Bright-line Rule Changes

After July 1 2024, changes are being made to the Bright-line property rules, rolling it back to 2 years. The Bright-line rule states that if you sell a residential property within a set time of buying it, you may have to pay income tax on any gain from the sale.

For properties sold on or after July 1, 2024, the Bright-line property rule will only apply if the property is sold within 2 years of acquisition, unless an exemption applies. 

Prior to these changes, the Bright-line rule applied if you sold your property on or after March 27, 2021, and it was sold within 5 years for qualifying new builds, or within 10 years for all other properties. For properties sold between March 29, 2018, and March 26, 2021, the rule applied if sold within 5 years. 

This rule generally doesn’t apply if you sell your main home, but it is more relevant for investment properties. This is why it is important for owners of rental properties to be aware of it. 

Read more about the Bright-line rule changes here. 

Disclaimer: This blog post represents our interpretation of the law changes. Depending on your personal circumstances, we suggest seeking advice from an appropriate advisor before taking any action based on the content of this post.