January 6

As the opposition parties intend to bring down the current government when Parliament resumes on March 24, it remains to be seen whether the capital gains tax rate will actually change.  Former Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland, who announced the original 2024 federal budget, indicates that she will not proceed with the tax rate change if she becomes leader of the Liberal Party and Prime Minister.

At least Canadians will know what tax rate to use when filing 2024 income tax returns.  It is unfortunate the deferral in the rate change was not announced back in early January — but better on January 31 than on April 29.

If using software to file your 2024 income tax returns, make sure that you are using an updated version of the software.



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