How are capital gains on stocks and crypto taxed in Québec?

Short answer: when you sell shares, ETFs or crypto for more than they cost you, half of the gain is added to your income, federally and in Québec. The proposed increase to two-thirds was cancelled, so the inclusion rate is still 50%. Your cost is averaged across identical units, a loss can be denied if you buy back within 30 days, and frequent crypto trading can be taxed as business income instead.

Is the inclusion rate still 50%?

Yes. The planned increase of the capital gains inclusion rate was cancelled at the federal level (announced March 21, 2025 and confirmed in the November 4, 2025 federal budget), and Québec announced in its Bulletin d'information 2025-8 (November 25, 2025) that it will harmonize with that cancellation. Revenu Québec's instructions for line 139 tell you to multiply your total capital gains by 50%.

How the gain is calculated

The capital gain is your proceeds of disposition, minus your adjusted cost base (ACB), minus selling costs such as commissions.

The ACB is what you paid, including purchase fees. When you buy the same security several times, the CRA requires you to calculate the average cost of all your units at the time of each purchase. Brokers often get this wrong when you hold the same stock in two accounts.

Example: averaging your cost

  1. You buy 100 shares at $20 ($2,000), then 100 more at $30 ($3,000). Your ACB is $5,000 for 200 shares, or $25 per share.
  2. You sell 100 shares at $40 and pay a $10 commission. Proceeds: $4,000.
  3. Gain: $4,000 minus $2,500 (100 x $25) minus $10 = $1,490.
  4. Taxable capital gain: 50% of $1,490 = $745, added to your income on both returns.

The superficial loss rule

The Income Tax Act denies a loss when you, or a person affiliated with you (a spouse, for example), buy the same or an identical property in the period that starts 30 days before the sale and ends 30 days after it, and still own it at the end of that period.

The loss is not lost for good. It is added to the cost of the shares you bought back, so you get the benefit when you finally sell them. But it will not reduce this year's tax, which is usually why people sell in December.

Example: you sell shares at a $1,000 loss on December 10 and buy them back on December 20. The $1,000 loss is denied and added to the ACB of the new shares.

What if you have a loss?

A net capital loss can only be applied against taxable capital gains. If you have none this year, you can carry it back to the three preceding years or forward to future years.

Crypto: capital or business?

The CRA treats crypto as property, and these are all dispositions:

  • Selling for dollars.
  • Trading one crypto for another. Swapping bitcoin for ether is a sale of the bitcoin.
  • Paying for something with crypto. The CRA calls it a barter transaction.

Whether your gains are capital gains (50% taxable) or business income (100% taxable) is decided case by case. The CRA looks at your course of conduct: frequent, regular trading done in a business-like way, or buying with the intention of reselling at a profit, points toward business income. Keep records of every transaction, with dates, amounts in Canadian dollars and wallet addresses, for at least six years.

Where it goes on your returns

Federally, dispositions go on Schedule 3 and the taxable gain on line 12700. In Québec, you complete Schedule G and report the taxable gain on line 139 of the TP-1. Your broker's T5008 and RL-18 slips are a starting point, but the cost shown on them is often missing or wrong. Gains earned inside a TFSA are generally not taxable; see our TFSA, RRSP and FHSA guide.

Want us to check your numbers?

Book a free 30-minute session at soleraaccounting.ca/rendez-vous or call 450 612-7223. Send us your broker statements or exchange history and we rebuild your adjusted cost base before we file. Service in French, English and Arabic.

This article is general information, not personalized tax advice.

Frequently asked questions

Did the capital gains inclusion rate go up to two-thirds?

No. The increase was cancelled federally, and Québec announced in Bulletin 2025-8 that it will harmonize with the cancellation. Half of a capital gain is taxable.

Is trading one crypto for another taxable?

Yes. The CRA treats a crypto-to-crypto trade as a disposition of the crypto you gave up, so you calculate a gain or loss in Canadian dollars at the time of the trade.

Can I sell at a loss in December and buy back right away?

Not if you want the loss this year. If you or an affiliated person buy the same property within 30 days before or after the sale and still hold it, the loss is denied and added to the cost of the new units.

Sources

Explore more

Book a call · (450) 612-7223