# unused capital loss mentioned on notice of assessement



## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Another thread about capital losses brought a question to mind. Not wanting to hi-jack that thread, I am starting a new one. My 2009 notice of assessement came last week and it mentioned something about just over $2K in unused capital losses. What do I do with this if I don't anticipate any capital gains for the forseeable future? Can it be used as a tax deduction or credit off my income for 2010? What am I supposed to do with this if I don't own any capital and don't expect to own property in the near future?


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## OhGreatGuru (May 24, 2009)

Read Chapter 5 of T4037. Capital losses can only be applied against capital gains, not other forms of income. If you had capital gains in 2006, 2007, or 2008 you can carry the 2009 losses back to those years by completing Section III of Form T1A, Request for Capital Loss Carryback. CRA will then re-asess the previous year's returns.

Or you can continue to carry it forward for use at a future date when you do have capital gains. Losses from previous years are entered as a deduction on Line 253. 

You may receive taxable capital gains if you own mutual funds.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks guru! How long can I carry it forward for?

I do have mutal funds, but they are all in my RRSP.

So I guess this amount won't help me much unless I buy a house.


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## FrugalTrader (Oct 13, 2008)

My understanding is that capital losses can be carried forward indefinitely. If you sell a rental property for profit, or have capital gains from a non-reg portfolio, your cap loss can offset this.


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## MoneyGal (Apr 24, 2009)

Carried forward indefinitely! Here is the CRA table I memorized, once upon a time, when I was studying for the CFP exam.


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## the-royal-mail (Dec 11, 2009)

Thanks for linking to that table, money! That pretty well clears it up. Thank you also to frugal and guru. You're all great. I appreciate your intelligent responses.


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