Giving son $200, 000 for condo

QUESTION:

I want to gift $200,000 to my 21 yrs old son for him to buy a condo.

Will he have to pay income tax on that amount?

Should I write a formal letter for the CRA stating that it is a gift from me?

Thanks for your advice.
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david ingram replies:

There is no gift tax in Canada. If the $200,000 pays for the condo, you do not need to do anything other than write a check. then you get to watch him get married, have the marriage collapse and the ex wife take half of the condo which is now worth $400,000 - do NOT worry about this or try and take steps so that it will not happen - it is a fact of life.

If there is going to be a mortgage on the property, the mortgage company will want a gifting letter from you stating that you have NO claim against the property.

The CRA does not need a letter unless your son gets involved in something illegal in which case you will want to prove that the $200,000 was not the result of proceeds of crime. Then it will be CRA for tax purposes and the RCMP or local police force that needs it to stop them from seizing the property under proceeds of crime legislation.

If this sounds pessimistic both situations are happening with the children of some nice people I know and I saw that a really nice 24 year old I used to coach in baseball was just busted for smuggling drugs into the US. Have not seen him for 9 or 10 years but these things happen.

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CEN-TA Cross Border Services - Tax, Visas, Immigration
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