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Non-resident seller Section 116 clearance intake for Ontario realtors

Non-resident seller Section 116 clearance intake for Ontario realtors

Seller lives abroad. Closing is Friday. Lawyer asks for a CRA certificate of compliance nobody chased since listing. Commission check meets panic.

People often Google “FIRPTA” for this pain. FIRPTA is U.S. law (Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act) and generally applies to dispositions of U.S. real property interests. Ontario closings for non-residents of Canada disposing of Canadian real property generally engage Income Tax Act section 116 and CRA procedures — confirm with counsel. Keep the slug’s FIRPTA wording only as the search phrase clients use; your file language should say Section 116 / CRA clearance.

Direct answer

Add a non-resident / Section 116 section at listing onboarding — residency declaration, certificate or documented filing status, lawyer acknowledgment as required. Named lines, early chase, export PDF before closing week.

See: seller onboarding, transaction intake vs TM.

What the Canadian process themes (confirm with counsel)

ThemePractical framing
NotificationNon-resident vendors disposing of certain taxable Canadian property generally notify CRA — often before disposition or within a short post-disposition window (commonly discussed as about 10 days after disposition; verify current CRA instructions)
CertificateCRA may issue a certificate of compliance when conditions (including payment/security themes) are met
Purchaser riskWithout an appropriate certificate path, purchasers may face withholding/remittance duties — closing lawyers drive this; do not invent percentages from memory
FormsCRA publishes notification/certificate forms (commonly the T2062 family) — use current CRA instructions at filing time
Related filingsOther tax regimes (for example underused-housing themes) can interact with certificate issuance in some cases — counsel flags those; agents do not diagnose them

Not tax advice. Not CRA filing automation. Not FIRPTA calculation software.

Intake table

LinePurpose
Residency declarationEstablish how the seller’s status is documented for the file
Certificate / notification statusTrack CRA process or lawyer-confirmed alternative path
Lawyer coordinationProof the issue is assigned and monitored

Soft mid-file proof

Approve/reject unreadables. Guest link for overseas sellers. Export PDF for counsel. Canadian-hosted storage with AES-256-GCM encryption at rest. Hivi-X does not auto-remind CRA timelines or compute withholdings.

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General information only. Not real estate or tax advice. Section 116, withholding percentages, notification deadlines, and certificate rules are nuanced and change — confirm with the closing lawyer and a qualified tax professional. Hivi-X is document-collection software — not a licensed real estate broker or tax advisor. Not affiliated with CRA, RECO, or any U.S. IRS regime.

Answers are general operational information only — not legal, tax, regulatory, clinical, privacy, immigration, or professional advice. Requirements vary by matter, client, and regulator.

Frequently asked questions

Is FIRPTA the Ontario rule?
No. FIRPTA is a United States withholding regime for dispositions of U.S. real property interests. For Canadian real property disposed of by a non-resident of Canada, the usual framework is Income Tax Act section 116 and CRA certificates of compliance. Confirm with the closing lawyer and tax advisor.
What should listing agents collect?
Per brokerage policy — often a seller residency declaration, proof of Section 116 notification/certificate status or lawyer confirmation of the path, and related correspondence. Tax advice stays with qualified professionals.
Who is liable if there is no certificate?
Purchaser withholding themes under s.116 are a lawyer/closing matter. Agents organize documents; they do not certify tax outcomes.
Seller abroad?
Secure upload for signed declarations and lawyer packages.
Does Hivi-X file with CRA?
No. Hivi-X tracks checklist status only.

Collect complete client documents without the chase

hivi-x helps Ontario realtors and teams request ID, income proof, references, consent, and forms in one secure Canadian-hosted workflow — with reusable checklists, client uploads, missing-item tracking, AI summaries, and PDF package export.

Non-Resident Seller Clearance Intake Ontario | Section 116