The reserve is calculated using the following formula:
capital gain x amount payable after the end of the year
total proceeds of disposition
The reserve can be claimed up to a maximum of nine years,
which spreads out the capital gain over 10 years. There is a maximum reserve that can be claimed in each
year. The maximum is calculated as a percentage of the capital
gain. The maximum percentage is:
Year of sale
|
90% |
| Years after the sale: |
| 1st year |
80% |
| 2nd year |
70% |
| 3rd year |
60% |
| 4th year |
50% |
| 5th year |
40% |
| 6th year |
30% |
| 7th year |
20% |
| 8th year |
10% |
| 9th year |
0% |
Therefore, to spread out the gain over the maximum 10 years, you would
have to receive your proceeds of disposition over at least 10 years.
It is not necessary to claim the maximum allowed reserve in any
year. However, if a reduced reserve is claimed in a year, the reserve
claimed in the following year cannot exceed that amount. For instance,
if in the year of sale 45% of the capital gain was claimed as a reserve, then
the maximum reserve that could be claimed in the next year would also be
45%. If the 45% maximum was claimed in the next year, the capital gain
would be zero, because amount of capital gain in each year is
equal to the reduction in the amount of the reserve from the previous year.
If a higher reserve could be claimed in a subsequent year, the result would
be the creation of a loss. This is not allowed.
A person may not have to claim the maximum reserve in a
particular year if they have capital losses to offset the capital gain, or
if they have business losses to reduce taxable income. They might also
want to shift income to the current year from the coming year, if they know
that they will have higher income in the coming year.