Builders of multiple-unit residential apartment buildings will be all-too familiar with the GST/HST self-supply rules administered by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) under the Excise Tax Act. Engaging with CRA at any level is a knee-trembling experience that is best avoided if at all possible, so spare a thought for apartment builders, who have no choice but to engage every time they finish a new project. The self-supply rules require that builders volunteer the value of their completed asset, remit the GST/HST due and then wait to be told if they got it right. Welcome to the unnerving world of self-supply.

Based on the number of calls we have been getting of late, CRA is growing increasingly suspicious of the values being declared by builders in this new age of ultra-low discount rates and ultra-high property values. They smell profit and want a bigger piece of it. If you’ve been targeted for scrutiny, it’s time to call for reinforcements.

How it works
For those who are unfamiliar with the process and want to follow along, this is how it works. Generally speaking, “used” residential property is exempt from GST/HST and no liability arises when it is sold in the marketplace. But new residential property is taxable upon completion, and for rental property the liability usually arises when the first unit is occupied, at which time GST/HST becomes payable based on the “Fair Market Value” of the asset. The most common situation, of course, is newly constructed rental apartment buildings, but the self-supply rules apply to other types of residential property, including condominiums if the builder chooses to rent them rather than sell them, an increasingly likely scenario in markets where the demand for condominiums has dried up. So on that happy day when the first unit is rented, the builder is deemed to have sold and repurchased the property at its declared (i.e. self-assessed) “Fair Market Value,” and gets to celebrate the occasion by remitting the required GST/HST.

The purpose of the GST/HST self-supply rules is to ensure the builder does not escape paying tax on value-added components of the project, such as the value of employed labour, financing costs and profit, the value of which would have been taxable had the asset been sold rather than rented upon completion. According to the official CRA publication (GST/HST Memoranda series 19.2.3, paragraph 5), the stated purpose of the self-supply rules is to create a “level playing field” and remove the potential tax advantage a builder would otherwise have in constructing a residential complex for rent.

So what is “Fair Market Value” and what does the Tax Court say?
CRA’s Policy P-165R gives some guidance and basically interprets it as the highest price that can be achieved in an unrestricted market – much the same as the industry-standard definition of Market Value. It also recognises the three traditional methods for determining Market Value, colloquially known as the “three approaches to value,” being the Cost, Income and Direct Comparison approaches. While the CRA Policy statement does say that no particular method should be excluded categorically, the Tax Court of Canada has tended to favour the Cost Approach in its rulings on GST/HST self-assessment cases. The most recent Tax Court ruling to cross our desk (Beaudet v. The Queen, 2014 TCC 52) adopted the Cost Approach method in favour of the other methods to establish the Fair Market Value of a residential apartment complex, but only after giving careful consideration to each of the other methods. So don’t be fooled into thinking the other valuation methods have no relevance: on the contrary, CRA will expect all the relevant valuation approaches to be examined and reconciled. They are deeply suspicious that reliance solely on the Cost Approach method conceals genuine profit, whereas the Income Approach method uncovers it. They might be right, but buildings which sell in the marketplace and generate those ultra-low discount rates are cash flow vehicles, delivering stable revenues backed up by full occupancy and a track record of success. New-builds have neither full occupancy nor a track record and must be valued accordingly for self-supply purposes.

Whether or not the final result matches other market valuations done on the same property for other purposes – typically mortgage financing – does not appear to distract the Court, which remains firmly focused on the specific issue at hand. That was perhaps most clearly expressed in an earlier Tax Court decision (Sira Enterprises v. The Queen 98-2463-GST-G) when it said “[t]he Court’s duty is to determine the fair market value of the properties for the purpose of the GST. The Court is not interested in the fair market value of these properties for the purpose of sale, and indeed there might be many factors which might have to be considered if the court were required to determine the fair market value for the purpose of sale, which may not be relevant for GST purposes.”

So protect yourself and sleep well
Our advice to builders is to be pre-emptive: have an independent assessment of the Fair Market Value done upon – or even in advance of – completion to support the self-assessed value being reported for GST/HST purposes. That puts you in the best possible position to defend a future challenge, and will undoubtedly help you sleep at night.

So if you, or someone close to you, is losing sleep at the prospect of engaging with CRA, give our Counselling Division a call.

Written by Lee Weatherby, Vice President of our Counselling Division. For more information about our counselling services, feel free to contact Lee at (902) 429-1811 or