A presale in Coquitlam can sit on the books for three or four years between the first deposit and the keys. In that time it may be assigned, delayed, refinanced or moved between owners. The bookkeeping job is to keep one file per contract with every date, payment and signature in it, so that when the CPA or lawyer has to apply the rules, the facts are ready.
The tax side is theirs: income or capital, GST registration, the new housing rebate, the BC home flipping tax and any exemption. We cite the official rules below because they turn on dates and amounts that only good records can show. How they apply to you is for your CPA or lawyer to decide.
What records should a presale buyer keep from day one?
Keep everything that proves who bought what, when, and for how much. With towers going up along the Evergreen Line in City Centre and Burquitlam, many investors hold several contracts at once, and these papers get mixed up fast.
The contract file:
- The signed purchase agreement, the disclosure statement and every amendment
- A receipt for each deposit instalment, showing the date and who is holding the money
- Contracts and payments for upgrades or extras
- The assignment clause, and any developer consent fee it sets out
- Letters about changes to the completion date
- Financing letters, and statements for any money borrowed to fund deposits
- A note of the buyer: you alone, you and a spouse, or a holding company. This decides which set of books the contract belongs in.
How should presale deposits be recorded?
Deposits are recorded as an asset of whoever signed the contract, with one sub-account per unit. They are not an expense, and they are not lumped into a general "investments" line.
In practice:
- Set up an asset account for each contract, named by project and unit.
- Post each instalment on the date it was paid, with the receipt attached.
- Record interest on money borrowed for deposits on its own line. Whether it is deductible now or added to cost is for the CPA.
- Add upgrade payments to the same contract account, tagged as upgrades.
- Reconcile the contract balance to the developer's or lawyer's receipts every quarter.
If the contract is held personally, a simple ledger per unit does the same job. If a holding company signed, the deposits sit in its balance sheet through our monthly bookkeeping. Behind on a portfolio of several contracts? Catch-up bookkeeping rebuilds the file from bank statements and developer receipts.
What changes when a presale is assigned?
An assignment is a sale of your right to buy, usually with the developer's consent. You are the assignor. The person taking over the contract is the assignee. The day it happens, a new set of records begins:
- The signed assignment agreement, showing the total price and how much of it repays your deposit
- The developer's consent, and any fee charged for it
- Commission and legal invoices for the assignment
- The date you actually received money from the assignee, and the amount
- Any GST charged on the assignment
- Your notes on why you assigned: a move, a job change, a change in family circumstances
BC's Condo and Strata Assignment Integrity Register (CSAIR) requires developers to collect information on each assignment. The province tells assignors that they "must report any profit made on your income tax return, which will be checked against information in the CSAIR" (gov.bc.ca). Your books should match what the developer reported.
Is GST charged on a presale assignment in BC?
Yes, for assignment agreements entered into on or after May 7, 2022. CRA's guide RC4052 says all assignment sales of newly built or substantially renovated single-unit homes and residential condominium units are taxable. GST applies to the total consideration, less any amount the assignment agreement identifies as reimbursing a deposit the assignor paid the builder.
Before that date, an individual's assignment could be taxable or exempt depending on the original primary purpose of buying, as explained in GST/HST Info Sheet GI-120.
For the books, the wording of the agreement is the record that counts. Say an investor paid $100,000 in deposits and assigns the contract for $160,000, and the agreement identifies $100,000 as the deposit repayment. GST would then be calculated on the $60,000 balance, not the full $160,000. The figures are illustrative. Registration, remitting, and how the rebate rules affect the assignee are for your CPA.
How does the BC home flipping tax treat assignments?
It can apply. The tax took effect on January 1, 2025, under the Residential Property (Short-Term Holding) Profit Tax Act. It applies to profit from selling BC residential property owned for less than 730 days, and gov.bc.ca says that includes presale contracts.
The rules as the province states them for presale contracts:
- Rate. 20% of net taxable income for a contract held under 366 days. Between 366 and 729 days the rate falls by formula: 20% × [1 − (days held − 365) ÷ 365]. At 730 days the tax no longer applies.
- Start date. Generally the day you pay the deposit and enter the contract.
- End date. Generally the day you receive money from the assignee.
- Income. For a presale contract, proceeds minus the cost to acquire it. There is no deduction for improvement costs, and the primary residence deduction is not available.
- Return. A separate return filed through eTaxBC within 90 days of the disposition. It is required even if net taxable income is zero, unless your exemption is one that doesn't need a return (gov.bc.ca).
Exemptions exist, including one for a presale whose estimated completion date slips by more than 365 days. Whether one fits is a question for your CPA or lawyer. The province also notes the tax is separate from the federal residential property flipping rule, which has its own 365-day test.
The 90-day window
Because the return is due within 90 days, an assignment can't wait for year-end. We flag it in the month the money arrives and send the CPA the dates, the agreement and the cost figures straight away.
Who pays property transfer tax on an assigned presale?
Generally the buyer who registers the unit at the Land Title Office pays it, based on what that buyer paid. The province says whoever purchases or gains an interest in property registered at the Land Title Office must file a property transfer tax return and pay the tax, unless an exemption applies (property transfer tax). For presales, gov.bc.ca says that if you assign the agreement at arm's length on the open market before the strata plan is deposited at the land title office, the tax is calculated on "the total amount paid by the transferee, who is the assignee", including amounts paid to obtain the right to purchase (pre-sold strata units). A valid written assignment is required.
Two other points from the same page:
- An assignment after the strata plan is deposited isn't treated as a pre-sold unit, so the regular fair market value rules apply.
- A non-arm's-length assignment, including one to your own or a newly formed corporation, is taxed on what an arm's-length buyer would have paid.
If you are the assignee, keep the developer price, the assignment payment and the upgrade costs together so the lawyer's PTT figure ties to your records. Moving a contract into your holding company? Speak to your lawyer before you sign.
What does the CPA need after an assignment or completion?
A one-page summary per contract, backed by the file:
| Item | What we provide |
|---|---|
| Key dates | Contract signed, each deposit, assignment or completion, money received |
| Amounts | Deposits, upgrades, assignment price, deposit repayment, premium |
| Costs | Consent fees, commissions, legal fees, interest on deposit financing |
| Taxes | GST charged or paid, PTT on completion, flipping tax return status |
| Completion documents | Statement of adjustments and mortgage documents, if the unit closed |
If the unit completes and becomes a rental, the contract file becomes its purchase record. Our post on rental property bookkeeping for Coquitlam condo owners picks up from there. Agents who buy presales alongside a PREC should also read bookkeeping for a personal real estate corporation. For the wider monthly routine, start with the Coquitlam owner-operator's guide to bookkeeping. At year-end, the summary goes to the CPA with the rest of the file through our year-end preparation work.
Questions owners ask
Is a presale deposit an expense?
No. In the books it is an asset: money you have paid toward a unit you have the right to buy. We record it in the account of whoever signed the contract, one sub-account per unit, and your CPA decides the tax treatment when the contract completes or is assigned.
When does the 730-day clock start for the BC home flipping tax on a presale?
Generally on the day you pay the deposit and enter the contract, according to gov.bc.ca. On an assignment, the end date is generally the day you receive money from the assignee.
Do I have to file a flipping tax return if I made no profit on an assignment?
Generally yes, if you held the contract for less than 730 days. The province says a return is due within 90 days of the disposition even when net taxable income is zero, unless your exemption is one that doesn't require a return. Your CPA or lawyer confirms which case applies.
Is GST charged on the deposit part of an assignment?
Not on the part the assignment agreement identifies as reimbursing the deposit. For assignments from May 7, 2022, CRA says GST applies to the total consideration minus that identified deposit amount, so the agreement's wording matters.
Does the assignor pay property transfer tax?
Generally not: the tax is paid by whoever registers an interest at the Land Title Office. On an arm's-length assignment made before the strata plan is deposited, gov.bc.ca says the tax is calculated on the total the assignee paid, including the assignment premium. Your lawyer or notary confirms who pays what on your file.
Can you tell me whether my assignment profit is income or a capital gain?
No. That is a tax decision for your CPA. We give them the dates, amounts and documents to make it, organised by contract.