Principal Residence changed to rental -

[Marinafr27]

I lived in my condo for 1 year and 8 months (paid 680k), and we decided to buy a house that will now be our main residence.

The condo will now become a rental property. DO I need to do an appraisal now? So I have the fair market value as of today (980k) and if I sell the condo in a year from now  for 1 million  I would only pay 50% of 20k as that would be the difference from the 980k FMV FROM WHEN IT BECAME A RENTAL PROPERTY?

If so what kind of appraisal I should request?

Thank you, 

[TurboTaxSusan]

Yes, when you eventually sell the condo, you will only have capital gains for the period that it wasn’t your principal residence. And you would only pay taxes on ½ your capital gains (assuming that the rate stays the same).

As per this this Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) page - Changes in use, Every time you change the use of a property, you are considered to have sold the property at its fair market value and to have immediately reacquired the property for the same amount. You have to report the resulting capital gain or loss (in certain situations) in the year the change of use occurs.

So you would need to get an appraisal in order to report the change in use of your condo to a rental.

If you are unsure of what kind of appraisal you will need, you can contact the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) and ask them. If you are in Canada or the United States, you can call the CRA at 1-800-959-8281. If you are elsewhere, you can call 613-940-8495. This page has more ways to contact the CRA: Contact the Canada Revenue Agency