A special reporting rule in section 233.3 of the Income Tax Act requires you to file an information return with the CRA if the total cost of your foreign investment property at any time in the year exceeds $100,000. This form, T1135, requires quite detailed information. The property that must be reported includes foreign securities in your Canadian brokerage accounts, and any securities in foreign brokerage accounts, as well as many other assets. However, investments in your RRSP, RRIF or TFSA need not be reported as you don’t own them directly.
Starting in 2015, if the total cost of your foreign investment property exceeds $100,000 but is less than $250,000, a simplified version of reporting with fewer details is allowed – basically you check a box indicating the type of investment property you own, though you still have to list the income or gains you’ve earned on such property. New Part A of the T1135 is used for this simplified reporting.
The detailed reporting is found in Part B, and applies where the cost of your foreign investment property is $250,000 or more.