If a home is purchased & claimed for a move (inc. deed tran tax & legal fees), then is turned into a rental & sold, can these fees still be used to reduce capital gains?

[joshua-s-m]

• We recently moved for my husband's employment. We sold our old home & qualify for moving tax deductions. We now currently own two residences in our new community. One is a condo in a uni town; the other purchased cheap that needs work. We likely will sell both in the next 5 years. We moved into the condo first, & endured months of a protracted period finalizing a purchase & sale agreement while already having possession & ordinarily residing at the condo since closing on our old home. Due to how long it was taking to finalize, we bought the single family home, cash (if not needed thought we would make it a rental). But, it's zoned for single fam use as it sits on a village well so not the best rental potential.  So, the condo did finally close & we own 2 homes; neither generates rental income. We consider the condo to be what we purchased in connection with our move & as our home after selling our old house. However, we closed on the new single family home first (purchased in Nov., condo closed just now, Feb.). Does it matter which closed first for claiming it on the move? Also, if we claim this condo (including legal & deed-transfer tax), as the home we purchased as part of our claimable move, if we decide to make this condo an income property & then sell down the road, can we still use these fees (legal & deed transfer tax on the purchase price) to reduce our capital gains when we sell?  …we believe the single family home is the one we want to designate as principal residence for all the time we've owned it. We are trying to decide next steps for both properties.  

We want to: 

1) claim our condo as the home we purchased as a result of our move; 

2) Use it as a rental possibly within this year; 

3) When it comes time to sell still be able to use fees like legal and deed tran tax to reduce capital gains. 

Can we?

Is this considered claiming these fees twice? Or do these fees become rolled up with the purchase price and considered part of the cost of purchase regardless of if they were part of a claim for a move. 

[TurboTaxKim]

There are a few different things to consider here, and I've been unable to find any definite answers in regards to whether or not you would actually be claiming these fees twice.

1. If you choose the Condo as your principal residence, (as you are not sure if you are going to rent it out) and claim the fees on your Moving Expenses, you really don't have the option to claim them again.
2. If and when you decide to rent it out, you will be "Converting your Principal Residence to a Rental Property" and will have a "deemed acquisition" using the Fair Market Value of the condo, which could include the legal fees.
3. When you sell the condo, the ACB will be the FMV you deemed it at and the Capital Gains will be calculated on your Proceeds of Disposition - Outlays & Expenses - ACB. (Your Outlays & Expenses will be your legal fees on the sale). 

I strongly suggest contacting the CRA for a definitive answer on this. Hopefully, this helps somewhat. 🙂