Bare Trust Reporting Is Back for 2026: What Property and Business Owners Need to Know

If your name is on a property or an account that really belongs to someone else, or someone else’s name is on yours, you may need to file with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for the 2026 tax year. After three years without a filing requirement, bare trust reporting is now law. The first returns are due March 31, 2027.

What a Bare Trust Is

A bare trust exists when one person holds legal title to property or an account while someone else is the true owner. The person on title follows the true owner’s instructions and must return the property on request. Families and businesses set these up for financing, probate planning, privacy, or convenience, often without any written trust document.

What Changed

Bill C-15 received Royal Assent on March 26, 2026. No bare trust filing was required for 2023 through 2025. From the 2026 tax year, a bare trust that does not qualify for an exemption must file a T3 trust return with Schedule 15, which lists the people on title, the true owners, and anyone who can control the arrangement.

Who Is Likely Exempt

Many common family arrangements are excluded. A joint account is exempt when every person on the account is also an owner of the funds, for example spouses who share a bank account. A parent added to a child’s home title so the child can qualify for a mortgage is exempt, because the people on title are related and the home is a principal residence. The same applies when an adult child is added to title alongside a parent who still lives in the home. Arrangements holding no more than $50,000 throughout the year are exempt, and the limit rises to $250,000 when the people involved are related individuals and the assets are limited to cash, GICs, publicly listed securities, mutual funds, or personal-use property. A family cottage used personally can count as personal-use property. A rental property cannot.

Who Likely Must File

A numbered or holding company on title to real estate for the true owners must file, as must nominee arrangements in joint ventures and development projects. Some family situations are caught as well. An adult child who is the only person on title to a parent’s rental property, or to a family cottage worth more than $250,000, while the parent is the true owner, generally must file. A joint account that an older parent shares with an adult child for convenience must file if it goes over the limits above at any time in the year.

Penalties

Filing late costs $25 a day, from a minimum of $100 to a maximum of $2,500 per return, even when no tax is owed. If the failure to file amounts to gross negligence, the penalty is the greater of $2,500 or 5% of the highest value of the property during the year.

What to Check Before Year End

List every property or account where the person on title and the true owner are different, including nominee companies, joint accounts, and title added for a mortgage or probate. For each one, confirm whether it is a bare trust and whether an exemption applies, and keep a short written note of the reason. Watch values through the whole year for anything near the $50,000 or $250,000 limits. For arrangements that must file, request a trust account number from the CRA early and gather the details Schedule 15 asks for. If an arrangement no longer serves its purpose, consider ending it before December 31.

How Jenna Lee Law Can Help

Whether an arrangement is a bare trust, and whether it is exempt, is a legal question. The T3 return and Schedule 15 that follow are a tax question. Jenna Lee Law reviews the arrangement, documents its status, and advises on the tax reporting, so both are handled in one place. If you hold property or an account for a family member or through a company, check your position before the 2027 deadline.