Assignment Sale

An assignment sale is not a resale. You are selling your contract to buy an unfinished home, not the home itself. The assignee steps into your agreement with the builder and closes with the builder directly. Your profit is the gap between your contracted price and what the assignee pays you for the right to take over.

This calculator works out your net proceeds: assignment price minus deposits already paid, minus selling costs, minus tax on the profit. One question: after everyone takes their cut, what lands in your pocket?

It does not model HST or GST on the assignment transaction itself ([VERIFY], not modelled here), builder consent fees, or the builder's contractual cut of your profit. Land transfer tax is correctly excluded: the assignee pays it when closing with the builder, not when buying your contract.

Your inputs, explained

Original contract price. Your agreed price with the builder, from the agreement of purchase and sale. The common error is entering today's market value. The calculator needs your contracted price to compute the profit.

Assignment sale price. What the assignee pays for the contract, usually your price plus deposits paid, at or above market. Base it on recent assignments in the same project, not on hope.

Deposits paid to the builder. Every dollar already handed over. The assignee reimburses these, but they are your money coming back, not profit. Use deposit receipts, not memory.

Selling costs. Realtor commission (negotiable; the site's net proceeds calculator defaults to 5.00% as an illustrative starting point) plus legal fees for the assignment ($1,200–$2,500 typical).

Hold period. Time from purchase to assignment. Under 365 days, the flipped-property rule taxes the entire profit as business income at 100% inclusion, with no principal residence exemption. People miscount this by starting the clock at occupancy instead of purchase.

How the math works

Gross profit is assignment price minus contract price. Subtract selling costs for the taxable profit. Held over a year, it is generally a capital gain at the 50% inclusion rate. Held under 365 days, it is business income at 100% inclusion unless a listed life-event exception applies.

The calculator multiplies the taxable portion by your marginal rate for the tax estimate, then subtracts tax and selling costs from gross profit. Deposits are tracked separately: returned to you, never part of the gain. Your adjusted cost base includes the original price plus purchase legal fees; selling costs reduce the proceeds.

Worked example

A buyer signed a Vancouver pre-construction contract in 2023 for $500,000 and assigns it in 2025 for $620,000: roughly a two-year hold.

Step 1: Gross profit. $620,000 − $500,000 = $120,000.

Step 2: Selling costs. Commission at a negotiated 4% = $24,800; legal $2,000. Total: $26,800.

Step 3: Taxable gain. $120,000 − $26,800 = $93,200.

Step 4: Inclusion. Held over 365 days, so the 50% capital gains inclusion applies: $93,200 × 50% = $46,600. (The proposed 66.67% increase was cancelled 21 March 2025 and never took effect.)

Step 5: Tax at 43% marginal. $46,600 × 43% = $20,038.

Step 6: Net proceeds. $120,000 − $26,800 − $20,038 = $73,162 profit, plus return of deposits paid.

Same deal closed within 365 days: the full $93,200 taxed as business income = $93,200 × 43% = $40,076, nearly double. The hold period is worth real money.

Provincial quirks and edge cases

Ontario's 25% Non-Resident Speculation Tax applies province-wide on the full price of residential property with 1–6 units, on top of regular land transfer tax. A non-resident assignee pays it when closing with the builder, which shrinks your buyer pool and softens your price. Inside Toronto, a 10% municipal tax stacks on top: 35% combined.

BC adds a 20% additional property transfer tax in designated regions (Metro Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Capital Regional District, Nanaimo, Central Okanagan). Same effect on demand.

The federal foreign buyer ban runs until 2027, removing a buyer segment in every province.

In Quebec, the assignee's welcome tax arrives 2–3 months after their closing, not through the notary. Assignees who missed it in their budget sometimes try to renegotiate with you.

Ontario NRST has narrow exemptions, such as a Canadian spouse co-purchaser occupying as a principal residence. Confirm with a lawyer; do not assume.

Questions to ask a professional

Ask your lawyer: does my agreement require builder consent, a consent fee, or a share of my profit?
Ask a tax professional: does my hold period clear the flipped-property rule, or does a life-event exception apply?
Ask your lawyer: if my assignee is a non-resident, which speculation taxes hit their closing, and could that unwind my deal?
Ask a tax professional: is HST or GST exigible on my assignment price, and who remits it?

Frequently asked questions

Do I pay land transfer tax on an assignment?

No. You never owned the property. The assignee pays land transfer tax closing with the builder. Your costs are commission, legal fees, and tax on the profit.

Are my deposits part of the profit?

No. Deposits come back to you through the deal as a return of your own money. Profit is only the spread between assignment price and contract price.

What if I assign at a loss?

A capital loss can generally offset capital gains, but under the flipped-property rule the loss follows business-loss rules instead. The calculator does not model losses; take this to a tax professional.

Can the builder block my assignment?

Many agreements require written consent plus a fee, and some take a share of profit above a threshold. Read your assignment clause before listing.

Rules and rates as of September 2026. This is general information for Canadian home buyers and sellers, not financial, legal, or tax advice. Rules and rates change; confirm current figures with your lawyer or notary, your lender, or the government office that administers the tax before relying on them.